
This time sample a red hue from the flag stripes. Select the Background layer again and turn off the visibility of the adjustment layer, then go to Select > Color Range again. The stripes on the American flag are also quite pale, because these reds are a slightly different hue to the sampled colour from the main car body. The effect works in principle, but if you look closely, you’ll see there are some darker red tones that are being hidden in grey by the black and white adjustment layer. The selection will be automatically used within the layer mask, which prevents the black and white effect being applied to the red portion determined by the Color Range tool. In order to apply this as a mask, go to Select > Inverse, otherwise it will applied the wrong way round!Īdd a Black and White adjustment layer. This option helps to capture close variations of the hue that has been sampled.Ĭlick OK to turn the Color Range settings into a selection. More refined results can be achieved by activating the Localized Color Clusters setting and max out the Range slider. Max out the Fuzziness slider to capture as much of this colour selection as possible, except if any unwanted hues begin to creep in. In my example Red naturally includes the car body, but it also incorporates some of the unwanted red hues that appear in the background.Īlternatively, choose Sampled Colors, then click around on the image to choose the specific hue of your subject.
#Photo splash effect series
The Color Range tool has a series of preset selections, such as Reds, Yellows, Greens and Cyans, but these options are often too broad and capture unwanted areas of the image. The main Photoshop tool that is used to achieve the color splash effect is the Select > Color Range selection method. All the other hues and tones are subdued, which enhances the reds even further. The bright Race Red colour really stands out against the derelict backdrop, making it an ideal candidate for the colour splash effect. I recently did a great photoshoot with my friend at S.W Photography in an old aircraft hangar. Notice that only the trees on the left are in color while the rest of the image remains in black and white.In my personal life I enjoy driving, tinkering and showing off my Ford Mustang. Here's an example of what the final color splash effect will look like when we're done. Once you know the steps, the entire color splash effect takes only a few minutes from start to finish. Finally, we'll fade the color so that it blends in better with its black and white surroundings, and we'll do that using the layer mask options in the Properties panel. Then, we'll use the Gradient Map's built-in layer mask, along with Photoshop's Brush Tool, to instantly restore the color in a single area. To create the color splash effect, we'll use a Gradient Map adjustment layer to quickly convert our image to black and white. Usually, a single click with a brush is all we need! What You'll Learn


This can be a great way to create a more interesting and compelling image, and it's also just a really cool effect and a lot of fun! And, because we're not choosing anything specific in the image, there's no need to make any time-consuming selections. By limiting the color to just one area, like the leaves on a tree or the water under a bridge, we simplify the scene by bringing focus to that area. Often, landscape photos lack a clear subject, leaving the viewer's eye to wander. In fact, I cover a simple way to do that in our Easy Selective Color Effect tutorial where I bring back the color in a woman's red dress.īut for certain types of photos, especially outdoor landscapes, it can be more effective to restore the color not in any one object but in a general area.

Usually, we restore the color in a specific object, like a dress or a flower. In this Photoshop tutorial, we'll learn a super easy way to add a color splash effect to a photo! A "color splash", also known as "selective color", is where we convert an image to black and white and then restore the color in just one area.
