Your explanation of selective color is the best I have ever seen. A combination of theory and artistry is such a strong point you have in your teaching method. Well done, and thank you!
This a tremendous tutorial. The level you bring this with your examples is a game changer. I just used this technique to to fix some nasty banding in some clouds and a tree line. THANK YOU!
Todd Murrison Good idea. I have to relearn this stuff myself sometimes, I forget which CMY components are in other colors sometimes. The CMYK color sampler is always a good way to test that part.
Thanks Greg. It's a great tool. Very underrated. And it's got even more tricks up its sleeve. Try using it set to luminosity blend mode. That way you can target the brightness of specific colours that are sometimes hard to isolate otherwise.
Alain Zarinelli definitely! I've got a detailed comparison post and video for Curves and Levels showing why curves are so much better (and actually easier to use) here: gregbenzphotography.com/photography-tips/how-to-use-photoshop-curves-and-levels
Great explanation here! But the warmth added to the final image kind of takes away any color contrasts. Usually when having such an already warm scene I would rather focus on the complementary colors and push them more into the complimentary range to create some more interest and depth. Basically using the same tool, just to create some separation between the colors . But that's simply a matter of taste and the technique you show can be applied to both... in the end it's artistic freedome. BTW: I have a video about "Photographing into the Sun" with nearly the exact same scene from a few years ago ;-)
Michael Breitung entirely possible using the same ideas in a different way. I do that frequently. For example, pushing a blue sky a little more magenta to contrast with a green subject. My demos are just meant to show how to make changes, I always hope that the viewer applies the technique with their own vision, rather than imitate mine. Much more useful to be able to do that to grow as an artist.
hi Greg, wonderful tutorial Just FYI, it seems you mixed some rights/left sliders and absolute/relative in your description text on your blog. The video makes it clear. Just a heads up ;-)
Have you tried LAB Mode?? It s supposed to be even better for this kind of adjustments. Personally I found it even harder to get my head around (then CMYK). I get where I want by trail and error... but when it comes to purposely pushing sliders... not so much. Though I only gave it 2-3 tries. So maybe learning curve.... For this case I would have tried the Hue/Saturation Adjustment (Colorize; and selecting the greens/yellows). Not sure if it would have done as good a job... just saying it would have been my first try. (and after normal HSL) Thanks for the tutorial. I did learn something esp. about CMYK. Dawn... I may need to do some more color theory.
Jens Vielmann I have used it quite a bit (and written my Lumenzia panel to support it). It's great, but offers different benefits. Both are valuable for different reasons.
Jens Vielmann here's an example of how I use LAB similarly (note that Lumenzia now offers full LAB support, not the limited use with smart objects shown in this old video): ruclips.net/video/y3aoufvIBI4/видео.html
Please clarify Greg: In the video you say: "Relative provides a more natural result" In the narrative: Start out in the “absolute” mode. This produces the most natural results.
Dear Greg, I have been watching most of your tutorials lately and you did help me to solve so many mistakes...And helped me to ask more of my post processing ... regardless of the subject I always get something from each of RUclips video 😬 so thanks a lot!!!🙏 But getting better at something gives you greater expactations... I am no facing subtile problem that I did not even see before in my pictures... Indeed I am in love with panos and I often shot multiple exposures for multiple vertical images... But most of the time if I do 3 different stitched panos in Photoshop with each set of exposures then the 3 panos generated are all slightly different and cannot be aligned properly and therefore cannot be used as 3 brackted panos for a final processing and luminosity mask blending... Maybe is there a way to tell Photoshop to process the exact same stiching? I did also try to reverse the process by blending the 3 exposures of each vertical image ... process them with luminosity masking and stich the result into a final pano But this hard with complex pano and it is hard to prevesualize the result on the separate vertical images.... I also believe I am not constistant enough through the process and I do end up with a silghtly different result on each vertical image which do cause problem in the final stiching😤😤😤 In order to avoid this I have tried to use the 3 exposures to create an HDR file for each vertical images, stichted those HDR files together in a pano that should contain much more details... Finally in order to get as much as possible a natural look and not am obvious nasty hdr look... I usually double process this HDR pano in order to blend a darker and a lighter version of it with luminosity masks... I hope I am clear enough and maybe you do have an advise on this type of workflow ? Thanks in advance for this Time consuming comment Have a great day Julien
Julien Bosredon in Photoshop, you should blend first (because of the pixel alignment issue you mention). I believe PT GUI and AutoPano may support what you are seeking to stitch first and blend later, but am not sure.
This is a great video,however I wished you have approached this from RGB point of view since taking away cyan is adding red and adding magenta is decreasing green which gives you orange in yellow. Yellow is 255 red and 255 green so taking away half of the green, increasing magenta. is going to be orange. Thanks.
Selective Color does not work as RGB, it is a CMYK function you can use inside an RGB document. It's ultimately more productive to spent the time to get comfortable with CMYK to use this tool effectively.
I have tried to purchase your panel just now and I received an error message saying that the zip code that I provided in the billing address could not be verified. However the payment appears to have gone through as it is showing so in my bank account. I would appreciate if you could get back to me so we could verify what is going on. Thanks a lot.
Marcus Vinicius it looks like a failed purchase on my end. I recommend trying again (possibly with the PayPal credit card option instead of Stripe). If for any reason two charges ultimately accrue, I will of course refund the duplicate. But it looks unlikely, seems to have failed outright.
Ok. I have contacted the bank and they said that even though the money has been taken off my account the transaction is actually pending and awaiting to be collected by the seller (?) and will only be voided if not collected by the seller by the 13/09.
Marcus Vinicius that's not showing for me, completely in the hands of the banks. Just purchase again. The first transaction will go away, and if for some reason does not, just send me both transaction IDs for me to contact PayPal/Stripe to make sure you only get charged once.
I never use graduated filters. Exposure blending with luminosity masks yields superior results, without the need. I could see the appeal for a very small number of cases, but it’s not something I find valuable. I use NDs to slow the shutter sometimes, but not here.
Very helpful and informative! Thank you so much Greg!
Killer Tip Alert
@15m45s Feather Mask slider! Totally worth the time. Thanx Greg
I am absolutely in awe about the power of photoshop and your teaching. Thank you!
Thank you!
Your explanation of selective color is the best I have ever seen. A combination of theory and artistry is such a strong point you have in your teaching method. Well done, and thank you!
John Farinelli thanks!
This a tremendous tutorial. The level you bring this with your examples is a game changer. I just used this technique to to fix some nasty banding in some clouds and a tree line. THANK YOU!
thanks, Brett!
Great tutorial, and a very nice photo of Heidelberg.
Well done. Good tutorial.
Bookmarked! Thanks for explaining a tough concept so well and straightforward, Greg! I'll be going back to this many times ;)
Todd Murrison Good idea. I have to relearn this stuff myself sometimes, I forget which CMY components are in other colors sometimes. The CMYK color sampler is always a good way to test that part.
Thank you. I learned a lot about how this tool works and how to use it!
Absolutely EXCELLENT tutorial ! More, More, More !
I understand selective color so much better! I like the clarification between relative and absolute. Thanks much, greg!
+Laura Macky great!
On of the best tutorials ever!
Miroslav Kopecni thank you!
Very help tips,Thanks Greg!
+Kered Henry great!
Always love your tutorial. Clear explanation. Post more pls..
Ah Jack absolutely, already have the next one queued up!
thank you for this great explanation on a difficult to learn tool
Great video, Greg! Thanks!
Steve Zimmer you bet!
Thanks Greg. It's a great tool. Very underrated. And it's got even more tricks up its sleeve. Try using it set to luminosity blend mode. That way you can target the brightness of specific colours that are sometimes hard to isolate otherwise.
Paul Munzberg yep. I do that with HSL usually.
Perfect explanations and examples.
Jay Swanstrom great, thanks!
Excellent. A Must Watch tutorial
Thank you.
Selective color and curves are 'da bomb'! :)
Alain Zarinelli definitely! I've got a detailed comparison post and video for Curves and Levels showing why curves are so much better (and actually easier to use) here: gregbenzphotography.com/photography-tips/how-to-use-photoshop-curves-and-levels
Thank you, man. Your tutorials are very instructive and very well done. Thanks.
This is a great focused tutorial, very detailed and educational
Thanks so much. You explained it sooooo well.
+donna taylor great, thanks for the feedback!
Excellent, can you share the color wheel?
niccoc1603 I don't even have it anymore. Just created from scratch for the video and deleted. Plenty of similar ones on the web though.
Wow thank you for this!
Great explanation here! But the warmth added to the final image kind of takes away any color contrasts. Usually when having such an already warm scene I would rather focus on the complementary colors and push them more into the complimentary range to create some more interest and depth. Basically using the same tool, just to create some separation between the colors .
But that's simply a matter of taste and the technique you show can be applied to both... in the end it's artistic freedome.
BTW: I have a video about "Photographing into the Sun" with nearly the exact same scene from a few years ago ;-)
Michael Breitung entirely possible using the same ideas in a different way. I do that frequently. For example, pushing a blue sky a little more magenta to contrast with a green subject. My demos are just meant to show how to make changes, I always hope that the viewer applies the technique with their own vision, rather than imitate mine. Much more useful to be able to do that to grow as an artist.
That's true. One always has to be able to take those techniques and apply them to realize one's own vision
hi Greg, wonderful tutorial
Just FYI, it seems you mixed some rights/left sliders and absolute/relative in your description text on your blog. The video makes it clear.
Just a heads up ;-)
+Werner Kunz thanks, have just updated the blog post. Might need to clear cache to see the updated page. Appreciate the heads up.
Have you tried LAB Mode?? It s supposed to be even better for this kind of adjustments. Personally I found it even harder to get my head around (then CMYK). I get where I want by trail and error... but when it comes to purposely pushing sliders... not so much. Though I only gave it 2-3 tries. So maybe learning curve....
For this case I would have tried the Hue/Saturation Adjustment (Colorize; and selecting the greens/yellows). Not sure if it would have done as good a job... just saying it would have been my first try. (and after normal HSL)
Thanks for the tutorial. I did learn something esp. about CMYK. Dawn... I may need to do some more color theory.
Jens Vielmann I have used it quite a bit (and written my Lumenzia panel to support it). It's great, but offers different benefits. Both are valuable for different reasons.
Jens Vielmann here's an example of how I use LAB similarly (note that Lumenzia now offers full LAB support, not the limited use with smart objects shown in this old video): ruclips.net/video/y3aoufvIBI4/видео.html
Please clarify Greg:
In the video you say: "Relative provides a more natural result"
In the narrative:
Start out in the “absolute” mode. This produces the most natural results.
Kieran Gallagher start in relative. Thanks for catching that. I'll update the blog post.
Dear Greg,
I have been watching most of your tutorials lately and you did help me to solve so many mistakes...And helped me to ask more of my post processing ... regardless of the subject I always get something from each of RUclips video 😬 so thanks a lot!!!🙏
But getting better at something gives you greater expactations... I am no facing subtile problem that I did not even see before in my pictures...
Indeed I am in love with panos and I often shot multiple exposures for multiple vertical images...
But most of the time if I do 3 different stitched panos in Photoshop with each set of exposures then the 3 panos generated are all slightly different and cannot be aligned properly and therefore cannot be used as 3 brackted panos for a final processing and luminosity mask blending...
Maybe is there a way to tell Photoshop to process the exact same stiching?
I did also try to reverse the process by blending the 3 exposures of each vertical image ... process them with luminosity masking and stich the result into a final pano
But this hard with complex pano and it is hard to prevesualize the result on the separate vertical images....
I also believe I am not constistant enough through the process and I do end up with a silghtly different result on each vertical image which do cause problem in the final stiching😤😤😤
In order to avoid this I have tried to use the 3 exposures to create an HDR file for each vertical images, stichted those HDR files together in a pano that should contain much more details...
Finally in order to get as much as possible a natural look and not am obvious nasty hdr look... I usually double process this HDR pano in order to blend a darker and a lighter version of it with luminosity masks...
I hope I am clear enough and maybe you do have an advise on this type of workflow ?
Thanks in advance for this Time consuming comment
Have a great day
Julien
Julien Bosredon in Photoshop, you should blend first (because of the pixel alignment issue you mention). I believe PT GUI and AutoPano may support what you are seeking to stitch first and blend later, but am not sure.
Greg Benz thanks for this prompt reply and have a Nice day
Julien Bosredon thanks, you too!
This is a great video,however I wished you have approached this from RGB point of view since taking away cyan is adding red and adding magenta is decreasing green which gives you orange in yellow. Yellow is 255 red and 255 green so taking away half of the green, increasing magenta. is going to be orange. Thanks.
Selective Color does not work as RGB, it is a CMYK function you can use inside an RGB document. It's ultimately more productive to spent the time to get comfortable with CMYK to use this tool effectively.
That's what i find out. much appreciate
thank you!
I have tried to purchase your panel just now and I received an error message saying that the zip code that I provided in the billing address could not be verified. However the payment appears to have gone through as it is showing so in my bank account. I would appreciate if you could get back to me so we could verify what is going on. Thanks a lot.
Marcus Vinicius it looks like a failed purchase on my end. I recommend trying again (possibly with the PayPal credit card option instead of Stripe). If for any reason two charges ultimately accrue, I will of course refund the duplicate. But it looks unlikely, seems to have failed outright.
Ok. I have contacted the bank and they said that even though the money has been taken off my account the transaction is actually pending and awaiting to be collected by the seller (?) and will only be voided if not collected by the seller by the 13/09.
Marcus Vinicius that's not showing for me, completely in the hands of the banks. Just purchase again. The first transaction will go away, and if for some reason does not, just send me both transaction IDs for me to contact PayPal/Stripe to make sure you only get charged once.
Ok thanks I'll keep an eye on it.
I am an art painter. & thanks a lot.
You can contact me through the About tab here or via my Facebook Page
Hey Greg , By the way I'm a libyan middle of North africa asking for UR email please....!
Thank you for this in depth tutorial! Very informative. May I ask how you took this photo? Did you use a graduated filter?
I never use graduated filters. Exposure blending with luminosity masks yields superior results, without the need. I could see the appeal for a very small number of cases, but it’s not something I find valuable.
I use NDs to slow the shutter sometimes, but not here.