How do I remove dark lines between saturated and unsaturated areas in Photoshop?

Question

I photograph in RAW using Canon 5D Mark II and Mark III cameras. I've been adding various saturated colors to some of my portraits using Adobe Camera Raw and Photoshop. Sometimes, the border between an area I’ve saturated and the unsaturated area appears as a dark, unnatural line, which I’d like to remove. I’ve done this successfully using the Blur Tool. The problem is that the Blur Tool will not work on a new empty Layer, only on the image layer itself. Is there a method I could use that can be done on a new empty Layer?

Answer 1

Hey Peter. If I understand correctly, when two layers of different saturation levels overlap the combination creates an unnatural "dark spot". You are attempting to fix the problem using the blur tool; however, you cannot utilize the tool on an empty layer - only the layer itself.

If that is your issue, I admire your tenacity and determination to manually blur each area on a "per-image" basis. I can show you how to use the blur tool like this, but the issue you are running into can be avoided completely through the appropriate tools.

My question, is this project:

A) Editing single pictures at a time, adding and subtracting saturation levels to specific areas; and the TRANSITION between the "higher saturation" parts and "lower saturation" parts is too sudden and dramatic - creating a sharp, unnatural line?

or.

B) Multiple pictures of differing saturation levels, you are combining into a larger composition - and the problem is where the higher saturation in picture X + the lower saturation area of picture Y combine; dark colors combine to create a muddy, unnatural mix where the meetup between layers of 2 saturations mixes unnaturally?

For A, the correct answer is avoiding the blur tool completely: here is the proper workflow.

1. Drag in the image to photoshop.
2. It defaults it into a locked layer named "background". Leave that layer as it exists for now.
3. Hit "Left-Control A" to select the entire image.
4. Hit "Left-Control C" to copy the existing (locked) background layer data.
5. Hit "Left-Control V" to paste the copied image to a new layer.
6. Now there are 2 layers, unlocked layer 1 and locked background layer; both identical images.
7. Click unlocked Layer 1 to select the layer.
8. On the top toolbar, select "Layer" dropdown, hover over "New Adjustment Layer", and select "Hue/Saturation" from the slide out menu to create said Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.
9. Click OK on the window that pops up to dismiss it. Here is where it gets fun.
10. Change the saturation settings until the entire image is the MAXIMUM saturation for any given area. It should be an ugly, maximum consistent, HIGH, saturation.
11. Now, here is the key and brilliance of utilizing masks. We paint the "Mask" of the adjustment layer black ( = NO SATURATION) and the existing white mask (FULL SATURATION). Thats why the whole image is max saturation, the mask is ALL WHITE. The darker we paint the mask with the brush (in black, gray, and white), the lower the saturation in that area of the mask.
12. To do this, click the all-white "mask" box in the Layers panel. Ensure you selected the right offset white box next to the Hue/Saturation label in the layer panel.
13. Now we want a brush that add's black slowly, with a semi-large brush that has VERY soft edges. So, select the brush tool and make pure black our active color and ensure the alternative color is pure white.
14. Toward the top of the screen, your brush options appear horizontally, Third icon from the left is a representation of the brush shape, with its size below it. To the right of the icon, click the small down arrow to reveal the brush options.
15. Ensure you have a circular brush. Change its size to a larger brush and change the hardness to 5. This will give it nice soft edges, no dramatic transition between high and low saturation. Click away from the drop down on the image to close it.
16. On the top toolbar, change the "opacity" and "flow", both to 40%.
17. Now paint away on the image, painting black by tapping repeatedly on areas you DONT want saturation. As you tap, the brush leaves a darker and darker soft spot will very fuzzy, indeterminate edges.
18. You can continuously change brush size, but ensure the other settings remain until the picture appears how you want. If you overdo it, you can press the "X" key to flip colors with your alternative color, which should be white to add saturation back.
19. Remember, by whitening dark areas of the mask you deem "not saturated enough"... more of the "saturation" will peak through. This should be a slow process - if saturations are changing too quickly or dramatically with each click of the brush, lower the brushes effectiveness per-click by changing flow and opacity to 20% each. This translates to less dramatic moves toward the selected color for every click, as the "paint flow" and opacity of the mark is now lower.

While that was wordy, this is the correct method for this objective and a better alternative to the tedious work of the blur tool. And its non-destructive.

If I misunderstood the issue, this workflow obviously won't work. But if you would like to clarify, I'll provide the answer you need. Hope this helps. -Matt