In present article, we report the tuning of photodetection properties of V0.5Sn0.5Se2 ternary crystals grown by direct vapour transport technique. The comparison of photodetection under 485 nm, 532 nm and 670 nm periodic illumination is carried out for 0.3 mW cm−2 power intensity and 5 mV bias voltage. The fast response time of 200 ms is realised due to effective absorption of light and device configuration. The detector parameters such as photo-responsivity, specific detectivity and external quantum efficiency are also evaluated. The V0.5Sn0.5Se2 photodetector has shown effective light–matter interaction. The V0.5Sn0.5Se2 photodetector was examined under 670 nm illumination of different power intensity. Besides these, the photo-responsivity is enhanced from 77.67 mA W−1 to 99.67 mA W−1 on increasing bias voltage from 1 mV to 5 mV. The present work on tuning of photodetection can provide novel path for future optoelectronics.