Selective Color


Hand-coloring has been used by photographers for over a century to add color to black and white photographs. This was done by hand painting the photograph with oil or watercolor paints. Unlike toning, which applies the same color to the entire image, selective coloring applies one or more colors to specific parts of the image.

The usual way to apply selective color is to use a mask and a solid color layer to apply color to specific parts of the image. However, by using Color Range selection and curves, you can achieve a more subtle look.

Steps in Photoshop:
  1. Create a new layer folder and move all the black and white conversion layers into it.
  2. Toggle off the conversion folder.
  3. Select the color layer.
  4. Select Select --> Color Range...
  5. Set paramters to Sampled Colors, 175, Selection, and White Matte.
  6. Use the eye dropper tool to select the sky. Note: this will select all things that are the same color as the sky. For example, it will also select the blue sky reflected in the windows. Click OK to close the Color Range window.
  7. With the sky selected create a new curves layer.
  8. Adjust the curves to boost the saturation of the blue channel. Click OK.
  9. Rename the curves channel "Sky Blue". Move "Sky Blue" to the top of the stack.
  10. Repeat steps 4, 5, and 6, but this time select the brick building. Note: this will select all things that are the same color as the brick building. For example, it will also select the brick pavement. Click OK to close the Color Range window.
  11. With the red brick building selected create another curves layer.
  12. Adjust the curves to boost the saturation of the red channel. Click OK.
  13. Rename the new curves channel "Brick Red". Move 'Brick Red" to the top of the stack.
  14. Turn on the black and white conversion layer.
  15. Adjust the opacity of "Sky Blue" and "Brick Red"

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