In this tutorial, you'll learn how to desaturate a photo in Photoshop. I'll explain everything in so much detail that everyone can learn to desaturate in Photoshop, even those who have just opened it for the first time.
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What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Tutorial
- How to desaturate in Photoshop
- How to desaturate a color in Photoshop
- How to desaturate an image in Photoshop
- How to desaturate a photo in Photoshop
- How to do a Sin City effect in Photoshop
1. How to Desaturate in Photoshop
Step 1
Desaturation in Photoshop isn't complicated! In this section, we are going to desaturate part of an image in Photoshop. I'll use the Woman boxing photo for demonstration purposes and desaturate all the colors except the red on the boxing gloves.
Step 2
Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation to create a new hue/saturation adjustment layer and name it Desaturate.
Step 3
Double-click on this layer thumbnail and, in the Properties panel, set the Saturation to -100.
Step 4
Now set the foreground color to #000000, choose the Brush Tool (B), pick a soft brush, and brush over the boxing gloves area to reveal the red color again.
2. How to Increase the Contrast
Step 1
In this section, we are going to increase the contrast. Press D on your keyboard to reset the swatches, and X to switch them. Then, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map to create a new gradient map adjustment layer, and name it Contrast.
Step 2
Change the Blending Mode of this layer to Overlay, and set the Opacity to 75%. And that's how you desaturate an image and create a cool effect!
You Made It!
Congratulations, you have succeeded! You've learned how to desaturate in Photoshop, how to get desaturated images, and how to create a Sin City Photoshop effect. Here is our final result:
Save Time With an Action From Envato Elements
Want to know how to do a Sin City effect in Photoshop in seconds? What about quickly creating more amazing desaturated images? Check out the Ultimate Editing Photoshop Actions set over on my Envato Elements portfolio, where you can choose from various Photoshop actions, including the Sin City Photoshop action.
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