The short answer
Why use Saturation?
Cloudy days and phone cameras often give dull, muddy color. One slider brings it back, or tones it down for a muted look, without opening a full editor.
The slider scales how far each pixel sits from its own gray. 50 is a factor of 1. 0 is a factor of 0, which leaves a black-and-white photo. 100 is a factor of 2, so colors are pushed twice as far from gray. The gray is weighted for how bright each color looks, so green counts for more than blue.
Every pixel gets the same factor, so colors that are already strong, such as red clothing, skin, and logos, go over the top first and lose detail inside them. If the sky looks good but faces turn orange, the slider is too high for that photo. Above about 75 most portraits look unnatural.
Vibrance boosts dull colors more than vivid ones, which is safer for portraits and photos with one bright object. Hue Adjust changes which color things are rather than how strong it is. Selective Color can drain the color from everything except one shade you pick, the color-splash look often used on wedding photos.
Where Saturation fits
Cloudy day photos
Bring color back to a landscape shot under gray skies.
Muted aesthetic
Pull color down for a calm, desaturated Instagram grid.
Product colors
Make a product photo match the real color of the item more closely.
Start to finish
How to use Saturation
- 01Tap Choose image and pick the dull or overly colorful photo.
- 02Move Amount above 50 to add color or below 50 to remove it; 0 is black and white.
- 03Tap Apply changes, check skin and red clothing, then tap Download result.
What to expect from Saturation
| Check | What it means here |
|---|---|
| Supported input | JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, SVG and browser-supported AVIF images |
| Main controls | Amount, color, tolerance, or channel, depending on the tool |
| Output | A PNG image with the adjustment applied |
| Working limit | 50 MB and 50 megapixels per image |
Saturation tips
- Past roughly 75, skin in most portraits starts to look painted.
- Amount 0 gives a brightness-weighted black and white.
- Values around 30 give a muted, matte look.
- For portraits, Vibrance is gentler on skin.
Saturation FAQ
Something missing? Ask us.
Is 0 the same as Grayscale?
Why do faces look orange?
Does Saturation upload my file?
Is Saturation free to use?
Why did Saturation fail or look wrong?
Related tools
More in Color & Adjustments.