How to Use the Range and Feather Sliders of a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer in Photoshop

If you do much work in Photoshop, you've no doubt used a Hue/Saturation/Lightness (HSL) layer before, but within that adjustment is a powerful tool for refining how the effect is applied. Check out this helpful tutorial that will show you how to get the most out of HSL adjustments. 

Coming to you from f64 Academy, this tutorial shows you how the range and feather sliders of the HSL adjustment work in Photoshop. Whereas HSL layers are a powerful way to affect color in your images, the tapering of the effect can often be too stark or its application simply too focused, which is where these sliders come in handy. They're not just useful for landscapes either. If I have a headshot client with red skin, I'll sample the redness, then drag the hue slider all the way to the left or right so the area is now something ridiculous like neon green. This makes it super easy to see exactly what Photoshop is selecting. From there, I can use the range slider to zero in on exactly the combination of red and purple I want to correct in the skin, then use the feather sliders to taper it nicely. They're highly useful for targeting the exact colors you want and making the effect look natural.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

Log in or register to post comments