Boosting a Single Colour in Photoshop

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

If you want to boost just one colour in a photo rather than the overall colour, it is best to do this in Camera Raw. Assuming you shot in Raw, of course... Click the HSL adjustment icon below the histogram, the fourth from the left.

When the panel appears, click the Saturation tab. HSL stands for Hue, Saturation and Luminance. Then go to the toolbar at the top of the window, where you will find a tool whose icon looks like a small target with a plus sign (+) in the top-left corner, the fifth from the left.

This is the adjustment tool in question. Click it to activate it, then place it over the area in the image containing an individual colour that you want to boost, or make less saturated, such as a blue sky, green grass or someone wearing a yellow shirt.

Click and drag upwards to increase the amount of that colour, along with related colours. The sky may consist not only of blue, but also aqua tones. The tool knows this, so it will automatically move both sliders for you as you drag.

Click and drag downwards to reduce the vibrancy of that colour. To change the brightness of the colours, click the Luminance tab. Click and drag the adjustment tool downwards and the colour will become deeper and richer.

If you actually want to change the colour, for example, if you want the yellow shirt to become green, first click the Hue tab at the top. Then click and drag the adjustment tool up or down until the colour changes to the one you have in mind.

Note: this does not just change that one colour in that one area. It changes all similar colours in the image. So if the image contains a blue sky and the subject is wearing a blue shirt, remember that both the sky and the shirt will change when you adjust either one.

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