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[ 049 ]MATCHING SATURATION LEVELS
Just as with contrast and luminosity, having two elements in a compos-
ite that have vastly different saturation levels can lead to an unrealistic
composite. For a visual representation of how much saturation there is
in an image, you can create a saturation map, then use a Hue/Saturation
adjustment layer to control the saturation of your elements.
Step One: Create a Selective Color adjustment layer (Layer>New Adjust-
ment Layer>Selective Color) above your Curves adjustment layer, and
name it “Saturation Map.” In the Properties panel, click on the Abso-
lute radio button. From the Colors pop-up menu, select Reds, and drag
the Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow sliders to the far left, which will result in
a value of –100% for each. Go back to the Colors pop-up menu, and
repeat this process for the Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, and Magentas.
Step Two: Next, select Whites from the Colors pop-up menu, and
move the Black slider to the far right, which will result in a value of
+100%. Repeat this step with both the Neutrals and Blacks.
Tip: Once you’ve created your saturation map, save it as a preset
(from the Properties panel’s flyout menu) so that you don’t have to
make it again the next time you need to use it.
If you’ve successfully created the saturation map, you’ll see a black-
and-white image. Anything that’s white is highly saturated, while any-
thing that’s black contains no saturation. The different levels of gray
represent various levels of saturation.
In our composite, the woman in the red dress is much brighter
than the background, indicating that she is far more saturated. For
a more realistic composite, we need the saturation levels of both the
foreground and background to be similar.