STEP BY STEP HOW TO MAKE COLOURS POP

Selectively remove colour from your pictures in Photoshop Elements

01 DESATURATE YOUR IMAGE

Open your image into Photoshop Elements and head over to the Layers panel (Window>layers). Now click on the Create new adjustment layer icon and choose Hue/saturation. In the panel that appears set the Saturation slider to -100 to drain all of the colour.

02 SET UP YOUR BRUSH TOOL

We’ll be using the Brush Tool to paint colour back into the image, so click it in the Toolbox to make it active. In the Tool Options set the Opacity to 70%, then click on Brush Settings and set the Hardness to 80%. Now resize your brush with the [ and ] keys.

03 WORK ONTO THE LAYER MASK

Click on the Layer Mask of your Hue/saturation Layer to make it active, then hit D followed by X to make your brush black. Zoom in by pressing Ctrl+plus a few times and then paint over your subject to bring back the vibrant colour.

04 USE THE RUBYLITH OVERLAY

Press the \ key to activate the rubylith overlay which shows up any areas you’ve painted on your layer mask as a bright red colour, making it easier to see if you’ve missed, or overpainted, any areas. Toggle it on or off by pressing the \ key repeatedly.

05 PAINT BACK WITH WHITE TO HIDE

If you accidentally paint over an area that you didn’t want to colour pop just hit X on the keyboard for a white foreground colour and brush over that area to desaturate it again. When done hit X once more for a white foreground colour to continue working.

06 BOOST CONTRAST

To give your shot one final dramatic boost we’re going to increase the contrast. Head back over to the Levels panel and click on the Create new adjustment layer icon, then choose Levels from the list. In the Levels panel drag inwards the Blacks and Whites sliders.