11.02.2015 27.01.2018

In this tutorial, I will tell you in detail about how to change the color in Photoshop. I will sign all the steps in detail, accompany with pictures so that it is clear and intelligibly explain where and what function can be used.

1 way

The first way to replace the color is to use the ready-made function in Photoshop "Replace Color" or Replace Color in English.

I will show on the simplest example, on a simple picture. Take the icon and open it in Photoshop.

Trowel on yellow color icon. We will replace the yellow color with any other color that interests us. To do this, go to the menu Image – Correction – Replace Color (Image – Adjustments – Replace Color)

The color replacement dialog box appears. Now we have to specify what color we will change, to do this, activate the Eyedropper tool (see arrow) and click on the master with it. You'll see this color appear in the dialog box at the top, which is labeled Selection.

At the bottom heading Replacement - there you can change the selected color. But before that, you can set the Scatter in Selection option. The larger the setting, the more it will capture colors. In this case, you can set it to the maximum. It will capture all the yellow in the image.

Set the Color Replacement options to the color you want to see instead of the one being replaced. I made it green by setting Hue, Saturation and Lightness.

When you're ready to change the color, click OK.

So we changed one color to another.

2 way

The second method according to the scheme of work can be said to be identical to the first. But we will consider it on a more difficult image.

For example, I chose a photo with a car. Now I'll show you how to change the color of a car in Photoshop.

As always, we need to specify what color we will replace. To do this, you can create a selection using the color range function. In other words, select an image by color.

To do this, go to the menu Selection – Color range (Select – Color Range)

Then it remains to click on the red color of the car and we will see the function determined it - painting it with white in the preview window. White color shows which part of the image is selected. The spread in this case can be adjusted to the maximum value. Click OK.

After you click OK, you will see how the selection was created:

Now you can change the color of the selected image. To do this, use the function – Image – Correction – Hue / Saturation (Image – Adjustments – Hue / Saturation)

A dialog box will appear.

Immediately check the Toning option (bottom right). Now using the Hue, Saturation and Brightness options, you can adjust the color. I set the color to blue.

All. The color has changed.

It was - became:

In this tutorial, photographer Tigz Rice will show you how to change colors in a photo from a stock image with a plain white background. You can borrow from your own footage, or find a suitable image on photo stocks like iStock, Shutterstock, or DepositPhotos. You can also find a lot of useful information in this article. It is best when the clothes and accessories of the model have simple colors, as in our example.

One of the biggest design trends in 2017 is the use of contrasting colors. The popular photo stock Getty Images called it a “Color Surge” in its report. Its essence lies in the harmonious use of areas of color that stand out from the background of others, without overloading the viewer. If you're interested, here's a guide to 2017 design trends.

Tigz will show you how to extract an image so you can change the background, how to choose the right color to contrast with the model's outfit, and how to change the colors of individual elements for a harmonious composition.

Step 1

Open the selected photo in Photoshop. First of all, we need to separate the model so that we can change the background to something with more contrast. Roughly select the background with the tool Quick Selection(Quick Selection tool).

Note: After creating the selection, you need to add a layer mask.

For easier mask adjustment, invert the selection to include the model instead of the background. Just press Ctrl+Shift+I.

Step 2

Select an item Selection and mask(Select and Mask). First of all, you need to change the view mode in the properties panel.

Note: You can get acquainted with the work of the "Select and Mask" panel in this video tutorial.

From drop down menu View(view) select On white(On White). Install Opacity(Opacity) 100% to make it easier to see the result.

Translator's note: module Selection and mask available only forphotoshopCC and up. Users of older versions can use the tool Specify edge (RefineEdge) by clicking on the small arrow next to the thumbnail in the row View (view).

Step 3

If some areas remain unselected, this can be corrected using the tool Quick Selection(Quick Selection tool).

Step 4

Then we need to clean up the edges of our mask. Choose a tool Refine Radius(Refine Edge Brush) and paint over the edges around the hair, including curls that could not be selected immediately. Don't forget the rest of the areas.

Step 5

In section Edge detection(Edge Detection) check the box Smart radius(Smart Radius). This will help highlight the smallest details, especially in the hairstyle. Point value Radius will vary depending on the specific image - I used 5 px.

Step 6

Use block sliders Edge setting(Global Refinements) to adjust the selection. In my case, this was not needed, but usually the items Move Edge(Shift Edge) and Contrast(Contrast) can come in handy if you want a clearer and more realistic hairstyle.

Step 7

When the selection is ready, click on the drop-down menu in the section Conclusion(Output) and select Selection(Selection), then press OK.

Step 8

Return to the main window of Photoshop, click on the icon New adjustment layer(New Adjustment Layer) at the bottom of the panel Layers(Layers Panel) and select Color(Solid Color). Make it white for now - we'll change the fill later when we pick up the color scheme.

Clicking on OK will confirm the creation of a new layer with a mask. Don't forget to invert the mask using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + I.

Step 9

Now that our background is masked out, let's give it a color. Let's use the Adobe Color Themes panel for this. It can be found on the menu Window> Extensions>Adobe Color Themes(Window > Extensions > Adobe Color Themes).

Translator's note: If the plugin is not in the menu Extensions, you can download it from the official websiteAdobe or use the online service.

Here you can see available color schemes created by other users. We need a tab Create(Create).

Step 10

We use the color of the clothes as the basis of our scheme. With active tool Brush(Brush tool), press and hold the key alt, and then click on the hair, making it the foreground color. Then, in the Adobe Color Themes plugin, click on the middle icon below the color wheel to make the currently active color the base color.

Step 11

Then click on the dropdown menu at the top of the panel and select Triads(Triads). Instead of directly matching complementary colors, we get two additional options spaced at the same distance, which will match the model's blue outfit.

Step 12

Now that we have our color triad, let's select one of the colors and double click on it to bring it into the main panel.

Step 13

Double click on the layer Color fill(Solid Color) by opening the color palette window, then click on the base color at the bottom of the toolbar. Click OK.

One way to focus the viewer's attention on this particular balloon is to reduce the saturation of the other balloons below it. I don't want to change the actual color of the balls, only the intensity. To do this with the Color Replacement Tool, I'll change the Blending Mode in the Options Bar to Saturation:

If I wanted to completely desaturate the balloons by completely removing their color, I would set the foreground color to black, white, or any of the shades of grey, but since I want a more subtle effect, I'll just sample one of the low-saturated colors from Images. To do this, I will hold down the key to temporarily switch to the Eyedropper Tool mode and click on the desired color. I will choose a low-saturated yellow color. The color itself doesn't matter, because the Saturation blend mode doesn't change any of the original colors. It will only affect the intensity:

So, I have the foreground color set to a low-saturated yellow, the blending mode is “Saturation” (Saturation). Now I'll simply paint over the balloons, adjusting my brush size using the left and right bracket keys and changing the tolerance value in the options bar as needed. The image below shows how I paint a bright orange balloon from top to bottom:

Disadvantages of the tool: problem with the brightness of resizable objects

As I wrote at the very beginning, the Color Replacement Tool can not be used in all cases. Now I will show you this with an example.

First, I'll reset my balloon photo to its original state by pressing F12. Now let's say I want to change the color of the top single orange ball to a dark purple like some of the balls in the group:

To select a replacement color, I hold down Alt and click on the purple ball:

I set the Blending Mode in the Options Bar to Color and start painting over the orange ball to change it to dark purple. Here is the result:

Hm. The ball turned out to be purple, of course, but this color is quite similar to the colors of other purple balls, isn't it? The problem is that this color is much brighter than other purple balloons, and this is because the original color of the balloon was much brighter than the dark purple that I used as a replacement sample. The "Color" blending mode in this case does not affect the brightness of the object in any way.

Well, let's then try to apply the blending mode that affects the brightness. Of the four blending modes available, this is "Brightness" (Luminosity). I'll reset the photo to its original state by pressing F12, select this mode in the options bar, and try again to paint the ball dark purple. Result:

Well, looking at the result, we can say with confidence that it turned out to be complete nonsense. The 'Luminance' blend mode definitely made the ball darker, but it's still orange, not purple, and besides, the texture detail is almost gone, the ball looks like a flat spot.

This is the disadvantage of the "Color Replacement" tool. It's great for simple tasks where you just need to change the hue and/or saturation of a color, but if there are too many differences in brightness values ​​between the original and the new color, this tool probably won't work.

Sampling for replacement

In the options bar, directly to the right of the blend mode option, there are three small icons. Each of these icons represents a different selection of pixels to replace with the Color Replacement tool, and they work exactly the same way as they do with the Background Eraser tool. From left to right: "Continuous" (Continuous), this option is enabled by default, the next one is "Once" (Once) and the last one is "Background Swatch" . To switch between selection modes, simply click on the desired icon:

These options determine how Photoshop selects pixels to replace colors in an image. If the first option, "Continuous", is selected, Photoshop continually determines the new colors it will replace. The sample is under the moving cursor, exactly under the crosshairs. If, while moving the cursor, another color falls under the crosshairs, it becomes the target color for replacement. All pixels of that color within the cursor circle are replaced. This sampling option is the most commonly used and works best when there is a lot of color variation in the object.

The "Once" option samples the color you originally selected and the sample does not change depending on how many colors you drag the crosshairs further. This option is best if you need to replace a large area with a solid color. You can also try applying the option if you find that with the "Continuous" option, the replacement color "leaks" into nearby areas and the "Tolerance" option does not help.

The last option, Background Pattern, is rarely, if ever, used. This option replaces any color in the image that matches the background color in the color palette. This option is only useful if none of the first two options work.

Limits

This setting determines the location of the pixels to replace and works exactly the same way as the Background Eraser. The option has three options: "All pixels" (Contiguous), "Adjacent pixels" (Discontiguous) and "Select edges" (Find Edges). Of these three, you will only really use the first two:

The "Adjacent pixels" option (set by default) means that only those pixels that are adjacent directly to the cursor crosshairs will be replaced. Pixels that are separated from the pixels below the crosshairs by some other color will not be replaced, even if they are within the cursor circle and exactly match the color.

The alternative is "All Pixels". With this option, all pixels that match in color and are within the boundaries of the cursor will be replaced.

Antialiasing (Anti-Alias)
This option is enabled by default and serves to smooth the edges around replacement areas. I recommend you always keep it on.

In this tutorial, we'll learn how to use the Color Matching command to match the color of an object in one photo relative to an object in another photo. This feature appeared in Photoshop, starting with the version of Photoshop CS ( this means that you will need at least Photoshop CS to complete).

Here is an image of the model, taken by me from the catalog. The girl obviously looks very pleased, and besides, the color of her blouse is quite suitable for the colors of the green area in which she is:

original image

Like most clothes, this blouse can be made in other colors. For example, let's say it's also available in the shade shown in this photo:

Model wearing a purple blouse

The client would like you to change the color of the girl's blouse in the first photo to match the color of the blouse in the second photo, like this:

The color of the blouse in the original photo is matched from the color of the blouse in the second photo

Photoshop's Color Matching feature was created specifically for this kind of task, although it has many other uses that we'll cover in other articles. However, depending on the images you're using, Color Matching by itself doesn't always work perfectly.

Sometimes this function does what it's supposed to do, sometimes it doesn't. She often needs a little help, and as we'll see in a minute, this is one of those times. Let's start!

Step 1: Duplicate the background layer of the original image

The first thing we should always do when we start working with an image in Photoshop is to duplicate the background layer. It contains the original image information and we don't want to lose it in case we have to start over. Currently, my layers palette shows that my background is all I have:

The layers palette shows the background layer, which contains the original image information.

All you have to do to duplicate the background layer is use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + J (Win) / Command + J (Mac) . If we look at the palette again, we can see that we now have two layers - the original background on the bottom, and a copy of it, which Photoshop automatically named " Layer 1«:

The layers palette now shows the background layer, as well as a copy of the background layer above it

Now we can work safely without worrying about damaging the original.

Step 2: Select the object whose colors you want to change

Use a selection tool of your choice ("Lasso", "Pen", etc.), draw a selection around the object whose colors you want to change. I outlined the girl's blouse:

Use the selection tool of your choice to select the object whose colors you want to change

Step 3: Select a large area inside the object in the second image

Now switch to the second image and again using your favorite selection tool ( Lasso is great for this.), select a large area within the object that contains the desired color. In my case, I'll select the section of the purple blouse the girl is wearing.

We don't need to precisely outline the selection around the object at all, but we need to make the source area large enough to include as many shades as possible ( light and dark areas).

Photoshop needs to get as many shades of color as possible so that it can accurately apply the color of the original image to the object ( blouse buttons can pose some problems in certain cases, so I dragged them with the Lasso Tool while holding down the Shift key to subtract them from the selection, just to be on the safe side):

Choose a large area of ​​the blouse to include as many shades of color as possible.

Step 4: Switch Back To The Original Image

Now that we've selected the subject in the first photo and a large area inside the subject in the second photo, we can apply the Color Picker command. Before we do anything, we need to make sure our original photo is active.

So click anywhere inside the original image to select it. The Color Picker command will refer to this source image as the target.

Step 5: Activate the Color Picker

With the source image selected, go to the " Image" menu, select " Correction"And click" Match color»:

Go to Image > Adjustment > Match Color

The Match Color dialog box opens. And now I want to note that I love Photoshop. But, in all honesty, there's something about the Match Color dialog box that I don't like. It's confusing, and it shouldn't be. So we just have to sort through this confusion to get to the truth.

The Color Picker dialog box is divided into two main parts - " Target Image» top and « Image statistics» bottom. You assumed that the bottom section would be called " original image", is not it? But no, it's called Image statistics". Let's just leave the bottom part for now and focus on the top," Target Image».

Target Image is an image containing the colors we need to change. And there is no way in the dialog box to actually set the target image. Photoshop simply assigns it based on which image you had selected when you opened the Color Picker command.

That's why I first asked you to select a source image before calling the command. My original image is named "green.jpg" and we see it listed next to the word "Target" at the top of the dialog box:

In the Match Color dialog, the photo "green.jpg" is displayed as the target image

Under the heading " Target Image» section is located « Image Options”, it contains options such as: “Brightness”, “ Color Intensity"," Weakening "and" Neutralize». It would be logical to assume that since these options are grouped under " Target Image”, means they are doing something with the target image.

But they manage the original image at the bottom which is called " Image statistics". Now do you understand what I'm talking about? This dialog needs some work.

Although the dialog box itself is a little confusing, what we can do with it is quite clear. We already have " Target Image”, which we selected before running the command. So now we need to select the source image.

Step 6: Choose The Second Image As Your Source

Below, in the section Image statistics" you will see an option called " Source" with a drop-down list. Select the second image from the list to set it as the image source:

Select the second image from the "Source" drop-down list

If your " original image" contains several layers, you need to select the appropriate layer using the "Layer" option located below the "Source" option. In my case, the second image contains only one layer, the original background, so it is automatically selected.

Step 7: Tell Photoshop To Use The Selection You Made On The Images

Directly above the parameter " Source"There are two options with checkboxes next to them - "" and "". The first option tells the program that we want to use only the colors of the selected area of ​​the original image when selecting.

In other words, in my case, I only want to use the purple colors that I highlighted on the girl's blouse. If I didn't do this, it's understandable that Photoshop would ignore my selection and use the colors from the entire image. Which, of course, we don't need, so make sure you check the box for this option.

The second option tells Photoshop that we only want to color match the specific object we selected in the original image. In my case, this means that I want Photoshop to only consider the colors of the girl's blouse.

If I didn't specify this, Photoshop would take all the colors in the photo into account, and the end result wouldn't be as accurate. So make sure this option is also checked:

Highlight the options " Use Selection in Source to Calculate Color Value" And " Use Selection in Target Image to Calculate Correction” to tell the program to use only selected areas of images when matching colors.

Click the OK button to exit the dialog box and let Photoshop try to match colors for the target image based on the colors in the source image. In many cases this works fine and nothing else needs to be done.

But sometimes Photoshop fails to pick up the colors correctly. This is just one of those cases. This is what my original image looks like now ( selection remains visible and active):

Original image after using Match Color

Photoshop managed to pick up the primary colors, however, in general, something is wrong with the effects. The problem is that the blouse area has completely lost contrast. The dark areas look too light, the highlighted areas have completely disappeared. In general, everything looks unnatural. This is one of those cases where the Color Matching feature needs a little help.

I could try to adjust the brightness by moving the "Brightness" slider in the " Image Options» of the Match Color dialog box, but all I can do with it is make everything lighter or darker. I need to be able to adjust light and dark areas separately.

Step 8: Add A Levels Adjustment Layer

I'm going to use a simple Levels Adjustment Layer to darken the dark areas and lighten the light areas on the blouse. To do this, click on the icon New adjustment layer» at the bottom of the layers palette:

Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette

Then select from the "Levels" list:

Choose from the "Levels" list

Step 9: Drag The Black And White Point Sliders Towards The Center

In the dialog box that appears, you will see a large black bar graph ( looks like a mountain). It will contain three small sliders - a black slider on the left, a white one on the right, and a gray one in the middle. To darken dark areas, simply click on the black slider and drag it to the right until it is at the point where the left side of the histogram starts.

Keep an eye on the image in the document window as you move the slider so you can see what's happening with the shadows. Move the slider until you get the desired effect. Then, when you've adjusted the dark areas, click on the white slider and drag it to the left, to the point where the right side of the histogram starts.

Hello again, my dear readers. Today I would like to tell you how to replace a color in Photoshop with another one in a separate area and even in the whole picture. After all, you probably often had a desire to repaint something to see how it would look. But in order not to be mistaken, first it is better to do it on some kind of layout or on a photograph. Then you will already know how and what it looks like. Let's see how to change the color of an object to a specific one, using the example of repainting a car in the picture.

First way. Color replacement

Let's look at the simplest case, when our background is completely different from the object itself, i.e. cars.

1. So, upload a photo, picture or drawing to our editor and now go to the familiar Image menu. Next, select the item "Correction", and then already "Replace color".
   
2. A color replacement window has opened in front of us. What are we doing here? First, let's make sure that the active tool in this window is a regular eyedropper (no signs). Now just click with the left mouse button somewhere on the hood of the car.
   
3. As you can see, we have a small drawing in the window. What is colored light shows us which area will undergo the color change. Now start dragging the Hue slider. See? Some of the color starts to change as you move this tone. Do not be upset that not the whole car was painted over. We'll fix it.
   
4. To get started, hold down the left mouse button on the Scatter slider and drag it up. Just try to make sure that the car is painted over as much as possible, while the background remains untouched. In this case, there are no yellow tints in the background, which allows me to set the maximum spread to 200.
   
5. The desired object has changed almost all the color, but not completely? Again, no problem. Activate the internal tool "Pipette +" and left-click on those parts of the car where there are unpainted areas in the picture.
   
6. Voila!) As you can see, everything worked out and even our background was not damaged. And by the way, you can still move the sliders "Hue", "Saturation", "Brightness" to achieve the desired hue.
   

See. Looks like it should. And this function can be used in different areas, for example, to change the color of clothes, or to give an unusual but certain shade to vegetables or fruits. In! Try making blue watermelon. Trust me. It's easy, very interesting and useful for reinforcing.

Correction of misunderstandings

Let's look at a slightly more complicated case. Let's say I again want to change the color of the car, but a different one. As you can see, the color of the car is the same as in the background. Well? Let's do the same as above and see what we get.

But we are not doing well, the background is so similar to the color of the car that neither the "Pipette-" nor the reduction in dispersion helps. If we want to have purple, then our mountains will also be similar. What to do?

In such difficult situations, you will have to work a little with the handles. In fact, there is nothing wrong here. You just have to use the one you know. Yes Yes. With pens we erase failed painted objects or the background, thereby leaving only the object itself with a certain color, i.e. in our case a car.

Even better, before you start changing the color, duplicate the layer and perform all the actions on the created copy. And unnecessary details can be erased with ordinary ones. This will be better if you suddenly want to change the color later.

The second way. Blend Mode

Well, since we are talking about repainting a car in photoshop, I cannot but mention another good way to carry out this action. True, here you will also have to work with pens, as you will have to change and paint over everything in places. But on the other hand, we can easily replace the color in Photoshop with any other.

Let me load the same car as above.

1. We take and how we would like to paint over this machine. Well, let's say I want to see it green, then I will choose this particular color.
2. Now create a new layer by pressing the key combination SHIFT+CTRL+N. And then take a look at the layers panel. See there are blending modes? The default is normal, but you'll open the drop-down list and select "Color" (By the way, the "Hue" mode is also suitable, so you can choose it too). Great. Well done.
   
3. Now choose the size, shape and hardness of the brush, and go! We paint the car. Just be careful not to overdo it. Well, if you hurt, then correct it with an eraser, it's okay.
   
4. And now, if you want to change the color that you have built, you need to go to our again familiar “Image” menu and select “Correction” there - "Hue/Saturation". But I advise you to immediately use a simple key combination CTRL+U
   
5. Well, in the newly opened window, you can also move the hue, saturation and brightness sliders in order to change the hue. Everything is simple.
   

Well, how do you like the lesson? Was everything clear and interesting? I hope that yes. Personally, when I learned about replacing the color of an object in Adobe Photoshop, I was simply delighted. If, of course, something is not clear, then you can always clarify or ask. I will be glad to help as far as possible.

I would also advise you to look awesome photoshop video tutorial. The video tutorials are simply awesome, the course goes from easy to complex, everything is told in human language, nothing is missed and at the same time no extra “water”. Everything on the shelves. So be sure to check it out.

Well, I say goodbye to you today. I will be glad to see you in my other articles. Well, in order not to get lost, be sure to subscribe to my blog updates. I will not spam - everything is just on business, honestly. Well, you practice. See you in other lessons. Bye bye!

Sincerely, Dmitry Kostin.