Spot of Color in a B/W

[LightWriter6208]

does anyone know of a tutorial that teaches how to have a B/W image with just one item in color?

[sandman]

1 select the mask tool
2 use a small brush and go around the outline of the item you want to keep in colour .
3 larger brush to fill in the item completly
4 de-saturate or remove colour
5 de-select
6 finished.

example 4 minutes

swampy will proberbly say theres a filter in CS that takes 10 seconds

:D

ps don't forget to zoom in tight while your doing the outline .

[Wilm]

I hope there is no filter :D

Same procedure as Brians....


Wilm

[jknights]

Thanks Brian.
Your tutorial has gone in my PS Hints, Tips and Tricks document.


:D

[Swampy]

Yeah, there's a neat spot color function in the colorize menu. Oh yeah, colorize is a totally new "feature" too. There's a smart select that probably could have done those boats pretty well, but it probably would have selected the colors reflected in the water too, so you would have had to deselect the reflected color. Oh well. Maybe 45 seconds of work or so? Ok. I'm just kidding. Nothing of the sort in CS. Just giving Brian a hard time since he can't seem to find a copy to purchase.

BTW, I moved the thread. Brians explaination was good enough to put here in the tutorials.

[LightWriter6208]

Kinda like this?

[sandman]

hmmm......well yes kinda like that..:D .
but although you now have the technique ,you know i'm going to give you stick for a terrible cut out . go in close use a small brush and stick to the outline . use small stokes so if you make a mistake you can use the the back arrow button to rectify it.
when you've gone all the way around use a larger brush to fill in a bit more and then finish with a big one if your area is a large one . i never , ever use the magnetic wand or as you have (i think) the freehand wand . try using the square brushes for straight lines and the default brushes for curves also experiment with different sizes to get in those really tight little angles.

you'll get there , practise makes perfect.

Brian

[Don65Stang]

Here is my first attempt. I thought it turned out pretty good. I didn't pull all the color from the main photo - maybe 80%.

What do you think?

[Don65Stang]

Here's another. BTW, I did both pics using layers. I used polygonal lasso tool to trace around the object then copied to a new layer. Desat the background, flatten and presto.

[sandman]

Don
the second one is more what this technique is all about , although the first shot is good , for me it's a compromise , neither one or the other , i would have done what you have for the 2nd shot and cut out the bride completly and de-saturated. also while you've got an item selected it gives you the oppertunity to inverse and blur a bit (providing everythings on the same focal plane ) to really make the selection stand out .
Some time ago i took a shot at a wedding , where the couple were walking out and the confetti was being thrown. i selected every bit of confetti (took all afternoon) inversed blurred a bit , re-inversed and de-saturated , that shot with the confetti in colour and the slightly blurred couple in B &W is now the center pice of their fire place .
I can't show it because despite what i said about privacy earier on . i do think wedding shots are private and personall .

So to sum up how i feel about this technique , if i can fid something that will stand out , your flowers , my boats . i will do it . but it's not something to be overdone IMHO.

Brian

[Andre]

I have a different technique that is more tolerant of errors - that is, easy to fix.

Start with your color image.
Add a solid color layer that is 50% black (grey).
Set the new layer's layer type to 'Color'.
This will leave you with what appears to be a B&W image.
Choose the paintbrush tool, and set your painting color to 100% Black.
Now paint over the image where you want the color. The color will appear where you paint.
If you went too far, don't woory. Set your paintbrush color to 100% White and paint the areas that you went too far on.
Voila.

Want to drop back on the color in places? Set your paintbrush color to 50% black (grey). Paint the grey layer some more.

Want the color to stand out more? Add a saturation layer and play with that.

[Don65Stang]

Very nice Andre. I'll have to try your instructions.

[Andre]

Originally posted by Don65Stang
Very nice Andre. I'll have to try your instructions.

Post your results so we can see them.
I think it's a cool technique, and very easy.

[Linda G]

I use Andre's method mostly, but I sometimes think the colors are overpowering for the image and use the hue/saturation to desaturate the color, giving it a more pleasing change from black and white to color.

Also, try a sepia look and add color to it. Some warmer tones work very well with that.

[LightWriter6208]

Still learning CS but I played around with this image

[PGS2PRO]

Originally posted by Linda G
Also, try a sepia look and add color to it. Some warmer tones work very well with that.

Linda, even if it is not quite the thread purpose, how do you create the sepia look?

Thank you in advance.

[Andre]

Here is a method I found on a forum somewhere.

Add a saturation layer, and drop the master saturation to 0.
Add a pattern layer, choose wood, and set the scale to 1%.
Change the opacity of the pattern layer to between 20% and 40%.
Add a contrast layer - adjust the brightness by 5% and the contrast by 25%.

I just did the above and got this.

[Linda G]

Originally posted by PGS2PRO
Linda, even if it is not quite the thread purpose, how do you create the sepia look?

Thank you in advance.

There are many ways to create sepia and many more 'colors' of sepia.

This is how I do it.

If I am to colorize part of it, I will make a second layer, then desaturate it and bring up the color balance. Add first red, then yellow and play with green/magenta and the other colors again to get the tone you like. Some feel it should have a yellow cast yet others like it with green, some prefer as close to brown as they can get. It all depends, for me, on what the subject is and what I'm going to do with it.

Here's a quick sample of two sepia colors.

[HulaMike]

Haven't calibrated my monitor for three weeks Linda but the two examples look exactly the same. The right version seems to have more contrast tho. Should I recalibrate now??? :confused:

[Linda G]

Mike,

The one on the left has more of a yellow tone, the one on the right is redder. Adobe colors are, taken from the middle of her forehead:

left 8B7C77

right 8F7D79

The differences are subtle, but trust me, when you print with a two tone effect and are printing out more than one, the differences are huge. Many times, someone will want to match a previously printed image and it's a bear to get it perfect! We have three standardized sepia colors at the lab that we have tinkered with and our customers choose between those three. It's much easier to be consistant.

[Swampy]

Yup, I see the differences. Calibrate Mike. :)

[PGS2PRO]

Thank you Andre and Linda for your respective methods. As for Michael, this subject is a good opportunity for me to recalibrate my screen.

Moreover, following Jonathan's idea, I have just started a Tip and Trick document. It does not aim to compete with internet repositories.

[PGS2PRO]

Linda,

I have adjusted my screen calibration. I notice a little-tiny-wee-subtle difference but it is very hard to say. I should may be recalibrate my glasses as well!
I trust you when you say that it is more obvious on prints. This is the endless problem between the screen results and the printouts results. It does not help domestic editing and printing. It requires a tremendous amount of time and effort to get under control the graphic and printing tool chain.

[Eddie the Gnat]

Back to the colour/black and white thing, I would suggest that the simplest method (in Photoshop) is to create an adjustment layer (either hue/saturation or channel mixer) to make the whole picture black and white, and to then paint in black in the adjustment layer's mask to bring back the colour.

Eddie

[Linda G]

Eddie,

I've not tried that method, I started with just desaturating and using the history brush, but found if I couldn't finish the project and had to save it for later, that method didn't hold up.

Is it possible to save with the mask?

[Eddie the Gnat]

Yes - if you save as a photoshop document you'll still have all your masks. I think it's the best way because you're not actually removing any colour - you're just hiding or revealing it. It's totally editable. (I prefer this style of working because I love to change my mind!)

Eddie.:)

[Linda G]

Thanks!

Change your mind? :eek:

I always find edges I could have done better. If it's someone elses, I'm done, and no going back. If it's mine, I'll still find things to 'clean up' years from now.

[pauly99]

Getting in here a little late.

[Don65Stang]

Pauly,

Nice shot. A touch hot on the shoulder, but very nice. I don't notice the sepia on the 2nd shot. Is it very suttle?

[apsphotography]

i use this a lot in wedding photo's eg; bride in sepia, flowers in colour.

heres an easy technique

use default sepia tone action and then just erase the area that you want in colour on the sepia layer
very quick and very effective

[digitalvideousa]

Learning to fly..