d) Matching Colours

Colour Matching in Photoshop

In this lesson, you’ll explore how to match colours between objects and images to create seamless and convincing results. This is a practical skill used in product photography, advertising, and digital art to ensure that elements from different sources look like they belong together.

You’ll review two approaches:

Colour Matching Objects – changing the colour of one object so it matches another.
Colour Matching Images – balancing tones between two different photos so they blend more naturally.

Your Task:

Follow along with the tutorials to practice each method.
Save your before and after results.
You’ll combine your work into a single creative poster that includes captions explaining your choices, plus a screenshot of your Layers Panel to show your process.

This is your chance to be both technical and creative — not only learning the tools, but also designing something visually striking.

Tutorial Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3jlCq4xX8Y

Images -https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ajq75sC0XR5AtAcjcg25uDPeqwuTEeOy?usp=drive_link

Tutorial Link - https://phlearn.com/tutorial/how-to-color-match-objects-in-photoshop/

Images - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ajq75sC0XR5AtAcjcg25uDPeqwuTEeOy?usp=drive_link

Creative Task: Colour Matching Showcase

In this project, you will apply two different colour matching methods to create a visually interesting, creative composition.

Part 1: Colour Match Objects

Choose an element (like clothing, an accessory, or an object) and recolour it to match another part of the photo.
Example: match a shirt to the colour of the background, or recolour a prop to match a brand colour.

Part 2: Colour Match Images

Use Colour Transfer (Neural Filter) to match one photo’s overall style to another.
Example: take a portrait and transfer the mood of a sunset photo, or harmonize two different images so they feel like one scene.

Your Submission Must Include

One Poster/Canvas that displays:
The before and after for both object colour matching and image colour transfer.
Captions describing what you did (e.g. “I matched the shoes to the wall using Hue/Saturation”).
A creative arrangement—this should look like a designed poster, not just screenshots dropped on a page.
A screenshot of your Layers Panel showing well-labeled adjustment layers.

Creative Spin Prompt

Think of this as a mini ad campaign or magazine spread. Your job is to make it eye-catching:

Maybe you recolour clothing to match a brand theme.
Maybe you blend a travel photo into a mood from another location.
Or maybe you show off a “before and after makeover” vibe with matched objects and styled images.

Use your imagination—the tools are technical, but the outcome should feel like a creative graphic.

What to Submit:

PSD file (with all layers intact)
JPG of your final creative poster

Sample mockup

Colour Matching Skills – Notes

1. How to Colour Match Objects in Photoshop

This method helps you seamlessly match the colour of an object within your photo to another element, using manual adjustment tools for precision and creative control.
Steps:

Use the Object Selection Tool (W) to isolate the object you want to recolour.
Apply a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer—the changes remain editable and non-destructive.
Select the Eyedropper Tool in the Properties panel to pick the target colour you want your object to match (e.g. matching a logo to surrounding hues).
Fine-tune the Hue and Saturation sliders until the object blends in naturally.
Use the adjustment layer’s mask to paint out any excess effect (black hides, white reveals).
Optionally, add colour-matched text or swatches using Eyedropper sampling for design cohesion.

Why It Matters:
This approach gives you precise control over a specific element’s colour, offering clean, thoughtful results ideal for product visuals, design assets, or cohesive compositions.

2. How to Colour Match Images in Photoshop (Neural Filters – Colour Transfer)

This method uses Photoshop’s AI-powered Colour Transfer to quickly harmonize the overall look of one image to match another.
Steps:

Turn your background layer into a Smart Object for non-destructive editing.
Go to Filter → Neural Filters and activate the Colour Transfer filter.
Choose a preset or select your own reference image. Click Use This Image to apply that colour palette.
Adjust Opacity in the Layers panel to control how strongly the effect is applied.
Optionally, experiment with blend modes like Screen to fine-tune the look.

Why It Matters:
AI Colour Transfer lets you match colour across entire scenes quickly, saving time compared to manually adjusting multiple colour correction layers—especially helpful for mood-based or stylistic edits.

Quick Comparison

Technique --- Best Use Case --- Strengths

Colour Matching Objects --- Matching small elements (logo, clothing, props) --- Precise, controlled, editable

Colour Transfer (Neural Filter) --- Matching overall mood/colour between images --- Fast, powerful, AI-driven

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