Lessons

Lesson Info

Partial Color Images

So we're going to start out by color, rising a black and white image, and then we're gonna move on to taking a color image and converting it to black and white. And then and then we're gonna do some partial color techniques, which is a whole lot of fun, all using adjustment layers. So for this technique were in the folder name 01 C. You can tell that I didn't want to go back and re name all these vulgar. So I started getting creative with one B one C. So let's go ahead and open these two layers here. So this is a common task for photographers. And really another service that you can offer in your photography business is to do these kinds of creative techniques to older photos. So if you were to scan in this photo, then you could apply a creative color technique and it would turn into a completely different piece of art. So this is the image that we're gonna work with all collapse my options bar for a moment so we can take a peek at it. So if we look over here in my layers panel in expe...

rt mode, we can see that we've got the image on a layer, and then we've got some brown paint on another layer. So if I toggle the visibility of that layer off, you can see the original image. So this is a real handy tightening to know how to do now. Why did I put my paint on the separate layer in case I mess up? Don't want a paint on the original layer. Another thing that happens if you were to paint on the original layer is you would be hiding all the details in this guitar. So to illustrate, you'll notice here that on this paint layer, I've changed its blend mode so that changes health color on one layers, interacting or canceling out or blending with color on other layers. So if I said it back to normal, then this is exactly what you'd get if you were to paint straight on the image, see how the paint isn't see through it. Also, I'm losing all the detail on that guitar, but if I change its blend mode to something that's really easy to remember, we're colorizing a grayscale. So this hunt for the word color, the very bottom of that blend mode menu. And as soon as I change that, then it changes the way this color is affecting the color on the other layer. So now we can see through it to the detail of the guitar, so that's what we're gonna do. So let's turn off the visibility of the layer that I created for you, and we're gonna create a brand new layer just for the purposes of putting paint on it. So we've not done this yet in elements so to create a new layer, their course several different ways to do it. You can click the little piece of paper icon at the top of the layers panel to make a new layer, and then we can double click it and call it paint. Another way to create any layer is with a keyboard shortcut in its shift command in for new layer on a Mac or shift control in for new layer on a PC, and if you do it that way, you don't have to remember to double click to name your layer because the name of the layers already highlighted so you could just simply type the new name right there. And if you do it this way, you get access to that blend mode menu, so one could name the layer and change the blend mode of that layer all in one fell swoop, and then click. OK, in that way, you're all ready to go. All right, now we're ready to grab our brush tool, which is already active. But if it isn't, go ahead and activate years and then again from the options bar at the bottom of your screen, make sure you've got a soft edged brush because we don't want the transition between the paint and the black and white to be a little bit soft. Now we need to tell elements what color we want to paint with. So we do that by single clicking the foreground color chip, and that summons the color picker. And from here, you can use this rainbow bar to tell elements what range of colors that you want to use. If we want something in the brown room, let's click down here in the oranges, and then we could mouse over to this box until elements How lighter, How dark We want that color to be so for a brown. I'm gonna pick something in that room. So you just experiment until you find the color that you want. Or if you're a Web geek, you might know the hex value of the color that you want to add. That's handy to know, because if you're working with a client that has, like an official color palette, then dialing in the colors like that would allow you to match it. So I'm sure this isn't ups brown, but that's like that's the type of client where this kind of thing would would come in handy for So now we can mouse over to our image, zoom in and using our bracket keys on your keyboard, we can begin to lay down pain. And as you do since we've already changed the blend mode of this layer, then it makes it easier to see where we're painting. If you were gonna colorize a large area of an image, let's say that this image was predominantly of this guitar, more of a close up. Then it might be faster just to fill this whole layer with paint and then using a layer mask, go in and hide that paint from the areas. So when you're editing images like this, do you take a moment and think about what's going to be the most efficient way to tackle what it is that you're doing? So if you're gonna paint a big old swath of this image than I'd feel that layer with paint and then go back in and find two layer mask is, that would be a little bit faster because your time is so incredibly valuable. So you want to be efficient when you're doing this. And again, this method is so forgiving because if we mess up and we paint too much, we've got a couple of choices. We can add a layer mask to this layer by clicking this circle within a square icon at the top of the layers panel. Or in this case, it's just as easy to grab that big old pink eraser that's sitting over there in our toolbox when we could go back in and find, too, in that area. But I'm not gonna worry about it right now because what I want to do is lay down my paint and then I can go back in with the eraser when I'm finished and I can touch up all the areas again. That's just trying to think about how How can I be more efficient with the time this technique takes to create? So it's more efficient to just get the paint on the image and then do your erasing at the end instead of switching back and forth between the brush tool and they're racer. So I'm gonna take as much time as I would if I were really doing this Teoh sell to a client or to submit for stock imagery. Yes, you can do this kind of technique and submit for stock. It really needs to enhance the image, though. Ah, colorizing technique like this because most people who are downloading stocked imagery our designers. But you can't assume that they know how to do this because they may not. So images like this you could submit several different versions. So now we're ready to go in with our eraser tool in finding. So let's grab our eraser. Now you do want to make one change to the eraser tool. Once you click toe activated, its settings are gonna appear in the Options bar at the bottom of your screen. You want to take a peek and make sure that the type of erasure is set to brush. Otherwise, it won't have that soft edge. But when you said it to brush, it calls the brush that you last used from the brush preset picker, so we know that's a soft edged brush. So that's how we can get our eraser to behave like a soft edged brush syndicate is going here in. Just erase the areas of paint or add a layer mask. And if you did it that way, then you would paint with what color if black conceals and white reveals. If we added a layer mask to this layer than we would need to set the brush to paint with black toe, hide the extra bits of paint fat we laid down earlier. That's all there is to that technique. Not to that, huh? And again, another great technique to use with graphics tablet, definitely. So let's do that again on another image, and then we're gonna take it one step further, and we're gonna change the color of the paint. So let's say you you do this technique for a client or what have you. And they're like, Oh, geez, not so much a fan of that peachy color. Could you do it again in blue? You tell him Absolutely. You're the client. I will do everything that will be another $300. And I have it to you next week. Not problem. But you won't have to repaint it because you will want Have wisely save this document in the photo shot format so that you've already got your paint on a layer and we're gonna use a hue saturation adjustment layer to change the color of just the paint so you don't have to repaint it. But that's another reason to do the painting on a separate layer is so that you can do things like that. All right, so we'll go ahead and turn the visibility eyes off on the layers that I've created for you. And let's create another new layer, shall we? Let's use our keyboard shortcut of shift command in or shift control in for new layer. And we're gonna name this one paint, and we're gonna go ahead and change the blend mode to color. So you're going to remember that how your color rising and gray scale. So it is time for the word color. Now with a frosty beverage on a Friday, Your Saturday evening do trot through all of these blend modes once you've laid down some paint just to see what they do, because several of them would work for this technique that colors the easiest one to remember. Hugh will also work as well as overlay, so you're going to get a little bit of a different look by using different blend moves. But I highly recommend experimenting with them. But if you just want to memorize ones, memorize color. At least. Um, don't you have, ah, blend modes Deep dive class? I do idea, which happens to be on sale this week. Now let's go and click OK, and elements creates that layer for us. Now we're gonna press be to grab the brush tool lives over here in our tools panel. We've already got our soft edged brush active from the brush preset picker. Now let's tell elements what color we want to paint with by single clicking that foreground color chip. We're going to choose the range of colors from this rainbow bar, So if I want something in the pinkish realm that I'm gonna click somewhere over here, You can ask also, slide that slider around so just depends on what color you want. And then you can mouse over to this box until Photoshopped how light or how dark you want that color to be. So I'm gonna choose something that looks about like that. Click OK, now we're ready to lay down our paint again. Do take a moment to assess the emergency if it would be faster for you to simply fill that layer with pain. And if you decide that that would be a little quicker, you can get that done by choosing the edit menu. In choosing Phil, Layer and a dialog box will appear. And from that dialogue box, just make sure that the use pop up menu and it's really saying, What color do you want me to use? Just make sure that set to foreground color, you've got a bunch of options in there, and it likely will be unless you've changed it. So then we could just lay down our paint on this cute little girl. Stress. No, it is not me, but it looks shockingly like some of my baby pictures, My mom and never trust me up like that. I'm a Texas girl. Maybe those Georgia girls got outfits like this for Easter, but I sure did not. And again, if you pay a little bit too much in an area that you don't mean Teoh like that, then save that toe last and go back in with the eraser toll. Or you can add a layer mask to hide the paint from that area. Now, seriously, if I were doing this for real, I would seem way far in way far in, and I would use a teeny tiny brush, and I would be very careful not to go beyond the edges. If we did that, we would be here all day doing this one technique. So that's why I'm zooming around and doing it pretty fast. But when you all do this for Riel, then you're gonna want to zoom in and be very, very careful. What I would probably do in that instance is I would use a large brush, zoom out and I had pain as much as I could really quickly, quickly with a big brush. And then I zoom way, way, way, way in and go around the edges with a teeny teeny brush. We're on the on her little gloves right now, so that kind of thing again, a great technique for a graphics tablet. So we'll just play with this just a teeny bit more. She get the idea a little bit on her hat. Okay, we're gonna call that done. Now, let's touch up the areas that we need to you with either the eraser tool set to use the brush. I think that set to brush by default. But do take a peek in the options bar and make sure otherwise you're gonna get a hard edge, and it's gonna look weird unless you're going for a weird look again. Halloween is right around corner. So now you come in here with the eraser tool and we could go around in erase all those areas that we didn't mean to pay in the first place. But instead of fixing all of them like that, let me show you how it would work with a layer mask so you can make sure that currently active layer is the right on the paint one and then you can come up here to the top of the layers panel and click that circle within the square button. And so here's your layer mask. So we've been working so far with layer mass that have just tagged along for the ride with adjustment layers. Well, when you create a new layer, it doesn't automatically come with a layer mask, so you have to add one. And that feature came along, I think, in elements nine. So if you're using a previous version, you won't have the ability to do that or for it version 12 right now. So that was a couple of versions back. So now we can pop over to using the brush tool again. And if Black conceals, white reveals, let's either click that curved arrow at the bottom of your tools panel or press the X key on your keyboard to flip flop those color chips and then you while painting with black and you come in and hide that extra paint. Doing it that way gives you a little more flexibility, because if I accidentally hide too much of the paint while I'm trying to touch up those edges than to bring it back, I just press the X key to flip flop my color ships. So if you erase too much using the eraser tool, then you have to go back to the brush tool and lay down more pain. So I would probably use the layer mask method over the eraser tool. But they both work, and it's important for you to know how to use both techniques. Super cute. Okay, so now I'm gonna delete the layer that I just may free, and we're gonna go back to the the paint layer that I took a lot more time on so that it looks a little bit better. So where is gonna delete that layer? And then we'll turn on the layer that I made for you and your exercise files. So let's say now, you give this, uh, image to a client or what have you? Or maybe it's for a friend and family that these air great kinds of gifts to create Teoh holidays coming up. So now you need to change the color of that pain. Super, Super easy to do. What we're gonna do is create a hue saturation adjustment layer and remember, when we're using adjustment layers. That's at a way of telling elements A elements this next change or adjustment I'm making make it on its own layer, if you would. So let's create a hue saturation adjustment layer by clicking the half black, half white circle, top of the layers panel and choose hue Saturation. How are you going to remember that one? Well, Hughes, another word for color really means pure color before it had any white or black attitude. So just look for the word here and think Oh, color. Okay, I want to change the color of this pain. So that's what you would choose from this panel that automatically opens. What we're gonna do is click this little button that lives at the very bottom of this panel that automatically opened. When you click that button, The change that we're going to make will Onley effect one layer down instead of all layers down. And you know that that's happening on the layer, because see how the layer thumbnail scooted itself over to the right. And now we've got another little icon that looks like a square with a downward pointing arrow. So now when we drag the hue, slider we can experiment with different paint colors. We didn't have to create a selection. We didn't have to redo all that pain. You're not gonna tell the client. It took you five seconds to change the paint color, you know, and that's not being able. That's not you trying to get more money out of your client. That is. You using your expertise that you have invested time in money and years of experience to learn that is valuable. So this is not evil in any way. So let's say you can't get just the right color that you want by using the hue slider. Then you can use the saturation and lighten the sliders to fine tune that color. So let's say I want blue. But then I can use the saturation to affect how intense that blue is, and I can use the lightness slider to effect to certain extent. How lighter, How dark that blue is. It might be a little bit challenging. Well, it will be a little bit challenging to get, you know, an exact color, but with experimentation, you absolutely can. So that's how you would change the color of the paint that you've already laid down. So let's go ahead and close that. And let's delete both of these layers that I've made for you just to trot through that one part of it again. And also you can fine tune the color of this pink with layer opacity. So let's say if you ah, 100% of that color that you picked is a little bit to brighten me on. Don't think that you have to start over. Just drop the layer opacity, see if that works, and then, if not, do this trick of adding the hue saturation adjustment layer. So click the half black, half white circle at the top of your layers panel in choose hue saturation. And this kind of stuff's been in elements forever. So you're using elements. Three. You could create this technique, so let's make sure that we clip this adjustment layer so that it only affects one layer down. I will tell you that on this particular image and the layers that I have going on in my layers panel, I really wouldn't have to do that. It's not gonna really change that bottom layer anyway, but just as a matter of course, get into a habit for this particular technique. Just clicking that button so that you do clip this color change to the paint layer. Otherwise, when you're doing this on your own images at home, you may have a slew of layers in your layers panel. And if you don't remember to clip that layer to just the one layer underneath, and you may create unexpected effects and you might panic, we don't want that. So just go ahead and clipped that layer and they'll come up here to the Hugh Slider and drag it around until you get the color that you want and then adjust the saturation slider in the lightness slider to suit. And that is all. But I know any questions on colorizing a black in line image we should dio. So Delta Dave asks, Would you use this method to digitally applying makeup? Could you do that? Absolutely. Okay, yeah, absolutely. I would go one extra step for applying makeup just because it tends to be really, really soft, because there's a lot of blending going on, and makeup least there's supposed to be. So what I would do is I would click to activate the layer that you've put the makeup on, and I think we're actually going to do that. I have to look in my exercise files and make sure. But then I would run a blur filter on it. Yeah, I'm just that paint layer. Just Teoh blur the edges a little bit more blending, you know, particularly when you're talking about makeup. I would also do each piece of makeup on its own layer, so we're talking lipstick on one layer. We're talking lid shadow on another layer. We're talking highlight brow shadowing on another layer. And if you want to do any kind of little stuff in the corners here, like most makeup artists do, then I would put that on another layer blush on a separate layer because you want opacity control and the ability to tweak the color on a layer by layer basis. So that's what I would do. And if you want to have a whole lot of fun, do a Google search for Photoshopped lashes, and you can even download and install a custom brush that somebody has made. Bless your hearts of fake lashes and you can plot fake lashes onto your subject digitally which is fabulous. Any other questions on this particular technique? Yes. So photo, Mom 22 wanted to know when changing the color of an object on a color picture instead of a black and white. Would you still use the blend mode color? You can. In fact, we're gonna do that technique later on this afternoon. And I'm sure you three different ways to change the color of a color object in your photos. So great question and stay teams. But changing the blend mode is one way to do it. We're gonna do it with blend mood. I would use the limo Dhue in that situation, we're also going to do with an adjustment layer. And then we're also gonna use a command that's buried in elements menu system called Replace Color Teoh To do that as well. Okay, we're gonna hear Great. Thank you. All right. I'm closing my windows by pressing commander control W for window, and I'm triggering that Don't save button by just pressing the first letter of the word on the button itself. Which is D for don't so impressing that. That's how I'm closing these documents without actually clicking on anything