Photos taken with a mobile device rarely look as vibrant or lifelike as the scene they were taken in. That’s because small camera lenses struggle to capture the light in the same way as your eyes, so bright lights blow out colours, create lens flares and increase the contrast between light and shadow. As a result, colours can be faded or shifted towards a particular gamut. On the other hand, some devices boost the colour range, so greens, blues and reds can take on an unnatural strength.

iPhoto has specific tools that enable you to boost the colour range, fade out colours, and even boost specific colours, such as the blue in the sky, green in foliage or skin tones. In this tutorial you’ll discover how to manipulate the colours in a photo using your fingertips.

1. Select an image

Open an image, tap Edit if not already selected, then tap the Artists Colour palette icon in the bottom corner of the screen.

2. Boost or fade colours

At the bottom of the screen you’ll see four icons. The first boosts or fades all the colours in an image. Tap and hold the small silver dial, then drag it left or right to see the results.

3. Edit the sky

The second icon increases or decreases the blues in an image, which are typically found in the sky or ocean. Tap and hold, then drag the small silver cloud button to edit this colour range.

4. Make trees greener

The third icon manipulates the green gamut in an image – particularly in trees, grass and other foliage. Tap and hold, then drag the Leaf icon to boost or fade this colour.

5. Edit skin tones

The forth icon enables you to boost or fade skin tones. This is particularly helpful for photos in badly lit conditions when faces can be hidden by flat lighting. Tap and hold, then drag the head and shoulders icon to change the skin tones in a photo.

6. Context-sensitive

Alternatively, simply tap and hold on an area – such as the sky – then drag your finger left or right to boost that particular area of colour.

7. Preserve skin tones

To preserve skin tones while boosting the remaining colours, tap the Settings button, then toggle the Preserve Skin Tones button.