The 11th essential creative option is the saturation setting.
Of all the 12 creative essentials, the saturation setting is probably the most obvious and most appreciated. The saturation setting in your camera refers to the intensity of the colors present.
Lower settings mute the colors, while higher settings intensify them. This is (of course) an important part of how an image will feel to the viewer. Make sure that your saturation setting matches your mood and your personal vision.
Adding Mood With Contrast and Saturation
The Saturation Setting
Most DLSRs offer seven levels of control for the saturation setting, from [-3] to [+3]. When set to the minus side, the image looks pale and less vivid. When set on the plus side, the colors appear deeper and more vivid.
It’s important to remember that the appearance of all colors will be affected by the saturation setting, whether they be natural or introduced by you. That means that the visual effects of your white balance, tint and hue settings will vary based on the saturation setting used. Your amber, blue, green, magenta, red and yellow colors will appear different (either less or more vibrant). Your contrast and sharpness settings will have an effect on the perceived colors, as well. It’s wise to spend some time playing with the possible combinations.
Adjusting the Saturation Setting
Saturation Control
The control is usually mapped (located) with the character options your camera offers (contrast, hue/color tone, sharpness) and is often found towards the bottom.
To find the saturation control, you may have to maneuver through several menus. In Rod’s Nikon, for instance, it takes three steps. In my Canon, it also takes three steps.
Nikon
- Find Picture Control
- Choose Picture Profile
- Choose Saturation Setting
Canon
- Find Picture Style
- Choose Picture Profile
- Choose Saturation Setting
Check your camera manual to discover the route to your Contrast control now.
To change the saturation setting, simply move the highlighted icon either to the left or to the right. On most DSLR cameras, moving it to the left (-) lessons the color in your image and moving it to the right (+) makes the colors more vibrant.
Saturation Comparisons
While in the field, we will often ask our new students to shoot extreme variations of character and supporting features. What follows are a few comparison saturation examples. The left images show the results of a low setting, while the right images show the results of a high setting. If you’ve never played with your saturation option, we suggest you do so as quickly as possible.
Click an image to launch the slideshow.
Next: Essential Creative Option #12 – The Sharpness Setting
This is post #14 of 16 of In Camera Magic: The 12 Essential Creative Options, a free online photography course for creating spectacular images right in the camera.