ENHANCE YOUR IMAGE WITH
SELECTIVE COLOR ADJUSTMENTS
Tutorial from
http://psd.tutsplus.com/
Compiled by <<coldbing>>
INTRODUCTION
In this tutorial, I will show you a nondestructive process for color-editing and retouching
photographs. These techniques will make your images "finished" and professional. My main
weapon is the Selective Color adjustment layer. Let's get started.
Step 1:
Below is our starting image of a couple on a beach. We also need to download a photo of a
beach that we'll use to improve the water and sky in the base image. We'll see this second
image later in this tutorial and in the PSD download available for Plus members. Here are the
links to the images we'll be using for this tutorial: 1 | 2.
Step 2:
First, the base photograph looks washed out. It just isn't that interesting. Who wants to visit this
boring beach? We'll be fixing that. Regardless of what I'm working on, I always separate the
foreground subject matter from the background. Most times, I use the Extract Filter located in
the Filters Menu. Extract is easy to use. More often than not, it does a good job of isolating your
subject. Make a copy of the base layer. Place it on top of the original. Hide it. Then open up
the Extract Filter.
Step 3:
Using the Extract Filter, trace the subject. Then use the Fill Bucket to fill in the area you want
to keep. When using the extract filter on complex details like hair, remember to outline the
whole problem area so there is definite ink overlap where the detail starts and ends. Otherwise,
Photoshop has trouble calculating what to remove. Notice on the hair area, there is good
overlay on the sky portion as well as the man's head.
First, I extracted the people. Later on, I moved the umbrella portion to its own layer (easier for
me to keep track of, but that's optional).
Step 4:
After a successful extraction, there's still some touch-up that needs to be done. Using the
History Palette, set the state you want the History Brush to go