Photoshop Elements >

Hand Coloring a B&W Photograph >

1 - Preliminaries

You can easily hand color a B&W photograph.

You no longer have to use Marshall's oils and Q-Tips™, like Frances E. Schultz does, at Handcolor Your Prints, A Venerable Craft that Is Still Going Strong.

Below, we'll select an area, and will fill it in with a color.

There are other methods, as well.

Go to Other Hand Coloring Methods.

Be sure to check off as you go along.

Preparation

1) Preserve your original file.

If you haven't already done so, go to Preserve Your Original File.

2) Create a Background copy layer.

If you haven't already done so, go to Create a Background Copy Layer.

B&W or Color?

3) Are you starting with a black-and-white photograph or a color photograph?

B&W Photograph

You need to make sure your black-and-white photograph is in the RGB Color mode.

To check, go to Image > Mode.

If RGB Color isn't checked, click RGB Color to convert to the RGB Color mode.

Color Photograph

You need to convert your color photograph into black-and-white.

The easiest way is to go to Enhance > Adjust Color > Remove Color.

However, the quality is often poor.

Instead, go to Enhance > Convert to Black and White.

Or, for even more control, go to Method #2.

Make a Composite Layer

4) If you have more layers than just the Background and Background copy layers, merge them into a composite layer.

A composite layer contains all of the layers of your photograph.

Go to Composite Layer.

Use the composite layer for toning.

Levels

5) Tweak the photograph by adjusting the Levels.

Tone (Optional)

6) You may want to tone the photograph, say, with a blue or sepia tone.

If so, do the following.

a) Create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

b) Select Colorize.

In 6.0 & 7.0, Colorize is located in the bottom right corner.

In 8.0, Colorize is located in the bottom middle.

c) Change the Hue and Saturation values.

For blue, set the Hue to 220, and Saturation to 10.

For sepia, set the Hue to 25, and Saturation to 20.

Experiment by modifying the above values.

The above toning method is Method #2 in Toning.

Tone Only Part of the Image

If you want to tone only part of the image, make a selection of that part before you create the Hue/Saturation layer.

Or, after the above steps, do the following.

a) Select the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

b) Press to Ctrl + i fill the mask with black.

This blocks the effect of the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

c) Using the Brush tool, with white as the foreground color, paint on the image where you want the toning.

If you haven't already, go to Foreground & Background Colors.

Three Tips

Tip #1 - Use Blank Layers

Paint colors on blank layers.

For example, let's say your adding color to the subject's hair.

You'll:

a) Create a blank layer.

b) Rename the Layer from Layer 1 to Hair.

c) You'll paint the hair color on the Hair layer.

Go to Create a Blank Layer.

Tip #2 - Rename the Blank Layers

You'll probably create many blank layers.

Rename them!.

Then, when you need to fine tune some coloring, you can locate the right layer quickly.

Go to Renaming Layers.

Tip #3 - Save Selections

Save your selections as you go along.

You may need them later.

Also, you can often use parts of previous selections when making new ones.

Let's say you're coloring a photograph of your great grandmother.

Make a selection of the background behind her.

Save the selection by doing the following.

a) At the top of your screen, go to Select > Save Selection.

b) Enter Background as the name of the selection.

After you add color to the background, invert the selection.

Go to Select > Inverse.

The selection "flips."

Your great grandmother is now selected.

Save the selection as Granny.

From this selection you can easily make new selections for her hair, face, and clothing.

Two Tweaks

Tweak #1 - Blending Modes

When you use the Brush tool, or the Paint Bucket tool, to add color, the color is opaque.

You can't see the photograph (Background copy layer) that's under the the color layer.

Just change the blending mode of the color layer to Color.

Look for a box with Normal inside at the top of the layers palette/panel.

Open the menu by clicking the tiny black arrow to the right of the box, and select Color

Color is second from the bottom of the list.

The Color blending mode takes the luminosity (tones) from the Background copy layer, and adds the color.

Tweak #2 - Opacity

Layers have have an Opacity setting at the top of the layers palette/panel.

Look for the box with Opacity to the left, and 100% inside the box.

At 100%, the opacity of the layer is solid.

If you lower the opacity, the layer becomes increasingly transparent.

At 0%, you can't see the layer at all.

So, if the color you added is too strong, simply lower the opacity of the layer.

Do the following.

a) Select the layer (highlighted).

b) Lower the opacity.

If you haven't already done so, go to Changing Box Numbers.

Color Sources

From where do you get the colors?

You can use the Color Picker, color swatches, and you can get color from other photographs and materials.

Go to Color Picking.

For skin tones, go to the Skin Tone Samples Chart.

Record the Colors Used

After choosing a color, that color is the foreground color.

You'll probably be choosing many colors.

The foreground color will be changing.

What if you want to return to a previously used color?

Place the colors in a color swatch library.

Go to Window > Color Swatches.

Click inside the color swatch palette/panel where there's no colors.

You'll be prompted to save the color swatch library.

Click Cancel.

The color is now available for your selection.

Now, let's do some coloring.

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