Here is the first installment of the tutorial. There are several different ways to do selective coloring, I just did the easiest I know of for simple selective coloring. I will send you another way by sitemail, but I wanted to post this picture so you had something simple to start out with. Let me know if you have any problems with this method. Kim

Okay, I am going to try to write this down as I do it. That way I know I will not be missing any steps.
I picked out a photo that I thought was very easy, if you like you can try it on this photo, it just won't have as big a file. Then you can try it on something else.
There are a couple different ways to come out with the same effect.
Here is the easiest way I know how:

Step 1: After opening a photo I always adjust any brightness or contrast first. Upping the contrast always makes your grayscales more dramatic. This is also the time to do any color adjustments, say, if you wanted to make the door a different shade of red.

Step 2: Mask off the door. You can do this with any of the masking tools, whichever is easiest for the job. On very detailed photos I will zoom in on specific areas to make sure I've gotten all the edges and little nooks and crannies! On the door you can use a regular rectangle mask, just be sure to place the mask lines just a hair to the outside of the lines, this will make sure  a section that should be color doesn't end up with a B&W edge.

Step 3: Once your color subject is masked, go to "select" and pick "inverse". This will set you up to remove the color from everything else.

Step 4: Go to "Enhance" , "adjust color", "remove color". WA LA!!!

There you have a selective color photo. At this point you can save a copy of it, but don't save the changes to the original photo, so you can use it again if you want. Then if you open up the copy, you can play around with it some more and add finishing touches.

Kim Hawkins

 

Kim Hawkins Eastern Sierra Gallery

 

 

Oh my gosh! you did it! you taught me to do this! I actually did this on one of my own shots and it works! No one else has been able to say it so simply that I could follow along. Thank you!!!  Now I guess I need to play with the masking tools a bit so I can do irregular shapes. 

Another question... what if I have 2 or more areas in one photo that I want to leave with color...how do I indicate more than one area to leave as is?
PJ

Flannel Knight's Photos
MrsLubner
Forum Moderator
______________________
"It please me to take amateur photographs of my garden,
and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look
professional."
                                          Robert Brault

Ahhhh, now that's where I have this other turorial for you. Although you can mask off more then one item by using the shift button to add to the previous selection, and this works well with the magic wand mask (I'm sure with the paint brush mask you only need to keep using it on whatever you want to save the color of, without any additional steps). When you have a lot of detail it's easier to remove the color first and then "erase" the color where you want it back "and this is how you do that"!!!

Here is the other selective coloring tutorial.

Step 1: Open photo. Go to  "Layer", "New", "Layer via copy". This will give you a picture of the same in a new layer. Once you do this you should already be in Layer 1 and not have to do anything else.

Step 2:  Go to "Enhance", "adjust color" (here you can either) "Remove color, (or) "Adjust hue/ saturation" (if you play around with the levels here you can get a varied coloration of your background, like a sepia tone,etc.

Step 3:(Note:  I find it easier to first mask off areas you want to return color to if they are large and uncomplicated, like the door.)
Go to your tool bar on the left and choose your eraser tool and erase the area you want color back to.

Step 4: Once you've completed the areas you want color to, make any other adjustments to color or lighting and go to "Layer", "Flatten Image".  Now you are ready to save image.

Now go have some fun and let me know how it's working for you. I will be out of town for a couple days, but if I get a chance to check my email, I will look in to see how your doing! Have fun!!!!
Kim

Kim Hawkins

 

Kim Hawkins Eastern Sierra Gallery

 

 

I have this all printed off now and I can't wait to get home and try it! You are so WONDERFUL!  I'll let you know how things go.

Flannel Knight's Photos
MrsLubner
Forum Moderator
______________________
"It please me to take amateur photographs of my garden,
and it pleases my garden to make my photographs look
professional."
                                          Robert Brault