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How to Select and Change Colors in Photoshop

Name: How to Select and Change Colors in Photoshop
Uploaded: 2015-10-26T06:10:55+00:00
Duration: 10 min 18 s
Channel: PHLEARN

4,845,508 views October 26, 2015 10:18

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ChannelPHLEARN

In brief

You’ll replace any color in a photo—backgrounds, clothing, or hair—using Photoshop’s Color Range and Hue/Saturation tools, without manual masking. This method works for quick edits or precise refinements, ideal for beginners and intermediate users who want clean, non-destructive color swaps.

Key steps

Open Color Range (Select > Color Range) and sample the color with the eyedropper tool.
Adjust the fuzziness slider and use the plus/minus eyedroppers to refine the selection.
Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer—your selection automatically loads as a mask.
Drag the Hue slider to change the color, then tweak Saturation for the desired effect.
Repeat for additional colors, each on a separate adjustment layer.
Alt/Option-click the layer mask to preview it in black and white for accuracy.
Paint with black on the mask to exclude areas (like lips or hair) from the change.

Questions & answers

Can I change multiple colors in one adjustment layer?

No—each color change requires its own Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

How do I avoid accidentally changing colors in unintended areas?

Use the layer mask to paint out any stray selections with a soft black brush.

Chapters

Description from the creator

▶ Download the practice files for this tutorial (free with a PHLEARN account): phlearn.com/tutorial/how-to-select-and-change-c…

Select any color in a photo and change it in Photoshop — a background, a shirt, hair, anything — using Color Range and a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. No manual masking required to get started.

We select a blue background and change it to green, then do the same with a red shirt, and finish by refining the layer mask so the color change only affects the areas you actually want.

CHAPTERS
00:00 What you'll be able to do
00:58 Selecting a color with Color Range
03:02 Changing it with a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
03:55 Selecting and changing a second color
05:27 Refining the layer mask for precise control
07:56 Before and after

THE STEPS
1. Create a new layer, then go to Select → Color Range.
2. Sample the color you want to change with the eyedropper, and use the fuzziness slider plus the plus/minus eyedroppers to fine-tune exactly what's included.
3. Go to Layer → New Adjustment Layer → Hue/Saturation — it loads your selection straight into the adjustment layer's mask.
4. Drag the Hue slider to shift the color, and adjust Saturation to taste.
5. Repeat for any other color you want to change, each on its own layer.
6. Option/Alt-click a layer mask to view it in black and white, so you can spot stray color creeping into areas you didn't intend to change.
7. Paint black on the layer mask with a soft brush to exclude any area from the color change — lips, hair, anything you want left alone.

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About this tutorial

PHLEARN published this 10:18 video tutorial on October 26, 2015. It has been watched 4,845,508 times on YouTube.

Channel: PHLEARN
Category: Education
Duration: 10:18
Published: October 26, 2015
Views: 4,845,508
Likes: 51,070