? about coloring B&W photo

digital faeriedigital faerie Registered Users Posts: 667 Major grins
edited March 30, 2005 in Finishing School
I finally got PS CS 8.0 today :clap

so I don't know a lot about layers, etc. and I'd like to learn how to colorize a B&W photograph? anyone know of a good and easy tutorial online? I've done some searching and what I've found so far isn't very helpful since a step by step tutorial would be very very nice!!

thanks in advance! :lust

Comments

  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 3, 2005
    digital faerie wrote:
    I finally got PS CS 8.0 today clap.gif

    so I don't know a lot about layers, etc. and I'd like to learn how to colorize a B&W photograph? anyone know of a good and easy tutorial online? I've done some searching and what I've found so far isn't very helpful since a step by step tutorial would be very very nice!!

    thanks in advance! iloveyou.gif

    searching tutorial got me this it's actually two tutes in one, will show you the selective color thing and also my tri-x look. this tute will show you about layer masks, and this tute is specifically about selective color in b&w.

    they're all in the hall of wisdom deal.gif
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • digital faeriedigital faerie Registered Users Posts: 667 Major grins
    edited March 3, 2005
    andy wrote:
    searching tutorial got me this it's actually two tutes in one, will show you the selective color thing and also my tri-x look. this tute will show you about layer masks, and this tute is specifically about selective color in b&w.

    they're all in the hall of wisdom deal.gif
    lol, oh well, that's what I get for not looking everywhere, lol. thank you thank you thank you. tell your wife to kiss you for me! rolleyes1.gif
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 3, 2005
    digital faerie wrote:
    lol, oh well, that's what I get for not looking everywhere, lol. thank you thank you thank you. tell your wife to kiss you for me! rolleyes1.gif

    well i do have a bit of an advantage, having written them, lol3.gif
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • morrisphotography2003morrisphotography2003 Registered Users Posts: 208 Major grins
    edited March 3, 2005
    Another item that might help is the Photoshop Bible by Deke McClelland, it has helped me with a lot in the past. I am not sure where to find it on the web but maybe Andy can point you in the right direction.
    digital faerie wrote:
    I finally got PS CS 8.0 today clap.gif

    so I don't know a lot about layers, etc. and I'd like to learn how to colorize a B&W photograph? anyone know of a good and easy tutorial online? I've done some searching and what I've found so far isn't very helpful since a step by step tutorial would be very very nice!!

    thanks in advance! iloveyou.gif
  • ChristianChristian Registered Users Posts: 37 Big grins
    edited March 30, 2005
    I found an interesting technique for converting old black and whites to color in Scott Kelby's "Classic Photoshop Effects", and thought it might fit with this topic.

    I applied it to one of my family's old photos:
    18536739-M.jpg

    18536738-M.jpg

    After doing what I could with levels and curves to get a clean black and white photo, I used the lasso tool to select out a piece that needs color.
    I Copied it to it's own layer and reselected it by using the magic wand on the empty space and inverted the selection.
    After converting the color mode from Grayscale to RGB I filled the selected space with my desired color using the Alt-Backspace shortcut. I used a light blue from the swatches when working on the back wall.
    I then changed the Layers blend mode to Color allowing it to pick up the detail from the original photo and then I changed the level opacity until it look natural.
    I repeated for the skin and hair using the eyedroper and another photo to select my skin tones and hair color so the colors were as realistic as posible.

    I found this to be preferable than simply cleaning up the black and white due to the similarties in tone between the background and the subject. Adding color helped seperate them out and bring my subject in focus.

    I hope this be useful to others.
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