Getting the vibrance and saturation tools confused is not uncommon. We know that both affect colors in photography or videography. However, their effects and results can be very similar.
When two or more tools overlap in functionality, you’ll want to know which ones they are. Some photographers or videographers will tell you to experiment and see what works for you, and others will distinguish between the two, saying why one is better than another.
The truth is that each tool has a reason to exist. Aside from fine-tuning image colors, there are differences between vibrance and saturation, though barely noticeable to the naked eye.
This post will focus on the confusion regarding saturation vs vibrance. It will help you understand how to define saturation and vibrance, and how they differ from each other. Let’s take a closer look!
About Saturation
Saturation has long been used in photography to modify the colors of an image. Specifically, it amplifies the tones in order to make them more intense. It increases the intensity of the hue in an image equally. It does not take into account whether there are already saturated colors; increasing the saturation slider will enhance the intensity of each color.
Oversaturating a picture can lead to different results. For instance, if you have a picture with really dull tones, the saturation will bring out and enhance those colors. But if the picture already has intense red or orange hues, the saturation will make them too saturated, and it will look unnatural.
One drawback to saturation is its effect on skin tones. Oversaturation can negatively impact skin tones, so you should be very careful when working with the saturation sliders in a photo editor unless that’s the effect you want. The saturation can be used for creative images, the comic effect, or the posterization.
About Vibrance
Vibrance is a photography tool that increases the color intensity of an image. It is called smart saturation as it works in a different way than saturation. Rather than increasing the intensity of every color in the image equally, vibrance boosts saturation in the midtones while protecting highlights and shadows.
The resulting image, which uses vibrance to enhance colors, is less oversaturated and has more natural skin tones. Also, vibrance is called selective saturation as it begins to add saturation to the muted colors before raising the already-boosted colors.
For instance, if you have a sunset picture with an intense orange, vibrance will increase the muted or cooler colors, disregarding the oranges, yellows, and other warm colors, so it appears more natural. But you still need to monitor the photo, because vibrance can still affect the color output of the overall photo when pushed forward.
A lot of portrait photographers like to use vibrance over-saturation to protect skin tones and get saturation in the dullest colors without compromising the warm tones.
Vibrance vs Saturation – Differences
Vibrance and saturation play vital roles in a photographer’s post-processing procedure since they both improve the vibrancy and warmth of the image.
The main difference between them is that saturation has an effect on all pixels, while vibrance only has an effect on less dominant colors. Other than that, they provide similar outcomes and can typically be used interchangeably.
See below for some differences to help you choose which one to use:
Oversaturation
Oversaturated images can be caused by both vibrance and saturation, yet it is easier to avoid them with the vibrance slider. Vibrance just enhances the less saturated colors, leaving the already bright ones unchanged. Also, it means it is easier to achieve more natural-looking photos with vibrance.
Popularity
Saturation is a more often used tool in any photo editor than vibrance, including social media apps such as Instagram. Plenty of digital cameras have a saturation tool that can be adjusted in the camera, although it is preferable to shoot in RAW and edit in programs. Most photographers are familiar with the vibrance tool in Adobe software such as Photoshop and Lightroom.
MiniTool MovieMakerClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Conclusion
Vibrance vs saturation is discussed in this post. After understanding their definitions and differences, you can decide which one to pick and adjust in the images.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Jocelin is keeping a strong passion for the multimedia industry with her first thoughts and visions. While continuously absorbing relevant knowledge, she believes that pictures, videos, and music can bring so much pleasure to life. To go deeper into the industry, she has acquired many skills in video editing. Also, she can provide readers with ways to solve problems on image, video, and auido topics.