What is saturation?

Saturation is how strong the colors in a photo are. High saturation gives deep blue skies and bright green grass, low saturation gives soft, faded colors, and no saturation at all leaves a black and white picture. A little more makes a dull photo pop. A little less gives a calm, muted look that suits moody scenes and backgrounds.

Tool description

Open an image and drag the Saturation slider. To the right the colors get stronger, to the left they fade toward gray, and all the way to the left the image is black and white. The preview updates as you drag, and the compare button shows the original next to the edit. Download the full size result as JPG, PNG, or WebP.

Features

  • One slider from black and white to extra vivid
  • The brightness stays the same while the colors change
  • Live preview with a before and after comparison, processed in your browser

How it works

Every pixel moves toward or away from the gray of the same brightness. The tool measures that brightness the way the eye sees it, in linear light, where green counts most and blue least. So a red roof doesn't get darker as it fades, and the black and white version looks as bright as the color photo. A color pushed as far as the screen can show stops there instead of clipping, so it keeps its hue rather than jumping to a neighboring one.

Tips

  • Values from 10 to 30 bring dull or hazy photos to life without looking fake.
  • Watch faces when you raise saturation, since skin turns orange quickly. Vibrance is gentler on skin tones.
  • A small negative value, around -20 to -40, gives a soft look like faded film.