In this Photoshop tutorial, Colin Smith shows you how to quickly change color of anything in photo using Photoshop. You can instantly change colors on very complex shapes without any selections using this neat trick. I suggest watching the video first and then using this written text as a reference to come back to, so you don’t have to take notes.
Let’s start with this design I made for the cover of Photoshop User Magazine.
I shot the original photo in my studio with model Llana Barron and used my Ibanez Jem guitar. The rest of it was a little 3D and compositing in Photoshop. made this for a tutorial that I did in the magazine. If I have enough people ask, maybe I’ll redo the tutorial here. Anyway.. on with the color change tut.
We are going to change the color of the skirt and text, so using the rectangular marquee tool, make a selection across the bottom part of the image. No point in changing the top and adding unnecessary work.
In the layer’s panel, choose the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
If we change the hue, the color will change in the entire image. We only want to change the skirt right now and make it blue.
As you can see, it would take a while to cut it out, but we don’t need to. Choose the picker tool (The little finger with the arrows) 
To choose the color, click on the purple of the skirt. Now move the hue slider and notice that only the purple changes. Neat huh?
Tip: Hold Down Ctrl/Cmd and drag on the color and you can change it on screen.
For some of you, this is all you need, see ya!. j/k, stick around, it gets better.
If we want to change more than one color, we don’t have to redo anything. With Hue/Satch still open, choose the finger again and this time click on the orange of the text. (Could you imagine trying to select that AND the reflections too? Let’s make it blue. Drag all the way to the Right on Hue. Notice its all weird? This is because Photoshop didn’t select all the orange. This is the 2nd thing for you to learn here, how to refine the color selection.
At the bottom of Hue/Saturation os a color scale with color stops on it. This is the selected color range. We need to increase this range to cover a larger range of oranges.
Move the sliders; both the triangles and the inner sliders and you will see a perfect selection and a nice blue now displaying.
Sweet! But her hands look like they have blue rubber gloves on. This takes us to the 3rd thing, how to fix over-selections.
It’s actually really easy. Every adjustment layer has a built-in mask. As you can see on the mask, the top is black and the bottom is white. Where the mask is black, it hides that current layer, where its white, it shows it. All we need to do is add black to the areas we don’t want changed.
Make sure the layer mask is selected by clicking on it.
Choose the brush tool (B key)
Select black as the foreground color.
Paint over the areas you want to protect and you will see the original colors come back. If you go over the lines, paint with white, to bring back the adjusted color.
Just for fun, I painted the mask over the fish to bring back their original color. I have nothing against blue fish, but orange goldfish look better I think.
And there you have it. Nice and simple, but a huge time-saver.
I really hope you enjoyed this week’s tutorial here at PhotoshopCAFE.
Thanks,
Colin
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https://photoshopcafe.com is best wapsites for all students thank you sir
Nice tutorial
I play the piano, though not very well….
I play the rhythm guitar with a local jam group and am learning how to play the recorder with a little local ensemble group. Been a member of your Cafe since the beginning and always learn something new! Keep up the good work!
Thanks for sticking around at the CAFE! I appreciate it
been playing guitar for 53 years
Hey Colin, I have played drums for over 53 years. I really enjoy your tutorials very much. Every time I watch one, I learn something. Thanks for passing on your knowledge about Photoshop.
I play bass. Was professional for 10 years many years ago. Now just a hobby.
Good tip. I play the piano and keyboard
I play the guitar. Really liked this tutorial.
Thanks for sharing this tutorial, Colin. You do a great job at taking the mystery out of Photoshop. I have owned and played guitars since I was about 9.
Loved the tutorial, can you get the magazine? I live in the UK
I tried to play the ukulele but I damaged the nerves in the end of my forefinger on my left hand by pressing too hard on the strings on the fret. End of stringed instrument playing. So now I am learning to play the lowly recorder.
Great lesson about changing colour of objects. I have struggled with this in the past, as per you changing the yellow to blue. Now I know what to do, so thank you. Keep up the good work.
Thanks Colin, unfortunately I only play a gfood bridge 🙂
Many thanks. Always enjoy and learn from your tutorials.
This is something I need to do on a regular basis. Thanks for the easy tips! I play the saxophone.
I wish I could play piano but all I play is my iPod. Love music, love your tutorials. You make the difficult seem so easy.
Kudos to you, Colin!!!! Another fun and easy doing tutorial. I don’t play any instrument but love music and have created 3 albums with rhythms from all over the world. I would love to hear some flamenco guitar from you at the end of your tutorial. It would be fun. WHAT DO YOU THINK GUYS?!?!?!?
This is a great color changing tip, thank you! I’ve tried the guitar and piano but stopped taking lessons.
Started with trumpet at age 10, then added organ and piano in middle school and guitars (acoustic, electric, bass and dobro) in college. Picked up harmonica, recorder and drums along the way.
Flute and Keyboard / Piano / Organ
I used to play the trumpet in my high school marching band. Many years ago! Thanks for the tutorial.
Good tip! I’ll have to try it. BTW, I’m a guitar player – acoustic and electric.
The tip that you can change two colors at once was definitely new to me. I have played the piano, but don’t have one currently and miss it when I need an emotional release.
Piano is my main instrument! 🙂
I had saved this tutorial for a later date. Just today I tried to change a color on my portretphoto on FB to match with the backgroundphoto. Then I decided to see your tutorial. That made it a lot easier to match the color of my vest to match perfectly.
Coincidence?
Play the ukulele….