How To EASILY Change The Color of ANYTHING in Lightroom Mobile!
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Jump to a step in the video (6)
Click a time to play the video from there.
Your choices stick across every tutorial on this device.
You can change colors in Lightroom mobile by painting over an object with the Brush in the Selective tab and giving it a new color.
The technique works on any object you can paint around: a leaf, a shirt, a car, a wall. You paint it, drain its color, then tint it with the color you want.
It is built for phone and tablet editing, so you never leave the app. If you edit on a computer instead, see how to change colors in Lightroom with the Adjustment Brush.
The video was recorded in 2020 in Lightroom mobile, and the Brush still does the same job in the current version of Lightroom mobile. The Selective tab in the screenshots has since moved into the Masking panel, and Step 1 shows the new route.
By the end, you will be able to recolor an object, control how bright the new color looks, and check your work against the original with one tap.
Key Takeaways
- The Brush in the Selective tab paints a mask. The red overlay shows exactly where your color and light adjustments will land.
- Drag Saturation all the way left before you pick a new color. That clears the old color so the new tint reads clean instead of mixing with it.
- Set the color while only part of the object is painted. Every stroke you add after that carries the same color.
- The Light tab controls how bright the new color looks. Lower Shadows and Exposure to darken it.
- Current versions of Lightroom mobile no longer have a Selective tab. The same Brush lives in the Masking panel.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Step 1: Open the Selective Tab in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 2: Paint Over the Object in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 3: Change Colors in Lightroom Mobile
- Step 4: Adjust the Brightness of the New Color
- Step 5: Finish Painting and Compare
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Recolor Anything in Lightroom Mobile
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to paint a selective mask over an object with the Brush
- How to strip the color out of an object and tint it with a new one
- How to darken the new color with the Light tab
- How to zoom in for the small details and compare with the original
Requirements
Before you start
- Lightroom mobile on iOS or Android, the 2020 version shown in the video or the current version
- A photo with an object that has a clear edge, like the leaf in the video
Step 1: Open the Selective Tab in Lightroom Mobile
Open your photo in Lightroom mobile. With the photo selected, tap the Selective tab. You will find it at the bottom left of the screen.
Now tap the plus icon in the top right corner. A small menu opens with the selective tools. Tap the Brush tool.
Note: Current versions of Lightroom mobile no longer have a Selective tab. Tap Masking, then Create new Mask, then Brush. The Brush paints the same way, with Size, Feather, and Flow sliders in place of the three circles, and the Light and Color tabs sit inside the Masking panel. For more on what the Masking panel can do, see 7 Lightroom hidden gems.
Step 2: Paint Over the Object in Lightroom Mobile
Before you paint, look at the three circles on the right side of the screen. They adjust the brush size and hardness. Use them if the object is small or has soft edges.
Drag your finger over the object to paint over it. In the video, that object is a leaf. Every stroke adds to the painted area.
A red overlay appears where you paint. The red marks the area you can adjust with the tabs at the bottom of the screen. Nothing outside the red changes.
Paint only part of the object for now. Stop, and set the color first. The next step explains why.
Step 3: Change Colors in Lightroom Mobile
Before you continue painting, colorize the area you selected with the color you want. Tap the Color tab at the bottom.
Drag the Saturation slider all the way to the left. This reduces all saturation, so the painted area loses its original color and turns gray.
Now tap and drag over the color gradient. The gray area picks up whatever color you land on. In the video, the leaf turns green.
Tip: Set the color while only part of the object is painted. You can judge the new color on a small area first, and every stroke you add afterward carries the same settings.
Step 4: Adjust the Brightness of the New Color
To adjust the brightness of your new color, tap the Light tab.
From here, lower Shadows and Exposure to darken your new color. In the video, this takes the green leaf from bright and flat to a deeper, more natural green.
The Light tab also holds Contrast, Highlights, and Whites, so you have full control of the brightness of the object and its shadows.
Once you have your perfect color, go back to painting the rest of the object.
Step 5: Finish Painting and Compare
Continue painting over the leaf until the whole object is covered. Pinch with two fingers to zoom in. Zoomed in, the smaller details are easy to paint.
When you are done, tap the checkmark to commit the changes.
Tap and hold on the image to see the original photo. Release to see the edited version.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Paint the object with the Brush in the Selective tab, or in the Masking panel in current versions. Drag Saturation to the left in the Color tab, then pick a new color from the color gradient. The rest of the photo stays untouched.
In the 2020 version shown in the video, Selective sits at the bottom left of the edit screen. Current versions replaced it with the Masking panel. Tap Masking, then Create new Mask, then Brush to reach the same tool.
The color gradient tints whatever color is already in the painted area. Dragging Saturation all the way left turns that area gray first, so the new color reads clean instead of mixing with the old one.
Tap the Light tab while your brush adjustment is active. Lower Shadows and Exposure to darken the color. The change only affects the red painted area.
Pinch with two fingers on the photo. Zoom in to paint the smaller details with the Brush, then pinch out to check the whole object.
Tap and hold anywhere on the photo. Lightroom mobile shows the original while you hold, and the edited version when you release.
Yes. Lightroom on the desktop has the same brush with Saturation, color, and Light controls. Paint the object, drop the saturation, then pick a new color, exactly as you do on the phone.
Recolor Anything in Lightroom Mobile
That is the whole technique. One Brush, one Saturation slider, and one color gradient, and the leaf is a different color.
It works on anything you can paint around: clothing, cars, walls, flowers. Once you know how to change colors in Lightroom mobile on one object, the steps never change.
Watch the full video above to see every tap in real time, and comment on the video with the object you recolored.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, learn how to change the color of anything in Lightroom on the desktop with the Adjustment Brush.
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
