Well, it's October 2023, and Adobe have released an update to Lightroom
along with a corresponding update to Camera Raw, and amongst all the new
features, there's one in particular that makes it so much easier to target
and manipulate colors, and that's Point Color.
And that's exactly what I want to show you in this video.
Okay, so here in Lightroom, I have a file open
consisting of five squares with five different values of blue.
Now, if I wanted to adjust the color in some way,
we've got the color mixer that has been around for quite some time.
I can adjust the hue saturation and luminance of colors within the image.
The trouble is, though, when I drag the Blue slider
as an example, I'm affecting all the squares.
What if I wanted to adjust just one of them ...
say the one in the middle?
I'll double click on the word hue to reset it.
But now I'll go to the target adjustment tool.
Click on it and then position it on the middle square.
I can then press down and drag left and right to alter the hue
saturation or luminance, depending on which section I'm in.
The problem, though, is that this still affecting the other squares.
So I'll reset all of this by holding down the option key on Mac
or all key on Windows and clicking on Reset Mixer.
And instead I'll go to the new Point color section.
In here I'll use the sample spot color tool by clicking on it
and then position it over the middle square and then press down.
The color directly underneath the spot color tool is
then sampled and appears in here.
Now I can drag the hue saturation
and luminance sliders to alter the blue.
However, the same problem still exists
in that all of the other squares are still being affected.
But this is where the power of point color really shines.
I'll double click on the words hue shift to reset that slider
and then I'll come down to this area here
where we have the range slider, which by default is set at 50.
This slider ranges from 0 to 100
and if I drag to the left, it reduces the range of colors being affected.
And if I go to the right, it increases the range of colors being affected.
I'm going to drag it all the way to the left to zero.
Now, underneath this we have the Visualize range checkbox.
If I tick the checkbox to turn it on, we can see what colors have been targeted
and what would be affected when we use the sliders.
Any areas that are now gray and desaturated won't be affected.
And any areas that are still in color will be.
So I need to reduce the range even more in this case
so that I only affect the middle square and no others.
I'll click here to open up even more options
where we now have access to the hue range, saturation range and luminance range.
Any colors within this area are ones that will be adjusted and to a lesser
extent, colors that fall into these areas here on either side.
So to reduce the range of colors,
I could drag the side markers inwards.
And as I do notice how the far right square has now
become desaturated, meaning it won't be affected.
It's now outside of the affected range.
I can make this center area even smaller
by dragging the sides inwards And then bring in the outer markers too.
And look how now I've really reduced the range of colors
so that the only one I'm going to affect is the middle one.
The one that I wanted.
Now, that's all set.
I'll turn off the Visualize range to return to the full color view,
and then I can use the hue
saturation and luminance sliders to alter the middle square.
But notice how none of the others are being affected.
Also notice here that the original color is on the left
and we see the change was made on the right.
I can also open up this section here
where we can click and drag to make changes rather than using sliders.
Left and right to alter the hue.
And up and down to alter the saturation
I can also hold down the command key on Mac or control key on Windows to keep
the adjustment only affecting the hue when I drag left and right
and I can
also hold down the shift key when dragging up and down
to only affect the saturation.
This section on the right hand side I can use to alter the luminance
so down to darken and up to lighten.
Also as I move these areas around notice
how the corresponding slider is moving below.
So now let's put all of this into practice On this image here let's just say that
I want the grass to be a bit more well, grass
like a bit more green and vibrant.
If I use the mixer and drag the green slider,
you can see it doesn't just affect the grass.
So that's not going to work.
Instead, I'll use point color.
I'll grab the sample spot color tool and click on an area of grass to sample it.
Then I'll turn on the Visualize range checkbox
to see what colors are currently being targeted.
And we can see straight away it's more than the grass.
So I need to reduce the range further.
I'll drag the range slider all the way to the left
and you can see a visual representation of how that is reducing the range here.
Now I have reduced the range, but I do need to reduce it even further.
So I'll drag in the markers on the hue range slider.
That's definitely reduced it some more but I need to remove the dark greens
from the range too, so I'll use the luminance range
and drag that in a touch too.
Perfect.
I'll turn off the Visualize range checkbox and then use the hue
saturation and luminance sliders to alter the grass.
And there we go.
Before and after.
Now, this portrait here I've shown before how I'll reduce the reddening on his face
and used a hue saturation adjustment layer, a mask and a brush.
And that worked a treat.
But there were quite a few steps involved.
But with point color, I can do it so much easier.
I'll zoom in and then with the sample spot color tool, I'll sample
an area of red skin.
I'll turn on the Visualize range checkbox
and then drag the range slider over to the left
to reduce the range of colors.
I'll also adjust the hue range.
And there we go.
The only areas now in color are the areas of reds skin.
The areas I want to alter.
So I turn off the visualize range checkbox
and then just
use the hue shift to remove the reddening.
Done.
And here’s before and after, before and after.
Now, something else that makes point color even more powerful
is that we can use it within the masking section.
I'll just reset this by holding down the option key
on Mac or Alt key on windows and clicking on reset point color.
I'll then go to the masking section.
I'll choose a brush.
And let's just say for whatever reason, I only want to reduce the red
on this side of the man's face.
Then I'll use the sample spot color tool
and sample the reds skin on that side.
I'll turn on the visualized range checkbox,
drag the range slider all the way to the left and also the hue range.
But look how the only area being affected
is the area within the mask I created with the brush.
All right.
Turn off the Visualize range.
Then just adjust the hue.
And the reddening is gone.
So powerful and so easy.
Now I'm going to be covering this and a lot more in the two classes
that I'm presenting for the Photoshop Virtual Summit five
coming up on October 30th through November 3rd.
That's five days with 20 instructors and 40 classes
that you can watch completely for free.
You just need to grab a free pass using this link
that I've included in the description of this video.
And then you're good to go.
Right. That's me. I'm done.
So as always, I'd really appreciate a like if you've got something from this video
and if you haven't already, click on subscribe
that should just say follow, so you don't miss any of the new content
I'm working on.
But for now, like I said, that's me. I'm done.
I'll catch you in the next video.