How to do that thingy with that thingy

[vweeks]

Sorry I do not know the correct terminology for it, but I'm referring to the technique where one object, or several, are colored while the rest of the photo is in black and white. I NEED to find out. Lol, much appreciated!

[CarlyRocksPhotos]

That's selective color...

Selective Color Photoshop Tutorial

Warning: Use this technique wisely. It can go photoshop-disaster rather quickly...

[vweeks]

Gracias! Unfortunately my computer is preeeetty old and I think if I got photoshop for it it would probably keel over and die like my camera. Are there any other programs that do this? I have Sony Vegas pro 10, and Photo Impression 3. I have no idea what Photo Impression is, but do you know so?

[CarlyRocksPhotos]

Hrm. Well I do know that google has Picasa...

You could do an old-fashioned colorization? Adjust the image to black and white, then take it into Paint and paint the colors you want back in- just like the beautiful photos in the 40s/50s.

Here's a product I found with a simple google search: Colorize Black and White Photos using Recolored

I haven't used it, but it shows the example of what I'm talking about. . . .

[vweeks]

Originally Posted by CarlyRocksPhotos

Hrm. Well I do know that google has Picasa...

You could do an old-fashioned colorization? Adjust the image to black and white, then take it into Paint and paint the colors you want back in- just like the beautiful photos in the 40s/50s.

Here's a product I found with a simple google search: Colorize Black and White Photos using Recolored

I haven't used it, but it shows the example of what I'm talking about. . . .

http://i1231.photobucket.com/albums/...s/S5000592.jpg

I tried out the Picasa Editor you referred me to and it went pretty well. The Focal B&W feature did give me the effects I wanted but it acted only in a circular radius, hence parts of the deer crossing sign being grey and a hint of color in the foliage in the upper left diagonal of the sign.

[A&L]

[TNH]

Well, if you don't want Photoshop, there are other programs to do selective coloring with. I use two different programs for Selective Coloring. (because I like both ways!) They both work great, and the programs are both free.

The first program I use, Picnik.com, is an awesome website that lets you do all kinds of cool stuff to your photos. Selective coloring is just one of the many things you can do! And yes, this is an absolutely free website! It's great for people who don't want to download something to their computer, and I love using this website, I use it all the time.
Here is an awesome tutorial that tells you how to do Selective Coloring with Picnik. It's really easy to follow!
Personally, I think that Picnik's Selective Coloring feature is one of the easiest ways to achieve this effect, of the ways that I've tried.

Another nice program is Gimp. This is also completely free. You just download it to your computer, and you can use it for as long as you want! It's absolutely safe to download, I have it myself.
Selective Coloring is a little harder with Gimp than with Picnik, but it's still a great way to get this effect. Here is a tutorial on how to do selective coloring with Gimp. (This one is not a video, just an article.

Whichever way you want to use, they are both great free ways to do this without Photoshop. Hope I helped... Good Luck!!