Skip to main content
jaov2k
jaov2k
Participant
June 16, 2019
Answered

Histogram Arrow Colors (red & dark yellow?)

  • June 16, 2019
  • 2 replies
  • 2399 views

Hi All,

What do the red and dark yellow arrows mean on the histogram? I understand black (no clipping), white (clipping), but red and dark yellow(kinda clipping? you're really close clipping?). I can't find anything on the online help, just the basic information regarding the black/white (red/blue) behavior, but nothing with respect to red/dark yellow.

In the example photos the values are really close to one another, begging the question, what are they supposed to represent?

Thanks!

-Jose

PS, At first I thought that 3rd arrow was light green, so I used the eyedropper and it picked R:178, G:178, B:0, so I'm guessing dark yellow/gold?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer JohanElzenga

The colors indicate clipping of individual channels, and because that can be different for different pixels, you can get a mixed color as well. Imagine you have 10,000 pixels with a clipped red channel, and 5,000 pixels with a clipped blue channel (could be the same pixels, but not necessarily). Then you will get a warning color that is a mixture of 100% red and 50% blue.

2 replies

JohanElzenga
Community Expert
JohanElzengaCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
June 18, 2019

The colors indicate clipping of individual channels, and because that can be different for different pixels, you can get a mixed color as well. Imagine you have 10,000 pixels with a clipped red channel, and 5,000 pixels with a clipped blue channel (could be the same pixels, but not necessarily). Then you will get a warning color that is a mixture of 100% red and 50% blue.

-- Johan W. Elzenga
jaov2k
jaov2kAuthor
Participant
June 18, 2019

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to respond, and it makes complete sense now why there would be different colored arrows.

Now, if you'd be so kind as to take it a step further, for those seeking the same information, is there documentation where this is explained? As mentioned in the first post, I couldn't find anything on the online help or from other posts. Did I simply not "google" enough?

99jon
99jon
Legend
June 17, 2019

I think the colors indicate more than one color channel is clipped as displayed to the left or right of the histogram e.g. blue and green together. The simple thing to do whether the indicators are standard white or colored, is to press the J key to get the blue or red overlay in the main window. Press J again to hide.

Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices