Adjust color saturation using a Vibrance adjustment layer

Last updated on Sep 30, 2026

Use a Vibrance adjustment layer to enhance muted colors while preserving skin tones and preventing color clipping.

Vibrance provides intelligent saturation control that adapts to the existing color intensity in your image, making it ideal for enhancing photos with people or scenes containing both muted and already-saturated colors.

Context
Use a Vibrance adjustment layer when you want to boost color intensity without oversaturating already-vivid colors or affecting skin tones. This non-destructive approach preserves your original image data and allows ongoing adjustments. For uniform saturation changes across all colors regardless of their current intensity, consider using a Hue/Saturation adjustments layer instead.

Create and adjust a Vibrance layer

Ensure you have an image open in Photoshop 2023 or later with colors you want to enhance.

Select Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance, or select the Vibrance icon in the Adjustments panel.

In the Properties panel, drag the Vibrance slider to the right to enhance muted colors while protecting already-saturated colors, or drag left to reduce intensity.

Adjust the Saturation slider if you need to apply uniform saturation changes across all colors regardless of their current intensity.

Note

While you can apply Vibrance directly by selecting Image > Adjustments > Vibrance, this method permanently modifies your image pixels. Using an adjustment layer preserves your original image and lets you modify or remove the adjustment at any time.

The Vibrance adjustment layer appears in your Layers panel, where you can adjust its opacity, toggle visibility, or delete it without affecting your original image. Double-click the adjustment layer thumbnail to reopen the Properties panel and modify your settings.