This lesson shows a fast and realistic way to change eye color. 5 minutes start to finish, with a result that reads natural.
2026 note: Recorded on Photoshop CS6 in 2014. Adobe sells Photoshop via Creative Cloud subscription now; about 95% of the menus and shortcuts in the video still match the modern version.
Step by Step
- Open the photo and duplicate the background layer (
Ctrl/Cmd + J). - Use Elliptical Marquee or Lasso to select the iris (the colored ring). Do both eyes separately —
Shiftadds to selection. - Select > Modify > Feather (1-2 px) to soften the edge.
- Add a Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation. The selection becomes its mask automatically.
- Tick Colorize and dial Hue to your target. Keep Saturation around 30–50%.
- Set the adjustment layer’s blend mode to Color or Soft Light — keeps the iris texture.
- Paint black on the mask to remove the color from the pupil and the outer ring.
2026 Shortcut
Modern Photoshop’s Filter > Neural Filters > Color Transfer can change eye color in one click. The manual route is still more controllable — and more educational.
