How to use Image Saturation
- Choose one or more images.
- Set Saturation from 0% to 300%. The default is 140%, a visible but natural boost.
- Pick Save as and, for lossy formats, a Quality.
- Press Apply and download the result.
What it does and when to use it
Saturation is the strength of colour. Raise it to bring life back to a dull, overcast photo, a faded print scan or product shots that look grey next to a competitor’s. Lower it for a calm, muted, film-like look, to stop a loud background from pulling the eye, or to make text over a photo easier to read.
If the photo also looks flat, try Image Contrast first, because contrast alone makes colours look richer. To change which colours appear rather than how strong they are, use Image Hue Rotate. For a single colour wash over the whole picture, use Image Tint.
How it works
The tool applies the colour matrix defined for CSS saturate() in the W3C Filter Effects specification. With s as the slider value divided by 100:
- new R = (0.213 + 0.787s)·R + (0.715 − 0.715s)·G + (0.072 − 0.072s)·B
- new G = (0.213 − 0.213s)·R + (0.715 + 0.285s)·G + (0.072 − 0.072s)·B
- new B = (0.213 − 0.213s)·R + (0.715 − 0.715s)·G + (0.072 + 0.928s)·B
At s = 1 these give back the original. At s = 0 each channel equals the weighted brightness, so the pixel turns grey. Above 1 each channel is pushed away from that grey. Results are clipped to 0–255, and alpha is unchanged. Everything runs in a background worker on your device; nothing is uploaded.
Worked examples
These values come from the tool’s own function.
| Pixel | 0% | 50% | 140% (default) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warm brown (200, 100, 50) | (118, 118, 118) | (159, 109, 84) | (233, 93, 23) |
| Sky blue (100, 150, 200) | (143, 143, 143) | (121, 146, 171) | (83, 153, 223) |
| Middle grey (128, 128, 128) | unchanged | unchanged | unchanged |
- Reviving a dull landscape at 140%. The sky-blue pixel moves from (100, 150, 200) to (83, 153, 223): the blue grows and the red falls, so the sky looks deeper.
- A muted background at 50%. The warm brown becomes (159, 109, 84), still brown but much softer.
Limits and tips
- Pure greys, black and white never change.
- Strong boosts also strengthen JPEG blocks and colour noise. Start low.
- The same setting applies to every colour; there is no per-colour control.
Frequently asked questions
What does 0% do?
Why do skin tones look orange after a boost?
Why did some colours stop changing?
Does it change brightness?
How do we know nothing is uploaded? Test it yourself on the privacy proof page.