Written By Steve Patterson

In this Adobe Photoshop tutorial, we're going to learn how to match the color of an object in one photo with the color of an object in a separate photo using the Match Color command, which has been available in Photoshop since Photoshop CS (which means you'll need at least Photoshop CS if you wish to follow along with this tutorial).

Here I have an image, taken from a catalog, of a model who's obviously quite happy with how well the color of her new top matches the outdoor setting she finds herself in:

As with most items of clothing, that same top is also available in other colors. For example, let's say it's also available in the same color as the top the model is wearing in this photo:

The client would like you to change the color of the woman's top in the first photo so that it matches the color of the top in the second photo, like so:

Personally, I like the green color better, but hey, whatever the client wants, right?

Photoshop's Match Color command was created specifically for this type of task, although it does have plenty of other uses as well which we'll look at in other tutorials. However, depending on the images you're using, Match Color doesn't always work perfectly on its own. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes, it needs a little help, and as we'll see in a moment, this is one of those times. Let's get started!

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Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer In The Original Image

The first thing we always want to do when working on an image in Photoshop is duplicate the Background layer. The Background layer contains our original image information and we don't want to lose it in case we need to fall back on it. Currently, my Layers palette is showing that my Background layer is the only layer I have:

To duplicate the Background layer, all we need to do is use the handy keyboard shortcut, Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac). If we look again in the Layers palette, we can see that we now have two layers - the original Background layer on the bottom and a copy of it, which Photoshop has automatically named "Layer 1", on top:

We can now safely work on our image without worrying about damaging the original.

Step 2: Select The Object That Needs A Color Change

Using the selection tool of your choice (Lasso Tool, Pen Tool, etc.), draw a selection around the object that needs its color to be changed. Here, we can see my selection outlines around the woman's top:

Step 3: Select A Large Area Inside The Object In The Second Image

Switch over to your second image at this point and again using your favorite selection tool (the Lasso Tool will work fine for this), select a large area inside the object that contains the color you need. In my case, I'm going to select a large section of the purple top the woman is wearing. There's no need to make a precise selection around the object, but what you want to do is make a large enough selection so that you're grabbing as many shades of the color (light and dark areas) as possible. Photoshop needs as many shades of the color as you can give it so it can accurately apply the color to the object in the original image (the buttons on her shirt may or may not cause some problems so I held down my Shift key and dragged around them with the Lasso Tool to subtract them from my selection, just to be safe):