We’ve all seen a beautiful black and white image with a touch of well-placed color. This effect is actually quite simple to achieve with powerful tools of Photoshop. Although there are several ways to achieve this look, this tutorial covers the beginner method.
Start by opening your image in Photoshop.
1.
Duplicate your background layer.
2.
Go to image > adjustments > black and white. Click ok when the dialogue box pops up.
3.
OPTIONAL: You can adjust the curves and levels to adjust the shadows and highlights to your preference. See my tutorial, Transform a Color Image into Black and White, for more information of curve adjustments.
4.
With the duplicate layer selected, click the erasure tool and paint the selection you wish to colorize. You will start to see color from the original image appear. Zoom in and adjust the erasure size to select the fine details. On the keyboard, use [ to decrease and ] to increase the erasure size.
5.
If you like the results at this point, you can export the image and be finished. Or continue to the next step to intensify the color.
There are two easy options for doing this. For a more subtle effect, go to step 6. For a more intense effect, skip to step 7.
6.
For a more subtle effect, we’ll just brighten the color using the selective color adjustment. Make sure the original background layer is selected. Add a color selector layer and adjust the colors until you achieve the desired look. You can also use the vibrance adjustment to make it more/ less intense. The new adjustment layers should be above the layer with the original image and below the layer of the copied original. If not, simply drag the layer to the appropriate place on the layers panel.
7.
For a more intense effect, we’ll just enhance the color using the hue/saturation adjustment. Make sure the original background layer is selected. Open the hue/saturation adjustment layer. The new adjustment layer should be above the layer with the original image and below the layer of the copied original. Select the colorize option. Play with the hue and saturation sliders until the desire effect is reached. The new adjustment layers should be above the layer with the original image and below the layer of the copied original. If not, simply drag the layer to the appropriate place on the layers panel.
