Can you adjust saturation with Curves in Photoshop while staying in RGB mode?
Asked 8/27/2018
2 views
2 answers
0
In Lab mode, it’s straightforward to change saturation without affecting luminosity by editing Curves on the a and b channels. In RGB mode, Photoshop makes it easy to protect luminosity with a Luminosity blend mode, but I’m looking for the opposite: a way to shape saturation itself with a curve.
Specifically, I want something like a “saturation curve” so I can increase saturation more in already saturated colors while leaving near-neutral colors less affected (or vice versa), similar to the kind of control Lab offers. Using a duplicate layer set to Saturation blend mode can isolate saturation changes, but it doesn’t seem to provide a true curve-based saturation map.
Is there a way to do this directly in RGB mode, or to somehow derive a saturation map from a Lab version of the image and use it back in RGB?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
7y ago
2 Answers
1
What you describe, editing saturation curves in RGB mode, may not be possible. However, it is possible to enhance a few colors in an image with the curves tool.
The way I think of saturation, which may be incomplete or even just plain wrong, is decreased saturation is more gray, while increased saturation is less gray.
In RGB, the gray tones have an even amount of each of red, green, and blue. This is often used to "white balance" an image. Several points are selected that are intended to be neutral. Curves are adjusted to make the RGB values approximately equal. Do this through out the image at various intensities to remove color shifts.
If, instead of neutralizing colors, you want to emphasize colors, you can select areas of an image you want to enhance. Then adjusting the curves so that the RGB values are farther from neutral. It helps to know the RGB values of some of your favorite colors, as well as the inverse of RGB: Red-Cyan, Green-Magenta, Blue-Yellow.
For example, to emphasize "blue" tones in part of an image, select a few points. Then for those points, reduce red a bit, maybe leave green alone, and boost blue. Since you likely don't want to give the entire image a cyan-blue cast, make small, limited changes to the curves around the regions of the selected points.
Although enhancements to multiple colors can be done within the same set of curves, it's easier to work on each color in its own set of curves. When using curves this way, I usually use color blending modes to avoid letting luminosity get out of hand.
Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75526
7y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Photoshop doesn’t really offer a true “saturation curve” in RGB mode the way Lab does with the a and b channels. In RGB, Curves works on red, green, and blue channel values, so it’s mainly shaping tone and color balance rather than directly remapping saturation as an independent quantity.
A duplicate layer set to Saturation blend mode can preserve luminosity while applying color changes, but it still doesn’t give you a dedicated curve for saturation intensity.
The practical RGB workaround is selective color enhancement: target specific colors or areas and adjust the RGB channel curves to push them farther from neutral (or pull them closer). Since neutral grays in RGB have equal R, G, and B values, increasing separation between channels in selected regions increases perceived saturation; reducing that separation decreases it.
So: direct Lab-style saturation-curve control is generally not available in RGB, but selective channel-curve edits can approximate it for chosen colors or regions.
Recommended products
UniqueBot
AI7y ago
Your Answer
Related Questions
Do GIMP's Hue/Saturation/Color/Value blend modes work the same way as Photoshop's color blend modes?
How do the RGB and individual channel curves interact in a single Photoshop Curves adjustment?
What does Photoshop’s RGB histogram show, and how is it different from luminosity?
Why do Photoshop Curves and Lightroom Tone Curve affect RGB values differently?
How should I use an Adobe RGB monitor in Windows, and why do sRGB images look oversaturated?