selective coloring

does that make sense

I duplicate the layer;
desaturate the top layer;
use the eraser brush on the parts I want colored;
Set the opacity of the brush to about 20% or so to get a softer effect:

Before and after:

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J T wrote in post #2417996
Duplicate layer, make the top layer b/w, then add a mask, then "paint" back in the areas I want to show color. Is there a simpler way?

Thats how I do it. Never really knew other ways existed until now. Does anyone know the pros and cons of the various methods?

i hate to ask , but i see peoples methods here and thats great, but could somebody explain step by step how to do this for the non intelegent people in here such as my self, thanks you so much in advance, love the pictures and this method, just need to know how to do it thanks again

akhoopes wrote in post #2438188
i hate to ask , but i see peoples methods here and thats great, but could somebody explain step by step how to do this for the non intelegent people in here such as my self, thanks you so much in advance, love the pictures and this method, just need to know how to do it thanks again

Hi Bill;

Here are the steps I use in my studio, and how I teach it. I did screen captures to show the progression ... using the eagle sample from Photoshop. Here is step one ... adding a dupe layer.

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Hi Bill;

Here is step #2 ... selecting my black and white action.

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Hi Bill;

Here is step #3, after using my black & white action.

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Hi Bill;

Here is step #4 ... adding a layer mask.

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Hi Bill;

Here is step #5 ... using the brush to paint in the color.

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Hi Bill;

Here is the final presentation with just the eye and the beak in color. BY working with a layer mask, if you make a mistake you can click X on your keyboard to reverse from a black brush to a white one to correct it and then click X again to continue.

There are other ways but this method I've heard from almost all people who teach Photoshop and it's how I teach it in my studio and when I go out to teach groups.

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thats awesome, i love it, i have tried this though and i cant seem to get the edges right it seems to bring the color in from outside what i wat it to, no it doesnt look smooth like this one does. i thnk im gonna get some training dvd's, thank you for this explanation though, ill keep trying

I just learned how to do the duplicate layer.. desaturate.. history brush... my question is.. how on earth does the brush know what i want to be colored? The brush would re-color the area i wanted and the other half of the brush would remain b/w... i'd like to understand how this works...

Gee, I've been doing things backward. I create another layer and erase the color with the exception of the area in question. Either way, it's really easy.

wxguesser, buy using the history tool/brush your essentially bringing out the HISTORY of the original photo(the color)

try this link