Increasing Saturation Using a Layer Mask

Traditional methods of increasing saturation increases saturation of the whole image. By using a layer mask, neutral areas such as rocks, cement and water will say neutral while the other areas are saturated.

1. Open the image for editing.

2. Duplicate the current layer (Ctrl+J).

3. With the top layer selected, use the "Hue/Saturation" tool (Ctrl+U) to increase the "Saturation".

4. Use the "Calculations" tool (Image> Calculations) to apply the following properties:

Source 1: filename
Layer: Merged
Channel: Grey
Invert: Uncheckmarked

Source 2: filename
Layer: Background
Channel: RGB
Invert: Uncheckmarked

Blending: Difference
Opacity: 100%
Mask: Uncheckmarked

Result: New Channel

Click OK.

5. Add a layer mask (Layer> Add Layer Mask> Reveal All) to the current layer.

6. With the layer mask selected, use the "Apply Image" to apply the following properties:

Source: Filename
Layer: Merged
Channel: Alpha 1
Invert: Uncheckmarked
Blending: Normal
Opacity: 100%

Click OK.

7. Apply an "Auto Levels" (Ctrl+Shift+L) to the layer mask.

Increasing Saturation Using a Layer Mask Tutorial: Final Result

8. To reduce the amount of saturation, reduce the opacity of the top layer. Rollover the image on the left of this step to see the original image before this technique was applied.