Digital Photography and Imaging - Week 6

28.10.2024 - 01.11.2024

Chan Zhi-Ren Zenndan / 0369069

Digital Photography and Imaging / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Week 6 / Part 2B: Recolouring Black & White

Week 6 Lecture

Mr. Fauzi lectured on the fundamental principles of poster design, specifically 7 principles. This will prepare us for the second assignment (typography skills are involved).

  • Emphasis
    • What sticks out (typeface)
    • Hierarchy
    • Focal point
  • Balance and Alignment
    • Hierarchy
    • Foreground, midground, background
  • Contrast
    • What makes a design 'pops'
    • Creates differences between elements in your design
    • The background needs to be significantly different from the color of the elements
  • Repetition
    • 2 strong typefaces or 3 strong colors are fine
    • Repetition unifies and strengthens a design
  • Proportion
    • Visual side and weight of a composition
    • Approach your design in sections instead of a whole
  • Movement
    • Controls elements in a composition
    • Proper communication for the eye (how our eye travels across the design)
  • White Space (negative space)
    • Gives the composition more room to breath
    • Empty space can 'upgrade' the composition

1. Recoloring Black & White Instructions

The goal of this exercise is to learn how to color over a black-and-white photo & essentially 'bring the photo to life.'

Fig 1.1 Original B&W Photo (28/10/2024).

Fig 1.2 Tutorial slides (28/10/2024).

2. Part 1 Recolouring Process

I started by adding a layer to edit the face. For every new part I have to work on, I will separate the editing into different layers. Since the face is the first part I'll edit, I named this layer 'FACE.'

Fig 2.1 Layers (28/10/2024).

Then, I set the appropriate brush size and hardness.

Fig 2.2 Brush size & hardness (28/10/2024).

After adjusting the brush, I picked a color that matched the person's skin tone (#FFCD94) and brushed over the skin. Then, I hovered over the blending mode and selected Color Burn, with adjustments to the saturation.

Fig 2.3 Color Burn blending mode with saturation adjustment (28/10/2024).

I then gave him some hair color (#EFC680) and used the Soft Light blending mode.

Fig 2.4 Colored hair (28/10/2024).

After that, I colored the lips (#C98276) and eyes (#DD1414).

Fig 2.5 Colored lips and eyes (28/10/2024).

I also colored the shirt and created a new layer for the background.

Edit > Fill > Contents (color) > No transparency

Then, I used the Quick Selection Tool to create the layer mask for the face.

Fig 2.6 Layer mask to color the background (28/10/2024).

I finished off by applying the Linear Burn blending mode.

Fig 2.7 Finished recolouring (28/10/2024).

Upon receiving feedback on 30/10/2024, I was encouraged to make the recolouring more realistic. So, I removed the bright reds and replaced them with brown.

Fig 2.8 Revised recolouring (30/10/2024).

3. Part 2 Recolouring Process

Part 2A and Part 2B require students to recolour two additional B&W pictures. A tutorial presentation was given for Part 2A.

Fig 3.1 Part 2A Tutorial slides (29/10/2024).

Part 2A

I started by collecting the colours from the references using the Rectangular Marquee Tool.

Fig 3.2 Importing references (29/10/2024).

Then, I changed the sample size to a 5 by 5 Average for my eyedropper tool to pick up the highlights. I also set the brush size to 30 px and a hardness of 100%.

Fig 3.3 Eyedropper tool to collect highlights from references (29/10/2024).

I duplicated a new layer of the original photo and created a layer mask for her hair. Then, I went to the layer mask's properties window.

Click on layer mask > Select and mask > View mode > Select 'Overlay'

I used the Refine Edge Brush Tool to select some of the undetected areas.

Fig 3.4 Refining edges (29/10/2024).

Next, I made a new Solid Fill layer for the hair color and replaced the layer mask.

Fig 3.5 Replacing layer mask by dragging and dropping (29/10/2024).

I refined the hair a little more and added a Soft Light blending mode.

Fig 3.6 Hair colouring (29/10/2024).

For the face, I repeated the same process, and I selected Linear Burn blending mode.

Fig 3.7 Skin colouring (29/10/2024).

These are the colour layers I made throughout the process:

  1. Hair
  2. Skin
  3. Fur
  4. Lip
  5. Teeth
  6. Earring
  7. Background
  8. Eye

Below are the results.

Fig 3.8 Part 2A Finished recolouring (29/10/2024).

Part 2B

For Part 2B, I had to select one of the photos from here and recolour it.

I decided to recolour the photo of Barack Obama, and below are the colour layers used:

  1. Skin
  2. Hair
  3. Blazer
  4. Shirt
  5. Red stripes
  6. Blue stripes
  7. Eyes
  8. Teeth
  9. Background

Fig 3.9 Part 2B Finished recolouring (29/10/2024).

4. Reflection

In week six, we focused on recoloring black-and-white images, working extensively with layers, brush sizes, and adjustment layers. The emphasis was on creating realistic results, and I really enjoyed this exercise. I felt proud of my ability to recolor the images to look as lifelike as possible, which boosted my confidence in using Photoshop's advanced tools.

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