How to Leave Eyes Blue in Black & White Photos With Photoshop

Enhance black and white photos with color highlights.

Adobe Photoshop includes a myriad of powerful tools that allow you to adjust and enhance your photographs to create striking images. Photoshop allows you to de-saturate your color photographs into black and white. Using a Layer Mask, you can de-saturate a color photo and preserve small areas of color in the picture to highlight vivid imagery. Use this effect when you want to create a black-and-white picture with limited color elements, such as eyes or clothing accessories.

Things You'll Need

• Adobe Photoshop

Instructions

1. Open your image in Photoshop. Right click the "Background Layer" in the Layers palette and select "Duplicate Layer." Working on a duplicate layer instead of the background allows you to easily correct any mistakes you might make.

2. Click the "Eye" icon next to the Background Layer. This disables the Background layer and prevents you from accidentally editing it. Click the Duplicate Layer in the Layers palette.

3. Click the "Adjustment Layers" button at the bottom of the "Layers" palette. Choose "Hue/Saturation" from the menu; a Layer Mask appears above the Duplicate Layer in the Layers palette and an Adjustments dialog opens.

4. Slide the "Saturation" bar all the way to the left. This de-saturates the color in your photograph and transforms it into a black and white picture.

5. Set your foreground color to "Black" (#000000) and choose a brush to paint on the Layer Mask. Select the Layer Mask from the Layers palette.

6. Paint over the areas you want to remain colored. Color returns to those areas as you paint.

Tips & Warnings

• Use a soft brush when painting on the Layer Mask to help blend the color effect with the de-saturated area.

References

• Free Photoshop Tutorials: Changing a Picture to B/W With Colored Eyes