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Tweaking OIII Data
Now we'll tweak the contributions of the OIII group using Hue/Saturation, Levels, and Dodging (brightening).
OIII layer with no adjustments.
I move the Hue slider left and right until I find the shade of blue I'm looking for.
Layer 1 - Dodging enhances the blue color. To dodge, paint with a white paintbrush on a 50% gray layer that's in Overlay blending mode.
Levels (3) - move the white point slider to the left to enhance the nebula, and move the black slider right a bit to take some OIII out of the shadows.
Darken the blues by moving the mid-tones slider to the right and limit the effect to the core using a mask.
Tweaking HaData
Next it's time to adjust the red contribution of the Ha group using the same tools. I want red to dominate the background so I adjust the levels accordingly.
The Ha group layers.
Ha group colorized to Red (0).
Ha and OIII layers, no adjustments to Ha.
Add a bit more red to the shadows by moving the mid-tones slider to the right. Use a mask to limit the effect to the background.
Burn in the core using a black paintbrush on a 50% gray Overlay layer. This takes some pink out of the core.
Adding the SII Data
I don't want this to be a standard Hubble Palette image where SII is mapped to red, Ha to green, and OIII to blue. Instead, I'll add SII as golden highlights to the Ha data.
The layers in the SII group. The group doesn't have to be in Screen blending mode since it's on the bottom.
Now move the Hue slider back and forth to find a pleasing color.
Adjusting levels blends the SII in a more pleasing way. I limit it's affect by using a mask.
On the next page we'll finish the image.
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