Sharing The World Together: Selective Color

Image Credit Flickr User Express Monorail

Outstanding – that is probably the one word which can be confidently used to describe selective color photography. It was developed specifically so that one part of a photograph could draw the viewer’s eye and become the focus of attention.

It might look horribly difficult to achieve but in fact – if you know your software packages – it is comparatively straightforward. It is a post-processing technique whereby the larger part of a photo is converted in to black and white.

Image Credit Flickr User Marco Crupi Visual Artist

Image Credit Flickr User Raj Hanchanahal

Some part or part of the photograph is left in color. This is more often than not done by using layers and masks in photo editing software. Although many are used to achieve this sometimes startling effect, the more popular are applications like Adobe Photoshop, SilverFast, or Fireworks.

Image Credit Flickr User theilr

Image Credit Flickr UserStew Dean

As you will see from this marvellous set of photographs selective color processing has a number of applications, from landscape photography to portraits – in fact these more often than not are the beneficiaries of this technique. It is also qidely used in macrophotography, to detail the detail as it were.

Image Credit Flickr User dirkmvp41

Image Credit Flickr User laffy4k

You may also have seen this technique used in a number of films, most notably Sin City and Schindler’s List. The camera never lies is an old saying always said with more than a little irony. It is up to you to determine whether you believe it extends a lie or enhances the truth.

Image Credit Flickr User Express Monorail

Image Credit Flickr User Natalion

If you are interested in discovering how to do it for yourself, then do a search. There are many online tutorials for selective color processing and Google will throw up the most popular for you. If you prefer video tutorials, then try YouTube or Vimeo.