The Canon Magazine 63
COLOURIZE OLD PHOTOS
When using
the brush tool
you can uses
numbers 1-9 (in
increments of 10%)
to set the brush
opacity quicklyQUICK TIP!
01 TIDY MESSY MARKS
Open your old photo (or download the tower bridge
here: bit.ly/2XkkERT), then go to the Layers panel and
click the New Layer icon. Grab the Spot Healing
Brush. Check ‘Sample All Layers’ in the tool options
then zoom in close and paint to retouch small marks.
03 PAINT ON LAYERS
Continue on, adding new layers set to the Color Blend
mode for each new colour you add. If a colour appears
too strong, simply lower the layer opacity until it looks
right. If a colour is too bright, try duplicating the layer
(Cmd/Ctrl+J) then set the Blend Mode to Multiply.
05 DROP IN A SKY
Open sky.jpg and use the Move tool to drag it in to the
bridge shot. Click the Add Mask icon to convert the
selection to a mask. In the Layers panel, click the link
on the image and mask thumbnail and select the shot
thumbnail and use the Move tool to alter the sky.
02 ADD A COLOUR
Click the Create New Layer icon again, then go to the
Blend Mode dropdown at the top of the Layers panel
and change it from Normal to Color. Grab the Brush
tool and choose a colour, then zoom in close and start
painting over objects in the scene to colourize them.04 SELECT THE SKY
Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E to merge a layer, then go to
Select>Select and Mask. Get the Quick Selection tool
and paint over the sky to select it. Next grab the
Refine Edge Brush and paint to up the refinement over
the bridge. Set Output to: Selection and hit OK.06 BOOST THE TONES
Highlight the mask thumbnail, then grab the Brush
tool, hit 2 for 20% brush opacity and brush black to
soften the sky. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E again, then
go to Filter>Camera Raw Filter. Use the tonal controls
as shown to boost the colours and finish off the photo.STEP BY STEP GET THE HAND-COLOURED LOOK
Remove dirt, add colour and even drop in a new sky to enhance a damaged old print
NEXT MONTH
COMPOSITESSOURCE OLD
PHOTOS
If you want to use the
Tower Bridge image
here you can download
it from Wikimedia
Commons with this
link: bit.ly/2XkkERT.
Alternatively, why not
use a different image?
Maybe you’d like to
find another old photo
online (Wikimedia
Commons is a treasure
trove), or perhaps you
have a precious old
print or a dusty family
album to restore.