Understanding how colors interact within an image can make a profound difference in how it’s perceived. Color adjustments can separate elements, guide the viewer’s focus, and even bring a certain “depth” to your photos.
Coming to you from Blake Rudis of f64 Academy, this enlightening video explains how selective color adjustments in Photoshop go far beyond basic editing. Rudis introduces a key technique: manipulating the Selective Color Adjustment Layer to add depth and focus. Unlike the old, clichéd use of selective color—where a single color is highlighted on a black-and-white background—Rudis shows that selective color adjustments allow you to refine each hue within your image. With this tool, you can bring out different colors in the highlights, midtones, and shadows without saturating the entire image. Rudis explains how a slight shift in temperature can make colors recede or pop, creating a natural “push and pull” effect.
Rudis breaks down an essential aspect of this tool: the difference between “Relative” and “Absolute” adjustments. In Photoshop’s selective color tool, “Relative” makes subtle changes, while “Absolute” provides more intense shifts. By toggling between the two, you can control how drastic or mild each adjustment appears. For example, if you’re working with red tones, adding cyan to that red will mute it, creating a cooler effect. This subtle transformation can lead to more natural-looking images, especially when you want to prevent certain areas from looking overly saturated.
The video also dives into color theory, focusing on complementary and analogous colors. By understanding the relationships between colors on the digital color wheel, you can create a more balanced image. If your reds feel too intense, Rudis suggests reducing cyan in the image to bring a controlled vibrancy to the red without oversaturation. He even demonstrates how adding a touch of black can intensify colors without the artificial brightness that often comes from simply boosting saturation. This precise control can make a world of difference, particularly in complex scenes with multiple colors that need to coexist harmoniously. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Rudis.
