If you need to get the exact color from a specific location on your photo you can extract that information using the eye dropper tool.

There are two version of the eyedropper, one is call eyedropper and the other one is color sample tool. They can both be activated by selecting the icon on tool bar or with shortcut key I, and use the Shift+I to cycle through them two.

Sample Size- Point Sample means that it will extract the color information from exactly one pixel, this is the most accurate way to select a color. However, the color in a photograph is rarely exactly the same, if you were to take a picture of a green wall and zoom in on it, you will notice slight variation of the green. Click on the drop down menu and slight one of the higher number sample average, it will get you the average of the nearby pixel.

Color sample tool is similar except the information are posted on the Info panel so that you can read the color information of that particular spot. You can select up to 4 spots and you can delete it by right clicking of each of the spot and select delete. As you are adjusting the color, the info panel will update the color information as well.

As you can see that when I adjusted the color of the photo the Info panel updated as well.

Temporary eyedropper – You can activate eyedropper temporary while you are in a mode that requires you to choose color such as Brush and Paint Bucket tool by holding Alt\Option.

What other tips on eyedropper do you know of and what other uses are there for eyedropper? Please share with us in the comments below!

This is part of my tutorial set. Please visit the TUTORIAL PAGE for a list of all the tutorials.