 Kathy Gossage |
Selective Coloring I am interested in doing selective coloring with black and white photos. I would like to know what program I need to purchase for this. I have the Picture It program.
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Gianna Stadelmyer |
Just came across your question, Kathy, and thought I might give you some starting points. I used to have a program called MGI Photo Suite. It was a lower-priced program and had some neat features on it, but was quite basic. It did, however, allow me to do selective coloring. I use Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 (and just got version 9 but haven't had a chance to try it yet). It is a pared-down version of the more expensive Adobe Photoshop and runs around $100. It has tons of features, options, effects, etc., and allows selective coloring in a variety of ways too. I am sure there are TONS of other programs out there, but those are the ones I am familiar with. Hope this helps :-)
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Karma Wilson |
If you are really on a budget, there is a free download called GIMP that works excellent for selective coloring. It's COMPLICATED, though. If you don't have any experience in high-end programs it might be hard to figure out, but there are selective coloring tutorials online for GIMP. Run a search and you can download it and find all the tutorials quite easily. You need to also download an extraction tool to install it in Windows. PS Elements 2.0 does selective coloring quite well too. It's almost as complicated as GIMP. I use a combination of both these programs AND Picture It (which is still the most easy program for frames, adding text, easy fixes, etc.). The only reason I bought PSE is that it uses filters I need for my illustrations. Otherwise I would stick solely with GIMP and save $80.
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- Gregory LaGrange Contact Gregory LaGrange Gregory LaGrange's Gallery |
This may not be the only way, but with Picture It, you can try sandwiching two copies of the same image, but with the b/w image cut out the areas that you want the color areas below to show through.
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Dennis W. Mcclain |
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Dennis W. Mcclain |
I use Photoshop, but im sure any program that lets you do layers will work. I start by making a new copy layer, then I desaturate the copy layer. then using the earaser tool, I erase what I want in color and the color shows through. working on a copy layer you can play with lighting, filters, and opacity to make your picture truly unique
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- Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Contact Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Shirley D. Cross-Taylor's Gallery |
Kathy, all the answers given are correct. I use Picture It, which is only about $50, and I can do selective coloring in several ways. One is to paint directly over my B/W version, varying the transparency of the colors. It also has a "colorize" feature, which can be used to selectively color certain areas, or you can do it through layering, and erasing just the areas you want to show through. Lots of options with almost any software out there.
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Steve Mescha |
Kathy, it sounds to me like you are starting with a B/W photo and want to add your own color rather than selectively removing color from parts of a color photo. I hand-color lots of photos using Photoshop 6, but it looks like you could use several other programs. Here's a couple of tips that work well for me. First, add a new layer so you are not painting on the actual photo. I often use a new layer for each color. I get the best results by setting my layer blending mode to multiply or overlay and drop the layer opacity way down. These blending modes allow shadows, etc., to appear more natural. This approach also allows you to toggle between different blending modes to see what looks best. You can also use the opacity slider for the layer to adjust the density of the color. Painting on layers also lets you slop the color on and then clean up with the eraser tool without damaging the photo below. Have fun.
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Lewis Kemper |
You could also use Photoshop Elements - another inexpensive program that will give you layers. Make Hue Saturation adjustment layers, and click the Colorize button. Then adjust the Hue/Saturation sliders to shift the whole image to whatever color you are looking for. Then fill the layer with black (to hide the color change), and then paint with white on the areas you want to change. By using this method, all the shadows and highlights of the original are preserved. Plus, all the adjustment layers are flexible and you can always go back and tweak a color. One of my Lessons in Photographer's Toolbox for Photoshop Toolbox 2 covers this and other colorizing techniques.
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Brooke Loter |
Thank you so much for asking that question, and thank you everyone else- for answering that question. I have been dieing to know how to do that and then I read the answers about layering it and then erasing the top layer and it worked great - THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Brooke
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- Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Contact Shirley D. Cross-Taylor Shirley D. Cross-Taylor's Gallery |
Kathy, you sent me some questions through my gallery here on Better Photo, but when I replied to them, they were returned. Maybe you should check the email address that is listed for you here. Anyway, if you want to email me directly at treasureprints@comcast.net, I'll be glad to answer your questions. Shirley D. Cross
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