Creative Color Gels Effect

Here's another cool thing you can do with b/w images. You can actually colorize parts of the b/w image using gel effects in Photoshop. You create these different gels quite easily, and I have a step-by-step description that I modified from an article I read in Layers Magazine from Adobe. This is a fun trick, so try it out when you get the chance or if you need a Photoshop project to study!

Open a color digital image to begin with, preferably with a person or animal in it in Photoshop. Click on the ‘create new adjustment layer’ icon at the bottom of the layers palette, and choose ‘channel mixer.’ Click the monochrome check box, and then adjust the sliders to get the b/w look you want (the three sliders add up to roughly 100% as a rule of thumb). Click OK. Using the rectangular marquee tool (M) make a selection of the first area you want to colorize by enclosing it in a ‘box.’ After making the selection, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer. Check the colorize box, and move the hue slider to get the color you want. You can also raise and lower the saturation by moving that slider as well. Click okay. Based on this selection, a layer mask is created that limits the area to be colored.

With the Hue/Saturation layer still active, click on the Add a Layer Style icon at the bottom of the layers palette and choose Stroke from the menu. Click on the color swatch and pick a color from the picker that’s similar or contrasting to the color tint you chose on that layer. Click OK to close the color picker. While the layer style dialog is still open, add a drop shadow and position it so that the shadow acts more like an outer glow. Click on OK to close the Layer Style dialog. Press Ctrl-J (PC) to duplicate the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and then use the Move tool (V) to reposition the new colored box by dragging it to another area of the picture you would like to see this effect on. Open free transform or rotate tool and rotate the picture to where you would like it oriented.

Repeat the last step to create as many colorized boxes as you want. In my example above, I rotated the other copies and had each box overlap the other slightly.

Note: you can choose the stroke to be white that surrounds the boxes rather than a color that matches the hue chosen for each. It’s all up to you, the artist!

Colorize Parts of B/W Images In Photoshop

This is a really easy and fun project to try on your black and white digital images, or in my case digital infrared black and white images. You can make all or part of your black and white image a color, and it looks really neat, like a sepia tone or blue, or anything you like. See the examples above and try your hand at this easy Photoshop trick:

Open one of your b/w images in Photoshop. Then create a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer (round button, half white, half grey, fourth from left at bottom of the layers palette) Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Hue/Saturation. In the new layer dialog, choose Color as the Mode, then in the Hue/Saturation dialog, move the Hue slider completely to the left and click OK. The image should have a nice, ethereal blue tint to it. If you used an infrared image, then the trees or anything green will still look glowing white like in the b/w version. Flatten the image (Layer>Flatten Image).

Now, create a duplicate layer (Layer>Duplicate Layer). You now should have two identical layers, one on top of the other, both with a blue tint. Click on the bottom layer (which probably will be called ‘background’) in the layers palette. Then go to Image>Adjustment>Hue/Saturation, and completely desaturate that layer by dragging the Saturation slider to -100.
Nearly finished now. Click on the top layer and select the Eraser tool from your left Toolbox and erase the area you want to remain black and white. Adjust the Levels or Curves. Flatten the image and Save As and name it what you like. Now you have a really neat b/w and color image mix. Fun!