Starguide - A Practical Guide to Astro-Photography

 updated: 2021-09-10

Purpose

Manually increase the Color Saturation.

Implements pixel intensity transformations by interpolation of functions defined through arbitrary user-definable points. 

Activation

Menu: Process 🡺 All Processes 🡺  Curves Transformation

Process Explorer: IntensityTransformations 🡺 Curves Transformation

Input

Stretched image, file name “*_i_c_DBE_ABE_BN_CC_HT_MLT_FS_CT1.xisf” or similar into sub folder "aligned"

Output

Stretched image, file name “*_i_c_DBE_ABE_BN_CC_HT_MLT_FS_CT_CT2.xisf” or similar into sub folder "aligned"

Previous Step

• Background Improvement

Next Step

• More Image Improvements

Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg1QUVaCLqI  (Part 11  Adding Saturation to your Final Image, starts at around 6m50s )

Step

Description

 Action

1

Open up Curves Transformation

and make sure to reset the function

2

Create a Luminance Mask

this will create a B/W luminance image. Pull the tab of the B/W luminance image to the left side of the color image to apply the mask. 

Make the mask visible by pushing CTRL+K and hide it again. 

3

Create a new Preview

ALT+N

of an area containing the main object.

4

Open a Real-Time Preview

5

Enable Saturation Mode

5

Enable Track View

you will get a purple line that you can pick at one or more points and change you color saturation as you like.

6

Click on an Important Section on the Real-Time Preview

6

Close the Real-Time Preview

7

Apply the Settings on the Entire Image

by dragging the little blue triangle an on your image.

8

Remove the Mask

Menu 🡺  Mask 🡺  Remove Mask

unless you want to keep it for the next step!

13

Close Curves Transformation

unless you want to continue with the next step!

14

Save the Image

or "20170921_M8_FUJXT1_i_c_DBE_ABE_BN_CC_ HT_MLT_FS_SCNR_SM_HDR_MLT_CT2.xisf" in this case

using postfix _CT2

file name like  “*_CT2.xisf”