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Colorizing Black And White Pictures

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Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby GerryB » Fri Jun 01, 2018 9:39 am

Good afternoon all,

I had some time to spare this afternoon and I decided to download Steve's two tutorials on colourising (spelling US v UK) black & white photos.

Steve made it so easy I want to try it.

And I have drive full of possible candidates.

Thanks Steve.

Gerry
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby sidd finch » Fri Jun 01, 2018 10:19 am

It is kind of cool to see the final product and I think makes a good addition the the original black and white photo.

Happy Photoshopping....

Sidd
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby Steve Grisetti » Fri Jun 01, 2018 1:25 pm

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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby Bob » Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:30 pm

I'd like to add a few comments regarding how I do colorization.

First, I always use a separate layer for each color and object. I name each layer to identify what the layer is for. If I need to make a change, it's far easier to identify the specific layer I want and tweak or change the color or selection.

Second, I find that some colors may work better with a different blending mode. Overlay and Color modes usually work the best, but I sometimes like to use Soft Light. If you are trying to colorize white, you'll need to use one of the darken modes like Multiply or Color Burn. You'll need to do some experimentation as the final color is a combination of the photo's tone, the color used to colorize, and the blending mode. You can also adjust the opacity of the layer.

Third, I'll sometimes paint the color in like Steve does in the tutorial, but generally that will be for adding color to cheeks or adding eyeliner etc. Generally, I'll make a selection of the portion of the photo I want to work with and then add a new solid color layer. The selection will be added as a layer mask. Select a color close to what you want. After the solid color layer has been created, change the blending mode of the layer. If desired, double click on the layer to bring up the color selection dialog again and adjust the color -- the color change will preview in the image making it easy to judge whether you have the right color. Tweak the opacity if desired.

For skin tones, I find it handy to have a skin tones swatch I can select from the color picker. You can create your own or get one from a google search.
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby GerryB » Sat Jun 02, 2018 9:08 am

Bob & Steve,

This gets better and better!!

Two good tips here;
- use separate layers
- download a colour swatch

Also, I try out different layer effects.

I have done the above and the first attempts are pretty rough but worth persevering.

Thanks all,

Gerry
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby John 'twosheds' McDonald » Sat Jun 02, 2018 9:52 am

I watched the tutorial - very interesting technique.

Just a thought. I was wondering if, after colourising, whether Portrait Pro might help make the faces in the image a little easier to fine tune? You can try Portrait Pro for free here:-

http://www.portraitprofessional.com/?c= ... gI4dPD_BwE
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby GerryB » Sun Jun 03, 2018 4:22 am

Thanks John,

I'll give it a try and see how I get on.

The photos I'm 'playing' with are all 1950s b/w and the focus on the faces is not 'the best'. Just a minor limitation!!

Gerry
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Re: Colorizing Black And White Pictures

Postby sidd finch » Tue Jun 05, 2018 8:22 am

I forgot about that tutorial. Downloaded it and will keep it in my to do file.

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