Colorizing with Color Picker

LH
Posted By
Lawrence_Hudetz
Oct 25, 2003
Views
573
Replies
10
Status
Closed
I want to colorize some B&W images, but I don’t care for the control I get in HS Colorize. So how can I use Color Picker and colorize? So far, the best I have been able to do is to use Color Balance and play with Red and yellow sliders while watching Lab in the Info Pallet. I really like to use Lab in the Color picker, as the b slider moves you through a subtle range of browns. (Set L=32,a=8, b=8 in the Color Picker and click b. The vertical slider now shows a nice range of browns.)

While I am at it, is there any way to actually watch the Info pallet change while moving sliders in Color Balance? The up down arrow keys only work on the highlighted slider, and I haven’t found a way to move to another slider (or the other options for that matter) without leaving the image to pick another option.

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BG
barry_gray
Oct 25, 2003
How about a gradient map adjustment layer-you canchoose colors right off the picker.
GA
George_Austin
Oct 26, 2003
Hi Larry,

"…I don’t care for the control I get in HS Colorize…"

What is it about the colorize controls you "don’t care for"?

The hue slider allows you to select ANY hue and the saturation slider allows saturation to be adjusted within limits established by the original gray value. The readout associated with the saturation slider is not the actual saturation but relates to it. For example, if the original gray value is less than or equal to 128, the default saturation slider setting of 25 gives an actual saturation of 40%.

What’s happening here is messier to explain than it is to use. Larger slider readings give larger saturations and lowering the slider reading lowers the saturation. That’s really all you need to know to use the control effectively.

The lightness slider warps the input-output curve via a power function with the ends anchored. It is useful as a tweaker, not as a primary control.

I really don’t think there is any better way to colorize an image that is initially gray, since this method starts with that gray tone.

On the other hand, using HS Colorize to convert an initially colored image to gray is NOT a good way to go because it does not preserve luminosity. Rather, it may very well darken the image far too much, since the gray level it produces is the average of the initial high and low channel color values with saturation slider set to zero.

If, possibly, your dislike of these controls comes from not understanding them, perhaps you may want to reconsider them.
JR
John_R_Nielsen
Oct 26, 2003
Add a Solid Color adjustment layer, and set its Blending Mode to ‘Color’. Double clicking on the color’s thumbnail in the Layers palette will bring up the color picker, so you can alter the color at any time, and you can use the layer opacity to control the strength of the colorization.

– John
DM
dave_milbut
Oct 26, 2003
I understand where you’re coming from Larry, but I kinda agree w/George. With practice, you can get pretty good at colorizing with hsb adjustment layers. The key is in careful selection, copying, layering and adding more adjustment layers.

I suppose the same could be done with masks, but it seems more natural for me to make the selection then make a layer out of it. Also using layers of specific selection (blending/feathering appropriately) allows you to keep multiple HSB adjustment layers ‘live’ for fine tuning as you progress.

Note that I wasn’t happy with the results the first dozen or so times (make that several scores of times) I tried it. As I said, practice and selections are key. With careful selections and isolation using a combo of all techniques – magic wand; quick mask; marquee tools; etc. – you’ll gain back a measure of the control you think you’re missing.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Oct 26, 2003
What I don’t like about colorize using Hue Sat is the grossness of the color change when using hue. I noticed when using the Color Picker that by adroitly using the hue slider picking from "b", I have a really subtle control. It is as good as toning in the darkroom with selenium watching the color deepen and as you wait. No waiting in PS!

Actually, I did find a great color by going to Color Balance in Adjustment Layers and setting up the numbers watching the Info pallet. Then I can control the depth with fade. It was cumbersome, however. That’s why I asked about being able to watch the pallet as you tweaked a control.

I think that anyone who has ever mixed colors using pigments would agree that doing it with a HS Colorize method would drive them crazy.

I haven’t considered multiple layers to get there, sounds like a way to investigate.

John’s way also looks good. Somehow, I thought that was the way to go also, but I couldn’t make it work. Senior moments are coming more and more!

So, off to PS to play!

Thanks guys! I really appreciate you all. :-):-)
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Oct 26, 2003
Update:

John’s method is what I was looking for. Works perfect.

I forgot the Blending Mode whenI was looking.

Blending Mode, Blending Mode, Blending Mode, Blending Mode,

Hmmmm, I wonder if I finally "got it"!….Blending Mode,…….
GA
George_Austin
Oct 26, 2003
Larry,

The color blend mode is a nice, convenient method for colorizing an image and I love using it. But, despite your complaint about the controls in HS Colorize, HS Colorize gives MORE control than the Color blend mode does.

Both methods allow any hue to be chosen, and that hue is global—one hue at every pixel site. The Color blend mode sticks with the luminance (if you work in Lab) or luminosity (if you work in RGB) of the substrate and you have no opportunity to change that. The only additional control you have is opacity—obviously a restraint that you may not want to live with

The HS Colorize tool lets you manipulate saturation, giving you considerably more latitude. You say you don’t like what you see when you change hue. I suspect it’s because you are not working both hue and saturation sliders in conjunction with each other. The hue adjustment by itself is no better nor any worse with one tool or the other. Hue is hue in either case.

While the hue you choose is global, the saturation adjustment is local, with the saturation differing from point to point. This won’t be apparent at points where the initial gray value is less than or equal to mid-gray (128). For such points, one saturation applies to all and the value depends only on the slider setting. At points initially above 128, the saturation will vary as a function of that initial tone as well as with the saturation slider setting.

In any case, you have more freedom of choice with HS Colorize.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Oct 26, 2003
Interesting George. I do play both H and S, usually winding up at around 32 for H and Sat somewhere between 2 and 8. Now, when I try to get a Selenium look, it fails miserably. Selenium is described as "Purple Sepia" a contradiction in terms. Selenium varies widely with the paper, giving major shifts on chlorobromide and very little on bromide papers. With the color picker, I nailed it solid a couple of hours ago, using Lab to load the values. (The file is RGB98)

The relationship between L and Fade is again subtle and subject to a learning curve, as always. But what can I say if I get a satisfying result?

To clarify, the file is not not in Lab mode when I use Color Picker. I am always in RGB. I simply use a L-a-b as the location to load values, which switches all the others simultaneously. I pay no attention to those other numbers. (yet!)

Lab intrigues me because it presents it’s data as a 3D vector, something I understand from years of EE work. The big drawback it seems is the fact that it runs 0 to 100 (again, understandable) instead of 0 to 255. If Lab recast it’s operations 0 to255, I probably would use it consistently. Besides, it’s visual presentation of the colors is gorgeous! Like flying into a strange galaxy.
GA
George_Austin
Oct 26, 2003
Larry,

"… usually winding up at around 32 for H and Sat somewhere between 2 and 8…"

A hue of 32 (degrees on the color wheel) is just about where you want to be for sepia

I assume your "sat" numbers refer to the saturation slider readout, not the saturation. Those readings are extremely low. They can’t be translated into saturation without knowing the initial gray level. But they represent only a very slight move off of gray.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Oct 27, 2003
That’s right, George. 25 on the sat scale is much more than I am looking for, except in certain cases where I am doing a full sepia print.

For my own purposes, colorizing is very subtle. In many cases, even 8 is too much. I usually wind up at about 10 and fade from there. The number refer to the setting. I don’t know how to assess the actual saturation, nor do I feel I need to know that. So long as it replicates, it’s fine.

As I noted earlier, a selenium tone on a chlorobromide is where I am heading. When I did it chemically, I used a 20:1 dilution of the toner, and was in the toner no more than 4 minutes.

Another color I would love to replicate is the Nelson Gold toner, again on a chlorobromide paper. Such a sunny color! It’s not the bluish color some gold formulations provide, but a color of, well, gold.

That process was really tough. The gold chloride is very expensive. One gram of AgCl is around $75. You actually wind up cooking the print at 115 to 120F, just below the melting point of the emulsion, and you treat for 20 min or more. But the result is splendid indeed!

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