Use Photoshop to Change the Color of Objects in Your Photos

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Photoshop is a powerful tool that can be used to do pretty much anything in a picture. Photoshop has is the power to change the color of objects in a photograph without harming the natural texture. Today, I will teach you how to easily change the color of part of your image while retaining the existing colors on the rest of it. If you want the easiest way to change colors, try the MCP Inspire actions (the color changer actions make this super fast).

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If you want to try this yourself, here’s some quick keys that will help you:

1: “Q” enables the quick mask mode. You paint the red with the brush tool and when you are done hit “Q” again to turn the mode off

2: To make a straight line from one point to the other, hold the shift key down and click the point you want to end with. Photoshop will create a straight line from the initial point to the last point. This is very useful when using the lasso tool.

3: Hold the space-bar to move the image around.

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Let’s get started:

I have a picture that is unedited but the bride asked if the car could be another color.

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With the image loaded, I first duplicate the layer. With the duplicate layer selected, press the “Q”key to enable the “Quick Mask” Mode. Using the brush tool paint the item you want to change. You don’t have to be perfect because we are going to refine it later.

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After you paint the part you want to change, hit the “Q” key to exit quick mask mode and the OUTSIDE of the area is now selected.

 

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Next, Click Select>Inverse or click key Shift + CTRL + I: PC or Shift+ Command + I: Mac, to reverse your selection. Now the truck is selected.

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Since the car is now selected we want to establish this as a mask. Before we do this we want all the color changing in its own group. Select the “New Group” Icon in the layer window then click the Mask icon in the same bar. This creates a group that only edits the car.

 

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Now we can change the color. With the group selected, navigate to the Adjustment the left and click the “Hue and Saturation” tab. Use the slider to alter the color to your liking. You can also adjust the brightness and saturation of the color in the same box.

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And watch the car change colors.

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Once you have found the color you want and are satisfied, click on the layer mask box and paint on or off areas as needed. This will take some finessing to change the small details.

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Once satisfied, I save the image as a PSD file then flatten the layers and apply my favorite MCP actions to edit it further.

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You can use this technique to accomplish many new looks. You will find that the “Photo stalkers” will be trying to find the purple wall and it doesn’t exist. Use this info to your advantage marketing wise. Set yourself apart with your own rendition of the same locations that others have.

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This color changing technique also works well to take out some yellow in teeth. Do all of the above but instead of adding color, use the saturation and take color out. It will not make a pearly set of “Choppers” but the yellow and coffee stains will go away and it is more visually appealing.

 

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*Yes I will admit that the yellow toothed fine looking fellow is myself. To my defense I drink Russian Tea in the morning and this shoot was at 9am. As for my 5 o’clock shadow, it actually is a 9 o’clock am. Rich Reierson, the photographer and author of this post can be found on Facebook.

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