Secondary Colour Grading > Creating a Secondary by Keying a Range of Colours > Using the Hue, Luminance, and Saturation (HLS) Keyer to Extract a Key >

# Sampling a Colour in the HLS Keyer

The typical way to extract a key is to sample a pixel or an average colour in the image using the colour picker. You can also use predefined colour grading parameters, called presets, by right-clicking the Hue, Luminance, or Saturation button. See Saving and Loading Presets Using the Presets Lists.

To sample a colour:

1. Set the view mode to Output. You can click the O button or press F12.
   NotePressing F12 to set the view mode to Output only works from Matte view.
2. In the Secondary layers panel, activate a secondary layer.
   NoteIf you do not activate the secondary layer, the colour pot will not be updated with your colour sample.
3. Right-click the Keyer option box to enable the HLS Keyer.

   The letters in the Keyer option box turn bright white indicating that the HLS Keyer is enabled.

4. Click the colour pot.

   The HLS Keyer is enabled and the colour pot is outlined in red, indicating that it is in use.

5. Click Pixel to enable the Pixel Analyser.
6. Set the Log to Lin parameter. See Tools Settings.
7. Adjust the Soften slider. See Tools Settings.
8. Sample the image:
   - To sample a single pixel, click and drag in the image until you locate the pixel you want to sample. As you drag, the colour of the current pixel appears in the Pixel Analyser. When you locate the pixel you want to sample, release the mouse.
   - To sample an average taken from a range of colours in the image, Alt-drag the image in the Player.

   The cursor changes to a colour picker when you move it over the image in the Player. When you release the mouse, the centre tolerance and the initial softness and tolerance ranges are set for the channels that are enabled. The colour pot displays the sampled colour.

9. Click the colour pot again to finish defining the colour.