Editing question

[uscgbeachbum]

I've been seeing a lot of these "black/white with colored object" pictures. First off...they look SWEET. First question...how do you do that? Second question...has anyone thought of doing it to a reef tank photo and just have a coral/fish in color?

 

[reefrunner69]

I've never done it with a reef/fish photo before but I've seen it done. There are a few ways to do it, you can use the lasso tool (or magnetic lasso tool in PS) and select the object you want in color, invert the selection and desaturate the selection. A better method and one I use when I do it, is to create a second layer, desatrurate it (there are several ways to get the B&W and some are better than others so research the different methods), add a layer mask (show all) to the desaturated layer, then use the paint brush and paint in black to erase the parts of the mask and allow the colored layer to show through. If you mess up, paint in white to fix it.

 

[Nikon_Guy]

This was done in Photoshop using the lasso tool as described above. The key in doing it that way is to zoom in on the picture so it is as big as will fit on your screen, set the feather to about 2. This makes it much easier to trace with your mouse and gives a smooth line.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

Cool. I was playing with photoshop earlier...I could only get it to greyscale the INSIDE of the lasso instead of the outside.

 

[reefrunner69]

You have to invert the selection, Select>inverse this makes what wasn't selected prior, the selection. You will see the dotted line around what you selected as well as the outside frame of the photo.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

PERFECT. That works great. I'm just learning the ropes with it now (using Photoshop 6.0). What if I have very large pictures (1.5+ mb)? I want to zoom in all the way to get the detail (around flowers, for example). But then I can't scroll up/down or left/right to get more of the photo. Tips? Ideas? Thanks.

 

[astrogazer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8149041#post8149041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by uscgbeachbum
PERFECT. That works great. I'm just learning the ropes with it now (using Photoshop 6.0). What if I have very large pictures (1.5+ mb)? I want to zoom in all the way to get the detail (around flowers, for example). But then I can't scroll up/down or left/right to get more of the photo. Tips? Ideas? Thanks.

The original of this image is over 50 MB's ('course that's in native 16-bit color), I prefer to use the quick mask method of creating a layer mask, you have greater control over the anti-aliasing (feathering), I use an image size in excess of 200%, this is extremely helpful when masking delicate fish features and i can use the scroll bars to manuver where ever I need to be in the image, I also use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out as necessary to check my progress.

 

[uscgbeachbum]

STUNNING!