Vibrance

Note: Back in the “darkroom ages”, it was very difficult to adjust the contrast, saturation, or vibrance of photochemical-based color prints. There were limited variations in the contrast of available color papers brands and types. The ability to adjust the contrast, vibrance, and saturation of digital images is a blessing—and a curse. I witness many photographers who greatly oversaturate their images. Over saturation feeds the human brain’s desire for bright, shiny things. Unfortunately, it also destroys many of the more subtle colors and tones that can make color photographs truly beautiful. I use Vibrance to enhance the saturation of my images, but very sparingly. I use the Vibrance/Saturation adjustment layer to accomplish this, but I rarely touch the Saturation slider.

Vibrance affects the less saturated tones in the image, whereas Saturation adjusts all the tones—already saturated or not. Minimal increase of vibrance can enhance your images without destroying the more understated colors. I usually keep my vibrance adjustments in the +10 to -10 range on the Vibrance slider. I almost never touch the Saturation slider.

Setting the Image's Vibrance Level

The Vibrance Dialog Box.

Go Layer, New Adjustment Layer, Vibrance.

Make sure the Mode is set to Normal.

Setting the image's Vibrance level is the last step in the color correction routine.

It is difficult to adjust Vibrance or Saturation with Curves, so we use the Vibrance adjustment. It is important to be conservative in your use of the Vibrance adjustment to avoid changing the previously set white point, black point, mid tone point, 1/4 & 3/4 tone points, and individual channel adjustments. We do not want to undo the good we have done.

New Saturation Adjustment Layer

Adjust Vibrance

Visually adjust the vibrance until it appears realistic.

The Vibrance adjustment works with a scale that goes from -100 to +100. Unfortunately, these numbers are out of context with ink percentage or RGB information. This is a visual adjustment, and it is the only step int the Tone system that has no relation to the RGB values. That means techniques like the Kenly 3•6•9 rule won’t work as well—though I still typically limit my adjustment range from +10 to -10 on the slider scale. You can check and uncheck the Preview eye icon to see the effects of your Vibrance adjustment. It is easy to over saturate your images with Vibrance or Saturation, so use caution! When in doubt, leave Vibrance and Saturation alone.

Vibrance/Saturation Dialog Box