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As you can see in the screenshot, I have two images of an almost identical landscape. In the left image (reference photo) a photo filter has been applied from Instagram. In the right image, no filter has been used, it's just a simple shot without the usage of any IG-filter. Now I want to "reproduce" or "recreate" all the color properties of the reference photo as good as possible.

Further clarification: I'm all about the color properties and the overall look of the reference photo e.g. the color of the sky, the color of the field which is more borwn-ish/orange-ish in the reference photo, the slight blurryness of the reference photo that is close to photos taken on film.

I've already tried the color match tool in photoshop but I wasn't quite happy with the results. Therefore I was about to start to tweak parameters until I get a very similar result, like the reference photo. At this point I asked myself what is the best and most effective method to start with to achieve this goal.

Can anyone please tell me the most effective method to achieve this goal? Is there a good way to start with when trying to solve such kind of problems? (e.g. which parameters would you start tweaking at first and so on)

Screenshot from LrC with reference image image on the left and the image on which the parameter changes should be made so that it looks like the reference photo

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Which filter was used? \$\endgroup\$
    – Bob Macaroni McStevens
    Commented Aug 11, 2021 at 2:59
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    \$\begingroup\$ @BobMacaroniMcStevens I see you've added in the "lens" part of the filter. Without that edit I interpreted it as OP meaning a filter in the sense of an editing preset (e.g. an Instagram filter). Well, best to wait for zakalaka to clarify what is meant. \$\endgroup\$
    – Saaru Lindestøkke
    Commented Aug 11, 2021 at 9:01
  • \$\begingroup\$ Does this answer your question? How can I fix the color of blue photos using settings from "good" photos? \$\endgroup\$
    – Saaru Lindestøkke
    Commented Aug 11, 2021 at 9:02
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    \$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the explanation zakalaka! Can you please edit your question to clarify that this is about an instagram filter? Would be nice if you could describe in words what effect of the filter you're trying to recreate (the color? the removed wires?), this helps provide a suitable answer. Please also add the things you've tried so far, such that we will not suggest those unsuitable methods. No need to write "edit" or "update" in your question, just rewrite it as if this is the first time you're writing it (but with fresh knowledge). \$\endgroup\$
    – Saaru Lindestøkke
    Commented Aug 11, 2021 at 10:36
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    \$\begingroup\$ @SaaruLindestøkke (unrelated to post: sorry to edit your comment multiple times. I thought the tag-name Magic Link would format the tag name differently. Could have sworn it used to stand out as obviously a tag, rather than just another link) \$\endgroup\$
    – scottbb ♦
    Commented Aug 11, 2021 at 16:21

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tbh, this isn't the type of job I'd give to Photoshop.
It might be able to get there eventually, but it wasn't really designed for this type of manipulation. (Match Colour doesn't do it for me on this one, it's been pushed too far.)

I'd be looking at Luminar, or maybe OnOne.
I gave this 10 minutes of faffing in Luminar. It's not exact, but it's not a million miles away (I kept having to flip from one screen to another which made it … tiresome;).
Left Instagram, centre Luminar, right 'original'.

enter image description here

& once you've got it, you just save the entire edit as a preset.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ thanks for sharing your experiences. I wonder, what makes Luminar better to use with this type of problem I am currently trying to resolve? What parameters did you tweak in luminar to get to your end result which you also posted as comparison here? Wouldn't it give similar results if one do the same steps in lightroom classic? \$\endgroup\$
    – zakalaka
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 9:54
  • \$\begingroup\$ Luminar is pretty much 'a set of saveable filters' like instagram. Photoshop or lightroom is a 'series of individual steps'. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 12:49
  • \$\begingroup\$ I see. So did you just use an existing filter in Luminar and achieved this result or did you actually tweaked on some parameters (e.g. hue, saturation, brightness, shadows, whites etc.)? I'm asking because I'd want to re-do your steps in LrC or Photoshop and see if I can get similar results. \$\endgroup\$
    – zakalaka
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 13:14
  • \$\begingroup\$ I've no idea what I did now. Lr & Ps just don't have the same set of controls, so translating one to the other isn't straightforward… that's why I didn't use Ps, it doesn't have a 'mystical' or 'sky' slider ;) \$\endgroup\$
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 13:53
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    \$\begingroup\$ AI for this one. I tend to throw things into each at semi-random, having been persuaded to get 'all the versions' & still have Flex kicking around too. 4 is more 'hands on' AI is more 'fix it for me'. \$\endgroup\$
    – Tetsujin
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 17:44

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