How to Use Photoshop Replace Color For Creative Editing

How to Use Photoshop Replace Color for Creative Editing? If you are looking for an answer to this question, keep reading as we will take through the steps you need to follow to accomplish this feat.

Colors are an important aspect of any art, photo, or design piece. Sometimes you may feel like a particular color just doesn't belong and you want to recolor it. 

You can do this easily in Photoshop, without manually erasing or recoloring anything.

There is a feature that Photoshop called Replace Color. It's a quick way to change colors if you feel something needs to be changed. It should also only take you about a minute once you figure out how to use it.

Here's how to use Photoshop's Replace Color feature.

How to use Replace Color

First, you'll want the image opened with the color you want to replace. In this example, I will be using the design of a palm tree which I would like to make purple.

With the image open, go to Image > Adjustments > Replace Color. A window will appear where you can start using this feature.

Click on the part of your image where the color you want to replace is located. The chosen color will appear in the top right box labeled Color.

Now click on the bottom right box labeled Result. Here you can choose the color in which you want to change the original color.

You can also change the hue, saturation, and lightness of the color. When you're happy with the color, click OK.

Now I want to change the palm fronds to a more neon teal color. So, I'm going to do the same method as before, but this time choose leaves as the color.

With the Blur level set as it was, however, Photoshop didn't pick up all the green in the leaves.

the Blur will add or remove parts of the color selection depending on the level it is set to. The higher it is, the more hues it will take in relation to the selected color.

So I increased the value and now all the leaves have the color I wanted.

When to Use Photoshop's Replace Color Feature.

There are times when using Replace Color will be easier than others. It's a great tool to use in some cases, but in others, it can make your image look messy, and those are times when it might be best to override a color manually.

For example, this feature works less well with real photos. In this image of a surfer, let's say you wanted to change the color of his suit to a greener look.

Well, there are already a lot of navy/black tints in this photo, so Replace Color will also change those tints, in places you don't want.

Even reducing the blur level will still change some colors that you might not want to change. The best time to use Replace Color is when you have very solid colors, like in a graphic design or illustration.

However, you can still achieve some cool effects using Replace Color in real photos, so if you want a more stylized edit, don't entirely eliminate its potential. 

The downside is that you won't have as much control over how the colors are applied to the photo, so the effect can be haphazard.

Another option, if you want more control over color replacement, is to use another feature called Color Replacement Tool.

Using the Color Replacement Tool.

This is an entirely different tool from Replace Color, and you can find it under the Brush Tool if you right-click it.

With this tool, you can replace any color you want with the brush. The color you will replace the original colors with will be the foreground color you see at the bottom of your toolbar. You can click on this color to change it if you want.

You will also see a crosshair in the middle of your brush cursor. This is how Photoshop knows what color you want to replace. So be sure to only keep this reticle in the color you are replacing. 

If you move it to a different color, Photoshop will save that color as the one to replace it instead.

However, you don't have to worry about the size of your brush, as it will only paint over the color registered by the reticle. 

If you want Photoshop to only save a color once instead of continuously, you can choose the Sampling: Once option bar, which looks like an eyedropper with an x ​​at the end.

Again, like the Blur setting in Replace Color, you can change the Tolerance setting in Photoshop to allow the color to shift to a wider range of hues based on the saved color.

If you need more precision for your color replacement, this is the best tool to use, as it gives you full control over which color to change.

Tips for Using Photoshop's Replace Color Feature.

There are some aspects of this tool that can be confusing at first. For example, it doesn't really work with black or white tints. 

Photoshop doesn't count them as true "colors", so you can't override a non-color.

There are ways to change black to another color, but they involve many workarounds that don't use Replace Color. 

So when using this feature make sure you are replacing an actual color and not just black or white.

Also keep in mind that going from a dark color to a light color can make the image look a little off, especially if you are editing an actual photo.

This will likely make your image look washed out, as Photoshop tries to adapt the darker color to make it brighter.