Photoshop Elements 3 for Windows and Macintosh: Visual QuickStart Guide

Figure 6.65 The position of the Hue slider determines

the color your tinted image will be.

Figure 6.64 Click the Colorize check box to add a

colored tint to any image.

Figure 6.63 Open the Hue/Saturation dialog box to

access the Colorize option.

Adding a Color Tint

to an Image

Using a technique called colorization, you

can add a single color tint to your images,

simulating the look of a hand-applied color

wash, or the warm, antique glow of an old

sepia-toned photograph. You can apply the

effect to any image, even if it was originally

saved as grayscale, as long as you first con-

vert it to RGB. In addition to colorizing an

entire image, you can use layers and layer

modes to tint specific areas or objects.

Because the shades of color you apply are

determined by the image’s original tonal val-

ues, photographs with good brightness and

contrast levels make the best candidates for

colorizing. (For information on tonal values

and levels, see “About Tonal Correction” in

Chapter 3.)

To colorize a large area of an image:

1.

Using any of the selection or marquee

tools, select the area of your image you

want to colorize.

If you want to colorize an entire image,

it’s not necessary to make a selection.

2.

From the Enhance menu, choose Adjust

Color > Adjust Hue/Saturation, or press

Ctrl+U/Command+U to open the Hue/

Saturation dialog box (Figure 6.63).

3.

See that the Preview check box is selected,

and then click the Colorize check box

(Figure 6.64).

Clicking the Colorize check box converts

all the color in the image to a single hue.

4.

Drag the Hue slider right or left until you

arrive at the color you like (Figure 6.65).

continues on next page

187

Fixing and Retouching Photos

Adding a Color Tint to an Image

5.

Drag the Saturation slider to adjust its

values.

Dragging the slider to the left moves the

color’s saturation value closer to gray,

while dragging it to the right moves its

value closer to a pure, fully saturated

color.

6.

Drag the Lightness slider to adjust the

color’s brightness values.

Dragging to the left dims the color’s

brightness value, shifting it closer to

black, while dragging to the right bright-

ens its value, shifting it closer to white.

7.

Click OK to close the Hue/Saturation dia-

log box.

Your image is now composed of different

values of the single color hue you selected.

To colorize a specific area of an image:

1.

From the Enhance menu, choose

Adjust Color > Remove Color, or press

Shift+Ctrl+U/Shift+Command+U.

Remember that although the Remove

Color command removes all color from

the image, it’s still an RGB file, and so

color can be introduced back into it.

2.

On the Layers palette, click the New

Layer button to create a new layer above

your gray-toned base layer (Figure 6.66).

3.

From the Blending Mode pop-up menu

on the Layers palette, select Color.

4.

Select the Brush tool from the toolbox,

then on the options bar, use the Brush Size

slider to size your brush (Figure 6.67).

You’ll want to select a brush size that will

allow you to comfortably paint within the

object you’ve chosen to colorize.

For more information on using the

Brush tool and its options, see Chapter 8,

“Painting and Drawing.”

Figure 6.67 Select a brush size that will allow you to

easily paint each object in your image.

Figure 6.66 Create a new layer on which you’ll

apply your color tint effect.

188

Chapter 6

Adding a Color Tint to an Image

Figure 6.69 Paint directly on the new layer you created

to apply a color tint above the base image layer.

Figure 6.68 Use the Color Picker to select the colors

you want to apply.

5.

At the bottom of the toolbox, click the

Foreground color swatch to open the

Color Picker, then select the color you

want to use to paint onto your image

(Figure 6.68).

Click OK to close the Color Picker.

6.

Check that the new layer you created is

the active layer in the Layers palette, then

in the image window, paint onto the area

you want to colorize (Figure 6.69).

Because you’re painting on a layer with

the Color blending mode applied, all

of the tonal (grayscale) levels of the base

image layer will show through the color.

7.

If you want to add a second color, repeat

steps 2 through 5 to create a new layer,

select a brush size, and choose a color,

then paint onto the next area (on the new

layer) just as you did before.

✔ Tip

■

You can apply multiple colors to the same

layer and achieve the same effect as when

you apply colors to different layers. I prefer

to assign just one color per layer though,

because it gives me more control. I can

change the opacity level of each color sep-

arately, toggle the visibility of individual

color layers on and off, try applying differ-

ent colors to the same object, and even

experiment with some of the other blend-

ing modes. The Overlay mode, in particu-

lar, can yield some very pleasing results.

189

Fixing and Retouching Photos

Adding a Color Tint to an Image