Photoshop just got a powerful update, particularly useful if you regularly work deeply with colors. The revamped Hue/Saturation adjustment now provides a significantly smoother way to isolate and adjust colors directly within your images.
Coming to you from Unmesh Dinda with PiXimperfect, this insightful video breaks down the notable changes introduced with Hue/Saturation 2.0. Previously, adjusting a specific color could involve tedious trial and error. For instance, changing a green object often required manually tweaking several sliders, guessing at the correct range, and hoping Photoshop correctly interpreted your intent. The updated interface eliminates this guesswork by visually representing the prominent colors in your image—no more dropdown menus, just intuitive color swatches you click on directly. When you select a swatch, Photoshop immediately reveals adjustments for hue, saturation, and lightness, dramatically simplifying the color selection process. This upgrade not only enhances precision but also significantly speeds up your workflow.
Another critical enhancement is Photoshop’s ability to automatically detect and showcase the primary colors in your photo, tailoring the adjustment panel to your specific image. Instead of generic presets, Photoshop intelligently identifies up to six dominant colors, allowing precise targeting and editing with fewer clicks. The new Hue/Saturation tool also visually displays before-and-after swatches, so you can clearly see the exact changes made to individual colors. This simple yet impactful update removes ambiguity and confusion previously caused by unclear labels and overlapping color adjustments. As Dinda highlights, you'll no longer encounter the perplexing scenario of having multiple versions of the same color—like "Magenta" and "Magenta 2"—cluttering your panel.
While this feature remains exclusive to Photoshop’s beta version, Dinda assures users that it will soon roll out widely. However, he emphasizes caution when working with beta software, given potential stability issues. Yet, the improvements are substantial enough that you might find installing the beta worthwhile. The contextual taskbar, another complementary feature, further streamlines color adjustments by creating non-destructive Hue/Saturation adjustment layers automatically, preserving your original image integrity and allowing seamless editing.
Beyond these improvements, the update introduces an expanded and clearer slider interface, making fine-tuning adjustments easier and less cumbersome. Dinda demonstrates these advantages by showing how effectively the tool handles complex selections, such as changing the colors of clothing or backgrounds with unprecedented accuracy. What previously required intricate slider manipulations now happens effortlessly, and more importantly, accurately, reflecting precisely the color changes you intend. Even seasoned users will appreciate how quickly and intuitively this tool integrates into daily editing tasks, streamlining your creative process without sacrificing control. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Dinda.
This is pretty dang useful.