02 February, 2010

Selective Color for Photoshop

I have had several people asking me how to do selective color in Photoshop.  The following is detailed instruction on how I do selective color in Photoshop... it is not your typical way, but it works for me!

Step One:
Open Photoshop

Step Two:
Open whatever photo you want to alter

Step Three:
I immediately save the photo as something different so that I don't lose the original image. For example, I will save this first image as Feet01.

 
"Feet01"

Step Four:
Click on "Image" in the tool bar, scroll down to "Adjustments," and click on Hue/Saturation."

Step Five:
Keep the Hue and Lightness at 0. Change the Saturation to -100. Click "Ok."

Step Six:
I would then save this black and white image as "Feet02." Minimize "Feet02" so it will be available, as it will be used in a little bit.

 "Feet02"

Step Seven:
Go back to the first saved image, "Feet01."

Step Eight:
Use the "Magic Eraser" tool to delete large portions of the background. Do not delete the portion of the image that you want to keep color. This tool does not delete everything, so once you delete the larger portions, you can then Zoom in as close as you like and use the regular "Eraser" tool to erase the excess color. You can change the brush size in ordre to delete small details!

 
This is the image after using the "Magic Eraser" tool.

 
This is the image after using the regular "Eraser" tool. I would save this as "Feet03."

Step Nine:
With "Feet03" still open, click on "Select" in the tool bar. Scroll to and click "All." Click "Edit" in the tool bar. Scroll to and click "Copy."

Step Ten:
Maximize "Feet02." Click "Layer" in the tool bar. Scroll to "New" and click "Layer." Name the new layer and click "Ok."

Step Eleven:
Click "Edit" in the tool bar. Scroll to and click "Paste." Your "Feet03" should paste into the new layer. Using the "Move Tool," move your color image to where you would like it, and so that it matches up with the background image. I would save this as "Feet04." Once I saved this, I would go back and delete all the other images I saved, as I would not really need them on my computer. Here is the final image:

 

Like I said before, this is not your typical way of doing this! It is just how I decided to do it because it works for me! If you have any questions, let me know! The images print out nicely too... I just received ordered prints last week!  These steps seem tedious and long. But they really aren't once you get used to it! 

Good luck!