How to Change Color With the Magic Wand Tool in Photoshop

Select variations on a single color with the "Magic Wand."

Photoshop's "Magic Wand" is the appropriate tool to use when you are making a selection comprised of specific colors and tones. When you want to change a color in an image, you will first select it with the "Magic Wand," then adjust it using "Hue and Saturation" or fill the selection with color. Correctly setting the "Tolerance" level of the "Magic Wand" is the key to achieving the results you want. "Tolerance" dictates how many shades the tool will select based on the initial color you chose.

Instructions

1. Open your image in Adobe Photoshop.

2. Click and hold the "Quick Selection" tool to reveal the "Magic Wand."

3. Go to the "Options" bar, and adjust the "Tolerance" setting. A higher setting will select more tones, while a lower setting limits the number of colors selected. The default setting is "32."To select only one color, set the "Tolerance" value to "0."

4. Choose whether you want to select "Contiguous" pixels. When your check this option, the tool will only select neighboring pixels. Unchecking the "Contiguous" option means the tool will select similar colors from all parts of the image.

5. Click with the "Magic Wand" on a color in the image to select it. Hold down "Shift" and click to add more pixels to the selection. Clicking while holding down "Alt" deselects colors. Work with the tool until the selection is as accurate as possible.

6. Create a new adjustment layer by clicking the black and white circular button at the bottom of the layers panel, then choose "Hue/Saturation" from the pop-up menu.

7. Choose "Window," then "Adjustments" to display the panel.

8. Move the "Hue" slider to change the color tone, and adjust the "Saturation" slider to increase or decrease the color's intensity. Click the "Colorize" option to remove the existing color, and tint the photo using the "Hue and Saturation" settings.

Tips & Warnings

• Experiment with the "Magic Wand" tool's "Tolerance" by clicking in the image once. If the selection is too limited, deselect and increase the "Tolerance" value.

• After selecting with the "Magic Wand," go to "Select," "Modify" and choose "Feather." Enter a pixel radius of between two and five in the dialog box to soften the selection edges.

• Alternatively, you could create a new layer and fill the selection with solid color by choosing "Edit" and "Fill." Then adjust the layers opacity and blending mode to test different effects.

References

• Adobe Photoshop CS5: Select with the Magic Wand Tool
• Photoshop Essentials:Photoshop Selections: The Magic Wand Tool; Steve Patterson
• Peachpit.com: Using the Magic Wand Tool in Adobe Photoshop CS5; Elaine Weinmann and Peter Lourekas
• Adobe Photoshop CS5: Adjust Hue and Saturation
• Adobe Photoshop CS5: Fill a Selection or Layer with Color