Almost every photo has a situation in which a colored halo (usually purple, green or red) is apparent around certain elements of a scene. This sort of optic anomaly, more commonly known as color fringing, is known as chromatic aberration. We, as photo real computer illustrators, can use this effect to help us fake reality. Chromatic aberration is an optical phenomenon in which the camera lens is unable to focus the different wavelengths of light on the same plane (in this case the image sensor) in order to produce a correct image, resulting in a halo or fringe around objects.

  • After opening your image in Photoshop, go to Filter -> Distort -> Lens Correction…
  • On the right side panel you should find a set of controls named Chromatic Aberration
  • Depending on your image, you should adjusting the sliders. To do this in an optimal way make sure you are viewing the image at a magnification of 100% or more.
  • You might have to move only one or both sliders: it all depends on the image you’re dealing with.

Caution! use sparingly, it is suppose to be very subtle, if done correctly.