Correction is the art of restoring an image to a neutral state. It brings an image to a lifelike rendition of the scene, making it look similar to how you remember it. Common adjustments like exposure, contrast, and composition are the first steps you take to bring an image back into a neutral state.
Some photographers might not think of color saturation as part of a correction. In reality, saturation also needs correction to replicate the real-world scene. Let’s learn how to do just that in Adobe Lightroom in a few easy steps.
Why Correct Saturation?
Saturation is a measure of the intensity or vividness of a hue. Vibrant reds are said to be highly saturated, while a faded shade of pink has low saturation. Black-and-white images are totally desaturated.
When you’re looking at an image, you can start to notice the saturation of the hues. Older film styles are likely lower in saturation. Vibrant, exported JPEG images run through image-editing software often have higher saturation by comparison.
Here are a few scenarios where you might find your image needs saturation adjustments as part of the correction process:
- If you shoot in RAW, keep in mind that your image will look a bit flat by design. RAW captures more data when it saves a photo, but the image is yet to be processed or interpreted. Increasing the saturation is necessary to “correct” it to its real-world look.
- If you’re shooting scenes with challenging lighting (like shooting into the sun), your image might be saturated due to flare. Adjustments can bring this saturation back.
- Using a slightly older camera? Sensor technology has evolved significantly. The image might need a bit more of a saturation correction.
Because our perception of color is subjective and our memories of color can change, it’s easy to overdo it with the saturation slider. Many photographers think of saturation as a creative tool, more than a correction. Some of my earliest images are clearly oversaturated, with colors that look like an attempt to replicate a cartoon. But when used properly, saturation is one of the key correction tools.
Saturation is easy to correct in Adobe Lightroom. Let’s learn how.
How to Correct Saturation for an Entire Image
Like most corrections in Adobe Lightroom, a saturation adjustment is easy to apply. You’ll find the slider in the Develop module, on the Basic panel, in the Presence section.
The saturation slider is simple: pull the slider to the right to increase saturation, and pull it to the left to decrease saturation. The scale ranges from -100 to +100. Notice that at -100, you’ve effectively converted the image to a black-and-white frame.
Applying the Saturation slider isn’t the tricky part. Instead, it’s knowing how far to go without oversaturating the image. In this case, a few tricks of the trade will really benefit your edit:
- Contrast last. In my editing workflow, saturation occurs as one of the final steps in the correction process. Other sliders like Exposure and Contrast also have a knock-on effect on Saturation, so you’ll want to add it as one of the final correction steps.
- Take a step back. The best edits happen in stages. It helps to get away from your workstation and review your work later.
- Work in before-and-after view. Press Y on your keyboard in the Develop module to show a before-and-after view of your edit. Anchoring your edit back to a neutral point helps to ensure you don’t overdo the adjustments.
What Does Vibrance Do?
The visual world is sometimes difficult to describe. A great example of this is the Vibrance slider, which lives just below the Saturation slider. They’re similar, and the difference is hard to put your finger on.
Adobe’s documentation says, “The Vibrance slider adds saturation to a photo, but it does it in a smarter way than the Saturation slider.” Maybe this slider should be renamed Smart Saturation!
The Saturation slider changes the saturation of every pixel in the image, and the Vibrance slider changes the saturation of the most vibrant pixels in the image. In general, I find Vibrance to focus on the dominant hues in a frame. They can be used together, too.
Compare the image samples below to see it for yourself. Typically, I work with Vibrance instead of Saturation. It does seem to be a smarter approach to correcting saturation, as it leaves as much of the image alone as possible, but it’s also okay to use Saturation for overall correction and Vibrance for creative effects.
How to Selectively Correct Saturation for Specific Hues
So far, the examples you’ve seen adjust the saturation for an entire image. Pull the saturation slider, and all hues become more or less saturated based on the direction you’re moving the slider.
When you correct an image, some hues might need more help than others. Maybe the blue hues of an image of the ocean just didn’t appear the way you remembered them. With the help of the HSL/Color panel, you can make targeted adjustments to specific hues.
The HSL/Color panel lives in the Develop module. Scroll down to find it. You’ll notice that there’s a color swatch for each hue. Click on one to start to make a targeted adjustment.
In the example below, I used the orange saturation slider to make an adjustment. I pulled it to the left, so the orange parts of the image now have lower saturation. This targeted correction gives precise control over specific hues. Repeat this process with any other hues you wish to adjust.
Adjustments walk a careful line between correction and creative adjustments. The tutorial below has more information on the HSL panel and how you can use it for both corrections and creative edits.
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