Playing with Photoshop

I have been teaching myself how to use Photoshop. One day I’ll do the real tutorials, but for now, I’m just playing around. I did the header to the blog this morning. The photo above is the plate of shrimp Brad ordered in Mexico. The light was real dim but the color turned out good. It wasn’t a spectacular shot by any means. So this is what I did to make the color pop.

Open a photo in Photoshop and create a duplicate layer.

Use Enhance > Convert to Black and White.

Use the Eraser Tool to clear the black and white image away from where you want the color to show through. Some hints: to start out outline the object, just like when you were coloring as a kid. Use a hard edged bigger brush to do the majority of the fill.

Switch to a small brush for the details. You can enlarge it to get close up.

Crop. Focus the viewer's attention exactly where you want it.

I like it so much better now. Plus I had fun learning a new technique. That’s what Saturdays are for….playing.