Photoshop Tutorial : Using the Sponge Tool to Adjust Saturation

By Jennifer | Feb 15 2007 |

In this tutorial, we’ll look at how to increase the saturation in selected parts of an image. When you change the saturation of a color, you adjust its strength or purity. The Sponge tool is useful for making subtle saturation changes to specific areas of an image.

I’m using an image of a bunch of roses on a wooden table. It is a slightly dull (in terms of colour) image of some red and pink flowers.

1. Select the Sponge tool (), hidden under the Dodge tool ().

2. On the tool options bar, do the following:

Select a large, very soft brush, from the Brush pop-up palette.
Choose Mode > Saturate. (Saturate increases the intensity of a colour, Desaturate decreases the intensity of a colour
For Flow , enter 50% for starters – if the changes are happening too rapidly, then decrease the flow.

3. Drag the sponge back and forth over an area of the image. The more you drag over an area, the more saturated the color becomes. In the image, I’m using the petals are starting to look much more colourful.