How to Change Hair Color in Photoshop CS3

Photoshop CS3 is a program commonly used by graphic designers because of the many manipulation techniques that can be performed on photos and illustrations. One popular technique that can be done fairly easily in Photoshop is to change the color of a particular object within a picture, such as hair color. This one difference can drastically change the original look of a photo with only a few clicks of the mouse.

Instructions

1. 

   Open Photoshop CS3 and hit "Ctrl" + "O" to open the photo to be manipulated. Use the "Zoom Tool" at the bottom right corner of the tools box to zoom in closer to the person's hair to be changed. Hold down the "Alt" key or let go of it to zoom in and out of the picture with the "Zoom Tool," or drag and draw a box around the part of the photo you want to zoom in on with the "+" pointer.

2. 

   Select the hair to be changed by using the "Magic Wand Tool." This is the second button down on the right-hand side of the tools box. Once the tool is selected, the tolerance level can be changed at the top bar of the program. This allows users to select more or less of an area of the same color tone. While on the "Magic Wand Tool," click on the hair and parts that are the same color will be selected. Hold down the "Shift" key and click on another part of the hair to add to the selection until all parts of the hair are selected.

3. 

   Fix up what has been selected by using the "Polygonal Lasso Tool," which is under the second tab down on the left-hand side of the tools box. This tool allows users to take away spots that shouldn't be selected and add in spots that should be selected. Click around the area to be selected or deselected by holding down the "Shift" key to add and the "Alt" key to take away lassoed areas. Tweak the selection until most of the hair is selected. It doesn't have to be perfect, but the majority of the hair must be selected to look natural. A few missed, thin strands of hair won't generally make a difference once the picture is zoomed back out to regular size.

4. 

   Change the mode of the picture to CMYK. Do this by going under "Image," "Mode" and "CMYK Color" at the top bar of the program.

5. 

   Hold down the "Ctrl" + "M" keys to bring up the "Curves" window. Change the "Channel" to each of the four colors separately to add more or less of each color to the selected part of the hair. Once a color is chosen, click in the middle of the diagonal line and bring it up or down to add more or less of the color. Take away and add some of each color until the hair has changed to the desired new color. Make sure the "Preview" box is checked on in the "Curves" window so that any changes can be seen immediately.

6. 

   Click on the "Rectangular Marquee Tool" in the top left-hand side of the tools bar and click anywhere on the photo or off the sides of the photo once to deselect the hair. Click on the "Clone Stamp Tool" on the tools bar. This is the fifth tab down on the left-hand side. Use this tool to fix up any missed spots that need to be touched up. Hold down the "Alt" key and a target appears. Click once on the color to be picked up, then let go and click on the spot to be covered with that color. The brush size for the "Clone Stamp Tool" can be changed at the top bar of the program.

7. 

   Click on the "Zoom Tool" again and zoom back out to see the entire photo as a whole. Or, go under "View" and "Fit on Screen" at the top bar of the program to view the entire photo.

Tips & Warnings

• There are other ways to select objects in Photoshop CS3, as well as other ways to change the color of an object. This is just one way to perform the manipulation technique.

• This technique can be used to change hair color, but it can also change the color of any object that is selected within the photo.

• Remember that this technique should not be performed in jobs where the integrity of the designer can come into question by altering a person's natural appearance.