How to Use Hue/Saturation in Photoshop

What is Hue/Saturation?

If you are an Adobe Photoshop user, the Hue/Saturation tool is one of the many options you can use to make colorful changes to an image. Whether you are designing a brand-new graphic or simply touching up an already existing image, the Hue/Saturation tool helps an image to pop or be more subdued. You can simply tweak the colors that are already naturally in the photo or even change them altogether.

How This Tool Works

The Hue/Saturation tool can change the colors that are already present in an image by making them darker or lighter. It can also completely alter the color if you prefer, such as by changing all shades of blue to red. Another thing the tool does is change the saturation of the color. In other words, if you have a pale color present in an image, you can make it deeper and more vibrant so that it stands out more.

The Hue/Saturation tool is most commonly used to make slight adjustments to an image’s color scheme. You can make these changes by layer as well. For instance, if you are making a graphic such as a banner while using a cropped portion of an image, you can add a new adjustment layer to it and change specific colors to make them brighter or more on the gray spectrum. There is also the option of adjusting the master, which will make hue and saturation adjustments to every color within the image. Photoshop lets you preview the changes before committing to them.

Beneficial Features

The Hue tool allows you to adjust colors by dragging a cursor right or left around the color wheel. Colors grow lighter or darker, or they can completely change to different colors. Saturation allows you to increase or decrease the vibrancy of the colors when you drag right or left, so you can achieve a grayscale effect. This tool is also useful for brightening or darkening an entire image.

When to Use This Tool

The Hue/Saturation tool is good to use if you want to make a new graphic based on an already existing image and you really want the colors to pop or fade out. You can also use it on a photograph if you want to change the hue or saturation of something within it. For example, if you wanted to make an image black and white but help a person’s eyes stand out by increasing the saturation to a brilliant shade of blue, that can be done using this tool.

These are some of the best uses for the Hue/Saturation tool. Learn how to use it yourself by checking out our Photoshop tutorial videos.