The basics

174 ADVANCED PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 5.0 FOR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHERS
DARKROOM TECHNIQUES ON
THE DESKTOP
Hand coloring >> Digital hand coloring works by applying painted
sections of the image to the black and white original using the Color
blending mode. This technique preserves the detail of the
monochrome picture and tints the surface with the color of the
upper layer in much the same way as oil paint was used to tint black
and white prints of old.
7.09 Digital hand coloring
Suitable for Elements – 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.0 | Diffi culty level – Basic | Resources – Web image 709
Tools used – Brush | Menus used – Layer
Before the advent of color fi lm the only way to add a hue to a picture was to apply water- or oilbased
paints over the top of a black and white print. Most of us will have old photographs of
family weddings that are delicately colored in this way. There is a simplicity and subtlety about
this approach that is worth recapturing in the digital age.
If you look at the old images you will notice that the detail of the black and white picture shows
through the colored paint. The combination of these details and the applied color creates the
hand colored effect. To simulate this technique digitally we can use the Color blending mode in
Elements. The color is applied to a separate layer using the paint brush and then the mode of the
layer is changed to Color. This allows the details of the image beneath to show through the color
above. Using the paint brush in the Normal mode will create large fl at areas of color that hide the
detail beneath.
Book resources at: www.adv-elements.com