| For a creative way to print photos,
try turning the background into black and white, while keeping
your focal point in color. You can do this manually, by having
2 versions of a photo, (one in color, one in black and white),
and cutting out and gluing one colorful element to the black and
white photo. That’s the hard way – you can also do
this in just a few simple steps using PhotoShop Elements. |
1) First, open up your picture. Using
the photo shown – focus
attention on the butterfly by changing the background to black
and white.
2) It’s best to work in layers, so that you aren’t
changing your original file. Think of layers as a transparency
that you can take on or off, while the original picture remains
untouched. To easily view all of your layers, go over to the
palette well on the right side of the screen, and click on
the Layers tab.
You can “dock” the layers palette on your workspace
by click on the word “Layers” and dragging it onto
your workspace.
3) To make a duplicate layer, first go to Layer – New
Layer – Layer Via Copy. Now you should see another
copy of your picture in the layers palette, named “Layer
1”. Make sure this layer is highlighted for the next
step.
4) Change the photo to black and white by typing Ctrl
+ U to bring up the Hue/Saturation dialog box. Now
move the Saturation Slider all the way to
the left (-100). Layer 1 will now be black and white, while
your original layer remains in color.
5) We’re basically going to cut a “hole” in
our top layer, so that the bottom, colored layer shows through.
To do this, right click on the Lasso icon in
the toolbox, and select the Magnetic Lasso.
6) Now, click once on the edge of your subject (in this case, the
butterfly). Then move your mouse around the outline. You don’t have to press the mouse button, though you can if
you like. Periodically, points should snap to the edge of the
image you are selecting. You may force a point to be added by
clicking. If you accidentally make a selection that you didn’t
intend to make, press the delete key to back up a point. To complete
your selection, hit Enter, or double click on the last selection
point. Now you will see “marching ants” around your
subject, indicating that it’s been selected.
7) Hit “Delete” to delete your selection
(remember, you are only deleting the selection from the top black
and white layer, so that the colored layer shows through. Type Ctrl
+ D to deselect the subject and get rid of the marching ants.
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