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Rangefinder
Magazine
July 2004
Adding a Little Color with
Adobe Photoshop by Michelle Perkins
Digital
imaging has opened worlds of color possibilities for photographers—and
they can all be created in-house with no additional costs for artwork
or special services (other than your time, which can actually be
quite minimal). This means, for example, that a single senior portrait
can be sold in color (for Grandma), black and white or sepia (for
Mom’s desk at work), as a handcolored image (for the wall in
the family room), and with a funky cross-processed look (for the
teenager’s friends). The creative changes you can make to color
in Adobe Photoshop are only as limited as your imagination, but the
following sections provide instructions for creating some quick,
custom effects.
Toning
While the most common tone is sepia, you can add any color you like.
Try out as many colors as you want before deciding on the best one, then
adjust its intensity to your liking.
Hue/Saturation Method
1. Begin with an image in the RGB mode.
2. Open the Hue/Saturation dialog box (Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation).
Click on the Colorize box. (Be sure to activate the Preview box.)
3. Adjust the sliders to create whatever color (hue) and intensity of
color (saturation) you like. For a sepia effect, try hue=23 and saturation=18
(see image below). (To create a ghosted image to use in an album layout
or as a background on your web site, you can also increase the lightness—otherwise
you’ll usually leave it at zero.)
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| Hue/Saturation Method #1 |
Hue/Saturation Method #2 |
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| Hue/Saturation Method #3 |
Calculations/Channel Method
This technique creates an effect that more closely mimicks traditional
toning techniques by applying the tone more strongly in the shadows and
more subtly in the highlights.
1. Begin with a black-and-white image in the RGB mode.
2. Create a new layer (Layer>New>Layer) and set its mode to Color.
3. Click on the foreground color swatch to activate the Color Picker
and select the color you want as the “toner.”
4. Fill the new layer with the selected foreground color (Edit>Fill).
5. Go to Image>Calculations. For Source 1, set the Layer to Merged
and the Channel to Gray. For Source 2, set the Layer to Layer 1 and the
Channel to Gray. Set the Blending to Normal and the Opacity to 100%.
For Result, select New Channel.
6. Go to Select>Load Selection. The highlight areas of the image will
be selected.
7. Go to Image>Adjustments>Levels. Move the black slider to the
right until it is under the left edge of the histogram. Move the highlight
slider slightly to the left.
8. In the Channels palette, click on the composite RGB channel. Then
(with the selection still active) go to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.
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Calculations/Channel Method #1 |
Calculations/Channel Method #2 |
Calculations/Channel Method #3 |
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Calculations/Channel Method #4 |
Calculations/Channel Method #5 |
Calculations/Channel Method #6 |
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Calculations/Channel Method #6 |
Calculations/Channel Method #7 |
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Calculations/Channel Method #8 |
Calculations/Channel Method #8 |
Duotone
Method
Duotone printing is a process in which only two inks are used. When applied
to photos, creating a duotone image results in a toned look.
1. Begin with a digital image in the Grayscale mode.
2. Change the image mode of the photograph to Duotone (Image>Mode>Duotone).
3. From the Duotone Options dialog box select Duotone from the Type pull-down
menu.
4. To select a tone for your image, just click the Ink 2 color swatch
box. This will bring up the Custom Colors dialog box.
5. In the Custom Colors dialog box, use the slider to pick the approximate
color you want. You can then scroll up and down through the individual
colors. Click on the color you want and hit OK.
6. In the Duotone Options dialog box, you’ll see a small curves
box to the left of the color swatch next to each ink. Click this to open
the Duotone Curve dialog box and control how the duotone appears. To
lighten the effect, drag the center of the curve down. To darken it,
drag the center of the curve up. To change how the color is applied to
the highlights or shadows, move the ends of the line.
7. When you are satisfied, hit OK. This will return you to the Duotone
Options palette. Hit OK again, and your duotone setup is complete. Be
sure to switch the image back to RGB before printing.
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Duotone Method #1 |
Duotone Method #3 |
Duotone Method #4 |
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Duotone Method #6 |
Duotone Method #7 |
Hand Coloring
With Photoshop, “hand coloring” is easy—and if you
goof, you can just hit Edit>Undo (or use the History palette). If
you never got the hang of coloring, you can create selections or masks
to help you “stay inside the lines.”
Hand Coloring with Color Layers
1. Begin with an image in the RGB color mode (Image>Mode>RGB).
The image must be in a color mode or you will not be able to add color
to it. If you want to add hand-colored effects to the color image, proceed
to step two. To hand color on black and white, go to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.
2. Create a new layer (Layer>New>Layer), and set it to the color
mode.
3. Click on the foreground color swatch to activate the Color Picker
and select the color you want as your “paint.” (Remember,
there’s no reason this has to be a realistic color.)
4. Select the Brush tool and whatever size/hardness brush you like, and
begin painting on the new layer you created in step 2. Because you have
set the layer mode to color, the color you apply will allow the detail
of the underlying photo to show through.
5. Using the Zoom tool to move in tight on your work areas will help
you work as precisely as possible, but you can also correct any mistakes
with the Eraser tool (set to 100% opacity). If you want to add more than
one color, you may wish to use more than one layer, all set to the color
mode.
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Hand Coloring with Color Layers Method #1 |
Hand Coloring with Color Layers Method #1 |
Hand Coloring with Color Layers Method #2 |
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| Hand Coloring with Color Layers Method #3 |
Hand Coloring with Color Layers Method #5 |
Desaturating with Layers
Here’s a quick way to add a hand-colored look in seconds—or
to avoid having to select colors for hand coloring. This technique works
only if you are starting with a color image.
1. Open your color image and duplicate the background layer by dragging
it onto the duplication icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
2. Desaturate the background copy by going to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate.
Then, by reducing the opacity of the desaturated layer you can allow
the colors from the underlying photo to show through as much or as little
as you like across the entire frame.
3. To create an image with selectively colored areas, set the opacity
of the desaturated layer to 100% and use the Eraser tool to reveal the
underlying photo. Adjust the opacity of the Eraser to allow as much color
to show through as you like. If you make a mistake and erase an area
you meant to leave black & white, you can use the History Brush to
paint the black & white back on from the desaturated history state.
4. For a very soft look, set the opacity of the desaturated layer to
about 90% (just enough to let colors show through faintly), and use the
Eraser tool (set to about 50%) to erase areas where you want an accent
of stronger color to appear.
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Desaturating with Layers #1 |
90% Opacity Desaturating with Layers #2 |
70% Opacity Desaturating with Layers #2 |
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Desaturating with Layers #3 |
Desaturating with Layers #4 |
Digital Cross Processing
Cross processing creates interesting color shifts that vary with the
film, its exposure, the chemistry, and the development process. The following
process simulates the cross-processed look of Kodak VHC, with pinkish-yellow
highlights and bluish shadows.
1. Begin with an image in the RGB mode. It should have good contrast
and be color balanced accurately. With portraits, you’ll have the
best results with skin tones that are quite light. Images with lighter
tones overall also tend to work better than darker images.
2. Create a new adjustment layer set to Curves (Layer>New Adjustment
Layer>
Curves).
3. In the Curves dialog box, select the blue channel. Move the highlight
point down to Input: 255, Output: 190. (You can fine-tune this setting
and all the following settings as you like.) Click in the center of the
curve to add a point in the midtones. Pull this up slightly to make a
shallow curve. (Here, the point was set to Input: 105, Output: 106.)
When you have completed this step, you should notice a yellow cast in
the highlights.
4. Select the green channel. Here, we will also reduce the highlight
point, although somewhat less. (In this example it was set to Input:
255, Output: 219.) Again, click in the center of the curve and pull up
slightly on the line until you start to see a nice peachy color in the
midtones. (In this example, the midtone point was placed at Input: 123,
Output: 122.)
5. Select the red channel. Here, we will leave the highlight point untouched
but add two adjustment points in the midtones. With these points, create
a curve that is steep in the highlights but levels out in the shadows.
(In this case, the top point was set at Input: 191, Output: 159, and
the bottom point was set at Input: 70, Output: 46.) This operation will
add a bluish color cast in the shadows.
6. Finally, go to the composite (RGB) channel and adjust the contrast
and lightness as needed. You will probably want to boost both of these
slightly.
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Digital Cross Processing #1 |
Digital Cross Processing #2 |
Digital Cross Processing #3 |
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Digital Cross Processing #3 |
Digital Cross Processing #4 |
Digital Cross Processing #4 |
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Digital Cross Processing #5 |
Digital Cross Processing #5 |
Digital Cross Processing #6 |
Believe it or not, most of these techniques
can be completed in just a minute or two (the possible exception being
hand coloring,
which can
be quite detailed and time-consuming, depending on your tastes). To further
streamline them, consider setting up actions to accomplish your favorite
or most-used effects with a single mouse click. (You can learn how to
set up actions in any basic Photoshop book.) Also, don’t be afraid
to experiment and customize all of these procedures—after all,
that’s half the fun of Photoshop!
 Text has been adapted from Michelle
Perkins’ latest Amherst book,
Color Correction and Enhancement with Adobe Photoshop.
Michelle Perkins
is a professional writer, designer, and image retoucher. She has written
for PC Photo and is the author of Beginner’s Guide
to Adobe Photoshop, Color Correction and Enhancement with Adobe Photoshop
and Traditional Photographic Techniques with Adobe Photoshop (all from
Amherst Media).
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