Those that know me – Know my inability to come to grips with B&W photography, so when a freind asked me if I could add a bit of colour to a 54 year old snap of Her and her Husband on their “First Stepping Out”. I jumped at the chance.
You know what they say about biting off more than you can chew then chewing like the Dickens? Well this was one of those cases.
Above #1 is a copy of what I scanned into my computer, which had been printed on that snakeskin textured paper that prevents fingerprints marring the image.
#2 Is my attempt to add the colours she mentioned, (My first attempt EVER. I don’t lack the courage to try something I have never done nor have no dea how to accomplish. As you can see I got the colour but lost a heck of a lot of sharpmess..
#3 the solution Ask for help on the Elements Village Forum and Saint Wendy of the Wonderment sprang to my aid with a tutorial which I wasn’t able to follow totally but enough to achieve far more pleasing results. (BTW The difficulty with Wendy’s tut was My inability to select the parts of the image correctly – Not the Tut’s- But I found a work around.
Moral of the story – Don’t leave Ron too close to a B&W!
HERE is Wendy’s Tutorial (However you have to be a subscriber to Elements Village (Photoshop Elements Technique) to access it (Along with a septazillion other goodies).
Sorry should have added this link earlier!
A great example of why we all love EV! With help from Wendy, I think you have done a beautiful job adding some color to the original. I am sure your friend must be quite pleased. Thinking you might get a few more of these to do. Well done!
Well done, Ron!
Wendy is an absolute gem! You must of done something of the tutorial right…that turned out AWESOME! Your friend will be thrilled to death!
worked out well in the end – it’s great to show the development of the image – now where do we find ‘saint’ Wendy’s tutorial
Very nicely done!
The end result is a lovely photo and a new skillset for you. Thanks for the link, I may have a few photos myself to play with.
You know, I really like he middle one. It’s not realistic, but To me, that’s not the point. It has a kind of joyful glow, and I think it’s the one that shows off the faces and expressions best.
I did too Bobbie, and I gave them copies of all my efforts, the Husband liked the sharper faces of the Wendys Help one cause that took them back the 54 years. And others advised that the unrealistic background detracted from the image. I preferred the Alice like quality of the rainbow.
Nice job with it Ron !
Great job, Ron, especially on #3.
Now, they are adorable, monochrome or not! Well done, anyway.
You did a great job Ron, thanks for sharing.
Hi Ron,
Wonderful job putting the color in the picture. I like the 3rd one best. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Good one you for giving it a go…your result was well worth the effort…oh and btw….embrace the mono mate
The second image kind of reminds me of when people add watercolors to black and whites. Me – I’m a fan of black and white.
Glad to see you weren’t put off by stopping to ask for direction!