# 09 - Assignment - Selective Color - No Due Date



## inTempus

For whatever reason I've been drawn to selective color shots lately.  I think it's fun looking for things that might standout in a fun way if using this particular PP trickery.

Let's see some inspirational selective coloring shots!  

Here's one I took today over lunch.


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## tron

wow, weird i just took this pic 

meh having a block...






it looks like a really ****ty s/c job but thats as close as i could get without the box showing through...

not to mention my focus is off


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## chris miss

I took this shot under a bridge for my first photography class last Spring with my P&S. I like it better in color (posted elsewhere on the forum) but asked my instructor if he would use selective color for the red light (I didn't know how--still don't).


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## Black_Noise




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## A.Maupin

I love doing this. I was actually trying to do it with a few different photos I took of my cats last night. But couldn't get one to come out as I wanted.. Then I called it a night. I'll have to play around some more with them and come back here & post my photo.


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## UtahsRebel

These are a couple I did awhile back and liked the outcome.


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## Genocide




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## inTempus

Done out of boredom yesterday...


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## leaving0hio

Done today...


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## Genocide

An old one not from an SLR:


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## gerp

Hey guys, new user here.  I got my Canon Xti last week and have been obsessing over it since (I'm home on winter break from college, so I have the gift of time).  C&C is welcome! Thanks.

Roses on Acid


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## Bigpopa

gerp said:


> Hey guys, new user here. I got my Canon Xti last week and have been obsessing over it since (I'm home on winter break from college, so I have the gift of time). C&C is welcome! Thanks.
> 
> Roses on Acid


 
This is a BA pic I love this nice work...................someday I will learn to do stuff like this.


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## artreuo

How come red is almost always the selective color?


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## inTempus

artreuo said:


> How come red is almost always the selective color?


Good question, and I don't know.  It probably has to do with the contrast.  Red stands out more than other colors which might be lost of the B&W.


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## gerp

Bigpopa said:


> This is a BA pic I love this nice work...................someday I will learn to do stuff like this.



Thank you! It's really not that difficult to do...if you have photoshop and a tablet



			
				artreuo said:
			
		

> How come red is almost always the selective color?


Red does stick out.  The color needs to be bright enough to stand out against the B&W. Orange or bright blues seem to look good. I'm kind of obsessed with these color selection pictures right now, so I'm looking for different ways to do it.


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## stsinner

Some good stuff there...  How about this one?


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## bwlergh

Here's mine:


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## Bigpopa

Gerp I have PS CS3 but what kind of tablet are you talking about?


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## gerp

Bigpopa said:


> Gerp I have PS CS3 but what kind of tablet are you talking about?



I own a Toshiba Portege M400 tablet laptop (here) that allows me to use a stylus to write on the screen.  You can also buy pressure tablets that are like mouse pads that you can draw on.  I don't really know much about the latter option, but they range from $50 to $300 (from newegg).  I suspect that the upper end may be a littmle overkill, but maybe someone else has some experience with that.

Anyway, you can use the tablet to draw on things in PS (i.e. when you are making masks and adjustment layers), which is how I make that color selection photo.


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## gerp

bwlergh said:


> Here's mine:



Ha, fun picture.  Do you have a larger copy? Some of the details are hard to see initially.


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## negs

red is most definitely the most popular color to selectively color in...


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## DrJones

with Canon SD630


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## bww77

took this in Athens, GA when i visited


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## gerp

bww77 said:


> took this in Athens, GA when i visited



I like that shot. The whole picture feels like a dark alley.


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## DexGtr




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## fotogurl2009

My 1st post- my little girl.


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## Solthar

Love your photo, DexGtr.


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## Eldrich

me, and a bunch of food


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## SlimPaul

Genocide said:


>



That's a nice shot! 
I'll post one up later.


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## TheSon

I took this a few months ago.  Those are all the original colors of the beams and metal art.


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## leighthal

A subtle use of selective colour.


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## Sbuxo

here's mine. ;D
me w/ red lipstick.


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## SlimPaul

Time is precious...


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## alarionov

Yesterdays park visit


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## KiwiShot

The only colours I like


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## forzabrian

nice shots

here's some pizza boxes....


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## jmthompson

Took this picture of the dog chasing sqirrels in the park today. Loved the picture, but everything was pretty much the same color, so I figured this was a good choice for some selective coloring! Just figuring out the process!





Don't worry...he's never caught one (or even came close), but not for lack of effort!


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## inTempus

That's a great pic jmthompson.  Very cool indeed.


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## stsinner

Eldrich said:


> me, and a bunch of food




I like the vibrant colors.


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## chaos4fun




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## laura82

Figured I would give it a shot...


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## bevin

KiwiShot said:


> The only colours I like



Yum, can you send me your yellows? Banana's my favourite :mrgreen:


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## tannaleigh

My son three days after his heart transplant.... and Douglas the monkey


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## jmthompson

Thank you so much, Tharmsen!!!


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## bwlergh

gerp said:


> Ha, fun picture.  Do you have a larger copy? Some of the details are hard to see initially.



I do, but I had people misuse my images previously, so I don't make them larger than 600x600px for the internet.


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## Defy

Kinda selective coloring but i did it without photoshop.  It's asphalt behind him, i just used a telephoto so it would blur the background.


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## schuylercat




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## jmborkowski




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## Kegger

Here's mine


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## MikeBcos

Here's my attempt:


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## Silverado_13




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## Joe&Caroline

not my pic but it is my son no editing not my picture


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## Marea

Done with photoshop - eye colour hasn't been tweeked - just placed in Black and white and recovered her natural eye colour and tone with history brush.

Stunning creature!

C and C welcome!


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## timethief

Hi everyone,

Just done this today with photoshop elements 7. New to the forum. My first post. Hope this looks good on the page.


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## hankejp

Here's a couple that I did this last summer/fall:

1.)
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





2.)


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## swmocity




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## 63square

I finally picked up photoshop and have been trying to figure out how to use it, there is a lot of things that you can do. I think I figure out the selective color thing, this is my first attempt.


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## rat_1_ca




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## Goldeeno

Bit late, but better late than never.


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## TwoRails

Bigpopa said:


> ....someday I will learn to do stuff like this.


I just tried it for the first time (minutes ago, because of this thread  ) and it's actually not too difficult.  Take your shot and duplicate / promote it into a new layer.  Turn that second layer into the black-n-white shot.  Then just erase, on the black-n-white layer, what you wanted colored as the erased part will allow the colored part in the first layer to show thru the erased portion of the black-n-white.  Try it, it's easy.


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## TwoRails

OK, here's my first attempt:






.


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## timethief

very nice i like it.good work.


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## TwoRails

Thanks


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## sebarrier3




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## sftempest66

I took this shot a few weeks ago and I saw this thread so I thought I would contribute mine...Its tobacco btw (I was going for the grainy/rugged look before I even made the ash stand out)






(I'm new so go easy!)


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## paranoidandroid13

hankejp said:


> Here's a couple that I did this last summer/fall
> 
> 
> 2.)


Really nice picture.  Very Creative!


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## 4thirds_dude

Here's my 2 cents worth...did this one the other night...self portrait a-la-wireless-remote.


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## Kish

Here is my attempt.


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## TwoRails

There are some really nice shots being posted!  Gives inspiration


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## ManishMan11

Here's one of my first tries.  A little simplistic.







And another....


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## LarissaPhotography




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## Kish

Sometimes the world needs cheesy....

Your pic got an "Awwww" from me!!


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## LarissaPhotography

Zombilicious, yours and sebarrier3's images are probably the 2 images I like best.  The only thing that I notice on yours is that the girl's clothing and jewelry selection doesn't seem to match the cutesy colored flower.  Selective color does add interest to the picture, though, so good job there.


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## cdnjeepin




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## sebarrier3

LarissaPhotography said:


> Zombilicious, yours and sebarrier3's images are probably the 2 images I like best. The only thing that I notice on yours is that the girl's clothing and jewelry selection doesn't seem to match the cutesy colored flower. Selective color does add interest to the picture, though, so good job there.


 

:hug:: Thanks!  Compliments seem hard to come by on this forum so I appreciate that!  ~Sarah


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## hankejp

paranoidandroid13 said:


> Really nice picture. Very Creative!


 

Thank you Paranoid.


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## TwoRails

Zombilicious said:


> I rarely do it because it usually looks a little cheesy.  Very cheesy in this picture.


That's a good 'cheesy' - I like it.


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## RoseBud

My little brother being silly!  His face and his left leg are a bit blurry, though.


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## Hobbes

Usually I am not really willing to edit my own photos but I have actually tried with this selective color thing in Photoshop once and this is the result:


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## m2v




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## Rmac

Very nice, m2v.

Mac,


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## m2v

thanks mac


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## mudthirsty

I always liked the look of these..  so im in.  Not sure if I did it properly, but it looks alright i guess.


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## EasternSierra

OK...I'm new here, but I'll try this...

The photo itself is crappy...just a P&S digicam. But I like how it brings out the natural color of my boa:


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## OregonAmy

I've never done this before so I played around with it last night & today... this was done in GIMP. I'm not a big fan of this style, but it was fun to play & learn something new 






Lesson learned, though - the original should probably have a wide range of colors & texture. I noticed in both this picture and the one I did last night that after adding the color, it was hard to tell that the rest of the picture is b&w (I've noticed that with a few pictures in this thread). Is the weight plate black? Sure could be. (it's blue, btw)


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## pilotgirl2007

This is my first photo that I have edited in PS...C&C is welcome : )


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## jackattack




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## LarissaPhotography

jackattack, I really like the car.  Great use of selective color.  The orange jumps off the image.


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## hankejp

mudthirsty said:


> I always liked the look of these.. so im in. Not sure if I did it properly, but it looks alright i guess.


 

How much time did it take to do this shot.  I think it's pretty cool.


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## Clilly88

Pretty old photo I did:


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## Dhaines94

Here is mine...

Which do you like better

This one:







or this one?


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## TwoRails

Given that it's a selective color theme, I have to say #2.  However, #1 (full color or B&W) would be a good shot for other themes.


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## koppiwrite

My first post here.  But I like all the photos posted.  I will post later.


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## illanikz




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## j-digg

Not sure it works, just because the selected word is part of a phrase, but I thought it was sorta cool anyhow :mrgreen:.


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## LarissaPhotography

jdigg, that's a good job, but I feel like you may want to bring out a little more as color in this image.  It does draw my attention to "peace", but that may not be what you were going for.


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## j-digg

that's actually exactly ( and only ) what i was going for lol.. take it easy.... Peace


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## yogibear

I like it j-digg  There is a lot to look at in the picture.  Having just Peace highlighted gives it a little more focus to me.


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## Kimberly81




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## UtahsRebel

How about selective color without having to do it in PP. Does this count?


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## TwoRails

UtahsRebel said:


> How about selective color without having to do it in PP. Does this count?


Linky no worky...


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## Kahbsurat

Kimberly81 said:


>



that is very pretty


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## fongp

just wanted to try it with a pic I had from before. gee this forum is fun.


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## Daki_One

the rose one is really nice. heres mine.


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## Sleepy_Sentry

Here's mine. It's a bullet train in Tokyo.


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## Kondro86

Chondropython (Morelia Viridis) 

I think Selective coloring does not work on everything. Some of these pics prove my point. It looks like some of you just picked a random object and Colored it, then changed the color as well. I think this is why alot people just hate on Selective Coloring when really it is an amazing way to bring life to a photo. Just my .02 cents on the topic. Feel free to offer C&C to my photo as well. thanks -Danny


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## FancyFiona

I know, I know...flowers!  Well, I just did these pics for my friend and this was a random shot, obviously not posed that is one of my favs!  I had to do the flowers..what choice did I have?


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## Kondro86

FancyFiona I like this one alot. The colors pop. But it seems you have missed some of the outer petals. You should try and fix that and I think it would look much nicer. -Danny


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## Dcrymes84




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## FancyFiona

Kondro86 said:


> FancyFiona I like this one alot. The colors pop. But it seems you have missed some of the outer petals. You should try and fix that and I think it would look much nicer. -Danny


You're right.  I have been editing about 297 of these photos..yes, that many.  I didn't catch that.  Thank you for pointing that out.  I'm going to take care of that right now!


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## Kethaneni

Picasa Web Albums - Kethaneni - Selective col...


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## Kondro86




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## Hellhound




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## emptypockets

I use selective coloring very sparingly, so here's my only example. The wreath of flowers was placed above the bride and groom in memory of the bride's father, who has passed away not long ago.


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## Jay5oh

Alot of fantastic images, good job!

Here are a couple I did from a shoot..


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## icassell




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## Pappa Gulf

Wow, these are some relly noce pictures. I have a questions for you all though.  I have photphop CS3 but I am very new to all this. Could someone tell me how to do a photo like this. I haven't even a close Idea of how to do selective color.

Thanks in advance


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## icassell

Pappa Gulf said:


> Wow, these are some relly noce pictures. I have a questions for you all though.  I have photphop CS3 but I am very new to all this. Could someone tell me how to do a photo like this. I haven't even a close Idea of how to do selective color.
> 
> Thanks in advance





Well, I don't know if there is a 'right way'.  I just converted my image to B/W.  Then I used the brush tool in CS2 to paint in the color.

Ian


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## kalmkidd

Kondro86 said:


> Chondropython (Morelia Viridis)
> 
> I think Selective coloring does not work on everything. Some of these pics prove my point. It looks like some of you just picked a random object and Colored it, then changed the color as well. I think this is why alot people just hate on Selective Coloring when really it is an amazing way to bring life to a photo. Just my .02 cents on the topic. Feel free to offer C&C to my photo as well. thanks -Danny




i couldnt agree more.


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## biancarose

I took these with a cheap point and shoot. No photo shop, this is just how they came out


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## biancarose

this is awesome



Kondro86 said:


>


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## Bitter Jeweler

iPhone pic and iPhone processed.


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## Kimberly81




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## Hobbes




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## rufus5150

"Discovery"


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## sarallyn

"Eying the Storm"


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## Carolina_Blue

My first post...does it work on this?


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## bsdubois00

sarallyn said:


> "Eying the Storm"



AMAZING eyes!!!!!


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## F1addict

top one is my current desktop background on my main monitor


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## STMel03

Squeakers....


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## Bill19

Love these sort of shots


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## Battou

Taken with Kodak C-743 (Auto settings)


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## cfusionpm

Taken at D1 Grand Prix drifting event:


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## c.cloudwalker

leighthal said:


> A subtle use of selective colour.




This is my favorite image here and one of the very few I actually liked. IMHO: 1/ the original image needs to be able to stand on its own as is; 2/ there needs to be a reason to the effect for it to make the image better.

In this case I can only assume the photographer had the same reason I'm reading. Fragile bird fluffing up to warm up during the winter. Because the bird is in color it makes the rest of the image colder thus bringing this idea thru even more strongly. Warmth of the bird vs. the cold of the environment.

Same basic idea in my c&c of this image except, in this case, I was thinking of a psychological cold. http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...gallery/169349-bird-wire-opinions-please.html

There is one photo for which we can be sure of the reason (wedding shot with a funeral wreath) and even though the photo doesn't do much for me, it is a very nice way of showing the emotion tied to this particular aspect of the day. But it must have been hell trying to fit this image within the final album...


One thing I find kinda funny is that this is a very old special effect. It used to be called hand tinting and we started with a B&W photo because it came into existence before color photography. Today, you guys start with a color photo, turn it into a b&w and, then, add some color back in


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## Threesia

This was taken with my Sony cybershot High zoom PS, but I like it.


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## NielsGade




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## MrsMoo

IMHO I know I can do better than this


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## dwol

Well here is my selective colouring image, I've posted this one up before hehe


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## Cameron2049




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## SuperMom30

Nice pic! here are a few of mine


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## mpasq66




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## MrsMoo

dwol said:


> Well here is my selective colouring image, I've posted this one up before hehe



couch potato! lol


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## SuperMom30




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## Lazy Photographer




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## dreyer




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## TwoRails

Haven't been around for a while, but that's some nice stuff above


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## csprau

My first attempt at this.


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## bitteraspects

heres an older one


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## bitteraspects




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## Boutte




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## Frogfish

1st time posting, but a couple of mine...























I love selective coloring


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## F1addict

just took this today...and spent the last hour and a half editing...at Giants training camp at SUNY Albany




before I did the selective coloring the two guys behind him were extremely distracting. as you can see. Or at least I thought they were


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## xiangji

Am I too late???? =(  lol


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## B Kennedy

Ok, so I know this question has been asked and answered in many a threads in the past, but I still haven't gotten the answer I'm looking for.  I've never really attempted selective coloring, but I'm looking to start messing around with it, and when done correctly done I think it looks really cool.

So with all that said, I understand when using photoshop that you can copy the background layer and set it to B&W and then by using layer masks you can paint your way through that B&W Layer to let the color through.  This is fine when you have almost say solid objects that you want to show color. (see my attached attempt)  keyword attempt lol.  But is there anyway to like select a color range, like the picture of the pink flowers that was posted earlier?  Almost as if you selected a color range for the pinks to show through and not the greens of the stems?

I mean I think the picture I did does reflect this color selection, but I don't like the way it looks at all.  Could just be that the image doesn't warrant it.  I attached the original as well.


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## MelissaMarieImagery

From a show I shot the other day  I'm not really one for selective colour, but for the spirit of the thread-- Enjoy!


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## saphoto

Could only find the watermarked one right now. Sorry!


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## hower610




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## Opher

It's a bit OOF but i like it


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## hower610

Here is a newer picture than the one I posted earlier...


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## iamacyborg

An old shot and an old edit, I should really rework on this one, because it's got more potential, definitely something to do when I finally get myself a tablet.


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## Pugs

hower610 said:


> Here is a newer picture than the one I posted earlier...


 
Seth!

     When did you pick up the 1911?!  I'm gonna have to take that for a test drive!


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## benpsut

They're a BIT sloppy, but they work.


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## RussJasper




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## big.tater

There are some great photos here. I have to give this a try.


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## vandy1821

Here is from our wedding.


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## chemqueen

my first shot at this...


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## The Dane

I thought I would do something a little more subtle.


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## benlonghair




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## Scout




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## poof

First try...


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## txphotog

First try for me at this. I had to spend a while in Elements 7 to figure it out!


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## Daki_One




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## Pugs

My first ever attempt at selective color (I think... I don't recall ever trying it... so...). From my Seattle trip in August.


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## Pugs

And my second ever attempt... I think...


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## Arkanjel Imaging

Hey, its selective color, back from the dead.


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## DirtyDFeckers

My first shot at this....


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## wawawee

my c901 no photoshop edit


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## gardy90

cant help it i like em both


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## orb9220

Yep like selective color shots some don't. I try not to use to much. But when warranted for what I want to achieve then will use it like any other tool.




In The Dark-Redux (Tad more Sharpen and Color) by orb9220, on Flickr




Light gives Color by orb9220, on Flickr




Blue Box #2 by orb9220, on Flickr
.


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## Platinumgoodies

Above are really very nice pictures. As well as the abstract are also very good..... Keep it up. All the best from Wedding Favor


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## tagnal

My first attempt at selective colors...


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## RauschPhotography




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## Jcampbelll

I thinks it works well.


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## filmshooter

Jcampbelll, awesome photo! That would be perfect as an ad for that Canon camera!


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## Jcampbelll

filmshooter said:


> Jcampbelll, awesome photo! That would be perfect as an ad for that Canon camera!



Thanks. It was shot with a Nikon D90


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## StillGotIt




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## camcestari

Awesome!!!


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## LikableDisaster

just found this forum today, lots of good stuff here.​ 
took this about a month or so.


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## akeigher




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## nrosser




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## elad188




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## elad188




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## geniehop

I'm finding these assignments to be a great way to challenge myself. There are many awesome posts; I love tagnal's orchids. Here is my first foray into selective color:


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## OrionsByte

I've been messing with flash techniques and ended up with this shot of my daughter that I decided to try some selective color with.  It's my laptop wallpaper now.


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## BGL

As I walked by this yesterday, I knew what had to be done...

Let me know what you think.


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## ambrai5

Ok here goes...my first shot at selective color



">


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## Jessielee13

Here is mine.


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## SubtleSTI




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## crazyfoo

My son and I, I set up the picture and asked my wife to just "click the button." all adjustments were made in Lightroom.


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## safeshot

always a good shot when they dont know your doing it


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