How to adjust color saturation levels for videos.

In all kinds of art, colors are used to emphasize different tones and convey unique moods. With video, color saturation changes how colors appear. Learn to adjust video saturation to create the look you want.

The term color saturation refers to how intense, rich, or vivid color is. It is one of the three elements of color. The other two are hue and value. It is a relative term and describes a color’s brilliance as compared to pure gray. As the video saturation increases, the colors appear to be purer; as the saturation decreases, the colors seem to be more washed-out or pale. Knowing how to control your colors can make a significant difference in the appearance of your videos.

Adjust video color saturation step-by-step in Adobe Premiere Pro.

When your project enters the post-production editing stage, one of the first things you’ll want to do is apply color correction. With your editing software, you can change the color temperature, luminance, and video saturation. Fine-tuning the saturation will help the colors you captured with your camera tell the story you’re trying to tell. See below for an example of how to adjust color saturation using video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro:

  • Set up your workspace for color correction.
  • Select the clip in the Timeline panel and apply the Fast Color Corrector.
  • In the Effect Controls panel, click the triangle to expand the Fast Color Corrector.
  • Use the Saturation control to adjust the color saturation. Move the slider to the left to desaturate or to the right to increase saturation.

Get more video tips to help you elevate your video projects and expand your creativity. Color correction is crucial, but there’s a lot more. Discover what more you can do with Premiere Pro to edit nearly any video clip with ease.