DMA102:
Quickmasking: Colorizing A Black & White Photograph
This lesson will cover the following selection techniques:
- Quickmasking
- Photoshop’s Selection tools (lasso, polygonal, etc.)
Step 1
Download this image and open it in Photoshop:
Although the image will appear colorized, it will still remain black & white. It's only colorized through adjustment layers. This way you can always change the colors or remove them altogether.
The Basic Steps:
Press "Q" to enter Quickmask Mode.
Use Paintbrush or selection tool to apply the Quickmask. It will appear RED.
Quickmask the area you want to colorize.
Press "Q" to convert the Quickmask into a selection.
Invert the selection (Ctrl Shift I), if necessary.
Apply a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer
Check the "Colorize" box to force color into the area. Press OK.
Label the Hue/Saturation layer (dress, floor, skin, etc)
Quickmasking
Quickmasking is a technique that allows you to ‘color’ part of an image with a mask. That mask is then converted into a selection. This technique is useful when the conventional selection tools simply cannot give you an accurate or precise selection. Let’s review the procedure:
Use Quickmasking or any other selection technique to isolate regions of the image (the floor, the walls, her skin, etc….) If you Quickmasked, be sure to convert the mask into a selection by pressing the letter “Q”. Let’s say you’ve isolated the wood floor as a selection..
When the Hue/Saturation dialog box comes up make sure you click COLORIZE. This will force color into the selection. Move the Hue/Sat/Lightness sliders to color the wood floor.
When you hit ok, it will appear as a Hue/Sat adjustment layer with a layer mask embedded in it. No clipping is necessary. Right-Click that adjustment layer and name it “Floor”.
Use the various selection tecniques to isolate the next area (the walls). With the selection, load another Hue/Sat adjustment layer. Hit colorize, make the changes. Hit ok. Repeat the process until the entire image is colorized.
Here are some examples....
