How to do selective colour photography
Make your photos pop!
Selective colour photography has been around for a long time in the world of taking photos. Sometimes, if done too much It can look quite cliché but if done correctly then it can look great and really make your image pop! Drawing focus from the viewer to the best parts of the image and overall improving the image. So, in this article, I will be telling you how I do selective colour photography inside of Adobe Photoshop. If you want to see my finished selective colour photos then head over to my portfolio.
If you would like to see a video version of this article then you can find my tutorial on my YouTube channel here.
Method
First, you want to select an image that is going to work well in selective colour. For example, I’ve found any image that has a vibrant object in the foreground and then a monotone/dull background looks great in selective colour. One of the best subjects I’ve found is plants, they can look great when against a tree of a plain patch of grass. Be imaginative and see what you can come up with.
After you’ve found an image which you think will work great in selective colour it’s time to get down to the actual process of making it. Import the image into Photoshop. After this, use whatever tool you are most comfortable with to select the areas you want to turn black and white. Or you can select the areas you want in colour and then invert your selection.
After you have got the area(s) you want to turn black and white selected; you need to turn them black and white. This can be done in Photoshop by using the black and white filter which is found under Image > Adjustments > Black and White. Or, you can use the shortcut which is Ctrl (Cmd) — Shift — Alt — B. After you do this, a pop-up menu should appear allowing you to edit the colour in the black and white, you can do this manually or hit auto. The choice is yours.
Once, you have turned the image into black and white, you have made your own selective colour photo. It really isn’t that hard to do. Make sure to share your selective colour images with me on twitter or Instagram and then I’ll feature my favourites in next week’s video on my YouTube channel!
Conclusion
That is how to do selective colour photography in Adobe Photoshop. If you have any questions or problems with anything at all then be sure to contact me either on twitter, in the comments or by email. If you would like to see more of photos then check out my portfolio or my Instagram. If videos are more your thing then check out my YouTube channel here.
