Learn Photoshop’s Selective Color Tool in 4 Minutes (VIDEO)
Photoshop’s Selective Color tool represents a powerful non-destructive means of employing an adjustment layer to correct and enhance specific colors in an image. There are many practical applications like creating outdoor photos with a “cinematic” look or fixing skin tones in portraits by eliminating unwanted red and magenta tones.
The quick video below from the Photoshop Together YouTube channel explains everything necessary to get started, along with a few tricks, for beginners and more experienced Photoshop users alike. In short, this is a must-see lesson for photographers and retouchers who want maximum control of the hues and tones in their images.
Our unnamed instructor summarizes the lesson like this: “We’ll break down the theory between RGB and complementary colors, then apply it to real-world examples so you can avoid guesswork and edit your images with purpose.”
Photoshop’s Selective Color panel includes simple sliders for nine color options:. The RGB group has red, green and blue—described as “the basic colors of light.” Then there’s the CMYK group comprised of cyan, magenta, and yellow, i.e. the basic colors of printing. You also have options for white, black and gray—the three neutral tones.
Dragging left or right simply means adding or subtracting color. It’s important to note that “when colors overlap they create new ones,” and the illustrations in the video make it easy to visualize how various colors mix together. If, like most of us, you’ve ever mixed paint you’ll quickly grasp the concept.
For example, if you add magenta to yellow it becomes red, while adding cyan to yellow results in green. This logic is super easy to master and enables you to refine or change any color with precision. You’ll be inspired to update your everyday Photoshop workflow accordingly after viewing the impressive transformations that occur as the demonstration proceeds.
Once you’re done watching be sure to visit the Photoshop Together YouTube channel where you’ll find more beginner-friendly processing tips and techniques.
And don’t miss our earlier tutorial in which an Australian pro presents another Photoshop primer—demonstrating what he insists is the fastest, easiest, and most effective way to eliminate image-killing halos from photographs.
