How to Remove Stubborn Color Fringing From Your Photos

Photography Tips

Have you ever started processing an awesome photo only to find that it had weird discolorations in certain areas or a bright blue or red line following the contour of your subject? It can be a serious bummer to deal with if you don’t know a few shortcuts like the one wildlife photographer Steve Perry shows us below:

Chromatic aberration (or color fringing) happens when your lens fails to focus all of the colors correctly and usually happens along boundaries that separate darker parts of your image from brighter parts. It doesn’t usually happen with more expensive lenses, but if you’re using mid-range or less expensive lenses, you’re sure to come across it at some point. In fact, Perry is using quite a nice lens—a Nikon 300MM f4 PF—and he’s still finding some fringing happening in a photo or two.

Fixing chromatic aberration by hand can be extremely tedious. Thankfully Perry’s trick in the video above really does the job, and not only with color fringing but also with just about any area with an odd color issue. Just keep in mind that this technique is meant as a last resort; ideally you will have already applied your lens corrections in Photoshop or Lightroom. It’s also only good for small areas or for following an actual fringe. Use it over too large of an area and you risk dulling your colors.

Know of any other quick ways to get rid of chromatic aberration? Let us know!