Tips, Tutorials, Hacks

Black and White with a Splash of Colour

// October 8th, 2008

fire
One of the techniques people most often ask me to teach them is making a photograph like the one on the right that is black and white with one other colour. There are a few ways to achieve this effect but here is the one I find easiest for Photoshop users:

1) Open a suitable photograph, this can be any subject but ideally it needs an area of bright colour that will have an impact when it’s finished while the rest of the photo looks good in black and white. For example:

Be Gentle
2) Select IMAGE>ADJUSTMENTS>DESATURATE to turn the photo black and white. But don’t take the photo out of RGB (i.e. don’t convert to black and white or mono) or the next step won’t work.

3) Select the history brush from the tool menu on the left of the screen (usually the fifth icon down in the right hand column), set hardness to 100% and choose a suitable brush size to work with on the section of the photo you want to put in colour.

4) Now use the brush and go over the area you want in colour, the brush will erase the black and white and bring back the colour. You may need to zoom and work close up on some sections. Take your time and change brush sizes if you need to.

It’s that simple! Here are a few more examples to give you inspiration:

Light and Dark lost boy

18 Responses to “Black and White with a Splash of Colour”

  1. [...] Just discovered this fancy tool thanks to Photodoto. [...]

  2. [...] Photodoto has information on how to create Black and Whites with a Splash of Color [...]

  3. nwilliam3 says:

    Another easy method for this is to create a duplicate layer. Change the duplicate layer to black and white (what ever process you prefer) and place it on top of the colored layer. Now just delete out what you want to show in color. The process is quick and simple. Especially for us hacks that are using GIMP.

  4. MauiMikey says:

    My favorite method (in PS CS3) is to create a B/W adjustment layer, which gives tremendous control over the B/W conversion, and then use the layer mask on it to reveal the color portion. Layer masks are far more flexible than simply erasing parts of a layer. Quick, relatively simple, and very flexible.

  5. Lindsey` says:

    how do you get this effect if you have i photo :(

  6. Ray Davis says:

    I’m not aware of a way to do this in iPhoto unfortunately. Both the methods mentioned by the previous commentors are also great ways to achieve this effect but won’t work in iPhoto because the program doesn’t give you enough editing options for this kind of thing.

  7. Andy says:

    Anyone know how to do this in Paintshop Pro

  8. Brent Spencer says:

    How is this done with photoshop elements 6???

  9. [...] Black and White with a Splash of Colour (for Photoshop). Voyez un de mes propres exemples à droite. [...]

  10. [...] Black and White with a Splash of Colour (for Photoshop). See one of my examples on the right. [...]

  11. [...] ran an article last month called Black and White with a Splash of Color. In this video I’ll show you a few additional simple but powerful techniques that will allow [...]

  12. [...] Black and White with a Splash of Color In this tutorial, you’ll see a method for the selective coloring of a black-and-white photo. [...]

  13. [...] Magazine una raccolta di 50 guide sul fotoritocco digitale: tra i vari tutorial c’era questo, in cui si spiega come lasciare macchie di colore all’interno di una fotografia in bianco e [...]

  14. [...] Black and White with a Splash of Color In this tutorial, you’ll see a method for the selective coloring of a black-and-white photo. [...]

  15. inder says:

    Wow that was simple & quick :) thanks for this tutorial

  16. [...] Preto e branco com um detalhe de cor Aprenda o método de cor seletiva em fotos PB. [...]

  17. bill says:

    This can be done easily in Photoshop Elements 6. Open your original photo. Duplicate the layer…name it B&W. Then, convert the duplicate layer (B&W) to black and white. Select that layer. Then, choose Quick Selection tool and out line the area you want colorized. Once this is done simply goto the Menu bar, choose Edit and then cut. Or, use the Eraser Tool and just remove the color from the area of the photo you want.

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