PUBLICATION CENTER

Q: Is there an easy yet accurate way to change colors on things, say from yellow to blue?

A: Yes, using the Replace Color command.

By Kim Herrera

If you haven't played with this feature yet, you're going to love it. Do your clients often ask you to change the color of their clothes? This is the fastest, most accurate way to quickly change out colors.

Photoshop does all the hard work of isolating the color range you click on. For this feature I will be using a brightly colored flower basket to show you how smoothly this feature works.

1. Open an image (CMYK or RGB) and go to the layer on which you want to change the colors.

2. Go to Image>Adjustments>Replace Color…

3. Click on the desired color target of your image. For instance, I chose the red bloom here. Note: You can also click the black & white mask area to add or use the Fuzziness slider.

4. Now click on the Result color patch in the lower window, it will open the Color Picker window.

Choose the desired replacement color. For my example I chose a shade of blue. You will see instant results in your image. Don't worry about some of the original colors not changing; this is a simple selection adjustment to be handled next. Just get the color you want dialed in.

5. Now to clean up the selected area… You can use the Add to Sample dropper to add to the selection or the Subtract from Sample dropper to deselect from the target area selection. The Fuzziness will change accordingly. You can Zoom in and out of your image during this part for a more accurate view. For my sample I clicked in the center and outer edges of my blooms.

Voila! Blue flowers!

Kim Herrera is the color management expert for Logan Photography at Studio Exchange, Santa Ana, Calif., and runs KCH Digital, a digital artistry, education, and consultancy firm.