The Photo
Filter effect mimics the technique of putting a colored filter in
front of the camera lens to adjust the color balance and color temperature
of the light transmitted through the lens and exposing the film.
You can choose a color preset to apply a hue adjustment to an image,
or you can specify a custom color using the Adobe Color Picker or
the eyedropper.
You can use the Photo Filter effect controls to do the following:
-
To use a color preset for the filter color, choose an option
from the Filter pop-up menu.
-
To select a custom color for the filter color, click the
Color control’s color swatch to select a color using the Adobe Color
Picker, or click the eyedropper and click a color anywhere on the
computer screen.
-
To set the amount of color applied to the image, adjust Density.
-
To ensure that the image isn’t darkened by the effect, select
Preserve Luminosity.

To retain Photo Filter adjustment layers created
in Photoshop, import the Photoshop file into your After Effects
project as a composition rather than as footage. If you changed
your default Photoshop color settings, After Effects may not be
able to exactly match the color of the Photo Filter.
This effect works with 8-bpc and 16-bpc color.
- Warming Filter (85) and Cooling Filter (80)
-
Color conversion filters that tune the white balance in an
image. If an image was photographed with a lower color temperature
of light (yellowish), the Cooling Filter (80) makes the image colors bluer
to compensate for the lower color temperature of the ambient light. Conversely,
if the photo was taken with a higher color temperature of light (bluish),
the Warming Filter (85) makes the image colors warmer to compensate for
the higher color temperature of the ambient light.
- Warming Filter (81) and Cooling Filter (82)
-
Light balancing filters for minor adjustments in the color
quality of an image. The Warming Filter (81) makes the image warmer
(yellower), and the Cooling Filter (82) makes the image cooler (bluer).
- Individual Colors
-
Apply a hue adjustment to the image depending on the color preset
you choose. Your choice of color depends on how you use the Photo
Filter command. If a photo has a color cast, you can choose a complement
color to neutralize the color cast. You can also apply colors for
special color effects or enhancements. For example, the Underwater
color simulates the greenish-blue color cast common to underwater
photography.