Selective color is a powerful photographic technique that involves isolating and emphasizing certain colors in an image while desaturating the rest. This draws the viewer’s eye towards the vibrant, colored elements and creates visually striking effects. There are two main approaches to selective color – relative and absolute.
What is relative selective color?
With relative selective color, you desaturate the entire image first before selectively reintroducing color to certain parts of the photo. The colored elements stand out against the black, white and gray backdrop. However, the hue and luminosity of the original colors are retained.
For example, if you have a photo of a red flower against a green background, desaturating it would turn the background gray and the flower dark pink or maroon. With relative selective color, you could then reintroduce a vivid red to the flower only, leaving the background grayscaled. This keeps the original color relationship intact.
What is absolute selective color?
With absolute selective color, you saturate specific parts of the image with new, vivid hues instead of retaining their original colors. So rather than isolating the existing red in the flower example above, you could saturate it with a bright purple or yellow instead.
The different colors are introduced based solely on the visual impact you want to achieve, not the actual colors that were there originally. This gives you more creative freedom compared to relative selective color.
When to use each selective color technique
Both relative and absolute selective color can produce eye-catching results, but which approach you choose depends on the photo and the effect you wish to achieve.
Here are some guidelines on when to use each technique:
Relative selective color works best when:
- You want to emphasize the natural colors in a scene.
- The existing colors already have strong contrast with the background.
- You want to retain a realistic, natural color scheme.
- The contrasting colors are important for conveying meaning.
Absolute selective color works best when:
- You want more creative freedom to introduce bright, saturated hues.
- You want to change or enhance the original color scheme.
- Communication of meaning through original colors is not vital.
- A bolder, more abstract color scheme is desired.
How to create relative selective color in Photoshop
Here is a simple Photoshop workflow for creating relative selective color effects:
- Open image and duplicate background layer
- On top layer, go to Image > Adjustments > Black & White. This desaturates the entire photo.
- Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and tick the “Colorize” box. Shift the Hue slider until you get a color you like.
- Add a layer mask to the Hue/Sat adjustment layer to paint back in the original color selectively.
- Use a soft brush at low opacity to gradually build up the color.
- Refine layer mask and adjust color balance to taste.
This maintains the original hues in the areas you mask, while desaturating the rest of the image. You can also use tools like Color Range for more precision when masking.
How to create absolute selective color in Photoshop
Here is a simple workflow for creating absolute selective color effects in Photoshop:
- Open image and duplicate background layer
- Desaturate the top layer completely (Hue/Saturation)
- Add a Solid Color adjustment layer and pick a vivid hue like red or yellow.
- Add layer mask to Solid Color layer.
- Paint with black/white on layer mask to hide/reveal color selectively.
- Try coloring different elements with different solid color layers.
- Adjust layer opacity to fine-tune color intensity.
This lets you introduce any bold color you want rather than isolating existing hues. You can take more creative license. Use layer modes like Color or Overlay to blend the solid color for different effects.
Key differences
To summarize, here are the key differences between relative and absolute selective color:
| Relative Selective Color | Absolute Selective Color |
|---|---|
| Retains original hues in localized areas | Introduces new, different colors |
| More realistic, natural looking | More abstract, creative freedom |
| Emphasizes existing color contrast | Creates new color contrast |
| Colors have meaning/symbolism | Color use more aesthetic |
When to use selective color vs. black & white
Should you desaturate the entire photo to black & white instead? Here are some tips on when to use each approach:
Selective color works best when:
- You want to highlight or isolate key elements
- The existing colors are important to the meaning/composition
- You want to retain some original color for realism
- Your goal is to draw attention to colorful focal points
Black & white conversion works best when:
- Color is distracting or detracting from the main subject
- You want to get rid of mixed color temperatures
- Emphasizing shape, light and texture is more important
- Conveying mood and emotion is the priority
In some cases, converting the whole image to black & white first can provide a great starting point for selective color. You get the best of both worlds.
Creative examples and uses of selective color
When used effectively, both relative and absolute selective color can take an ordinary image and transform it into something extraordinary. Here are some creative examples of how it can be used:
Portraiture
Color isolating a key feature like eyes, lips or hair against a black & white backdrop creates striking portraits. You can retain natural tones relative to the rest of the face or go for a bold, absolute color that contrasts strongly with the skin.
Landscapes
For landscapes, selectively desaturating the background draws the eye to colorful foreground elements like flowers or trees. Or you can pick out different components like grass, sky or water with contrasting absolute colors.
Architecture
With cityscapes or interiors, picking out metal, wood or concrete textures in complementary colors works nicely. You can also isolate small colorful details against a monochrome structure.
Advertising
For posters and brochure design, retaining product colors while desaturating the background keeps the focus on the item being advertised. Vibrant absolute colors can also highlight call-to-action buttons and text.
Fashion
Selectively coloring a model’s clothes, shoes or accessories makes them stand out against a black & white background. Complementary absolute colors on fabric/accessories create vibrant contrast.
Food
Leaving dishes and ingredients in original colors while desaturating everything else makes food photography mouth-watering. Unnatural absolute colors can also impart a fun, stylised look.
Tips for better selective color
Here are some tips to help you use selective color more successfully:
- Use sparse color judiciously – Less is often more.
- Ensure good contrast between colored/desaturated areas.
- Aim for color continuation rather than sharp edges.
- Use soft brushes and gradual masking for natural integration.
- Pick colors that complement without clashing.
- Bright doesn’t always mean better – consider muted tones too.
- Watch out for skin tones – subtle coloring looks most natural.
- Black & white conversion first can give more options.
- Try different colored filters on mono areas to accentuate selected hues.
Conclusion
Both relative and absolute selective color can be used to create stunning visual effects. Relative maintains original color relationships while absolute introduces new colors. Use relative when natural color contrast helps convey meaning, and absolute for bolder, more abstract effects. With the right photo and some practice, selective color gives you an extremely effective way to direct viewers’ eyes and create memorable, vibrant imagery.