How to Color Pop Images

This Site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

I really want to get back to sharing more photo tips, so this post is about how to color pop images.  I shared this post several years ago when I was a contributor at The Idea Room, but I’m changing it up some to share here. I use photoshop SOLELY to edit my images. I know a lot of people love Lightroom or even PicMonkey, but I don’t know those programs.

For those of you familiar with my blog, you know I wrote a little beginner photography book called Say NO to Auto. I strongly emphasize shooting in full manual settings to learn how to get the most beautiful images possible.

I strongly believe that you enhance beautifully taken images with photoshop, it wasn’t created to simply “fix” bad images. It can do that, but it will never be as beautiful as a well taken image–enhanced.

That’s what photoshop is to me with color–an enhancer. Did you know that when we all switched from Film to Digital–away went the saturation glow that came from film. Soooo, we get to bring it back with editing.

color pop images #photoshop #photography

{For this image, I show with my 85 mm prime lens at f/2, 1/500 shutter speed, ISO 200}

 

 I used photoshop elements 2 for a very long time, there is a lot you can do with it.  It is a basic photoshop program that can be purchased at Amazon now for around $70 (last I checked). Starting with this basic version program, is just perfect.

Photoshop lingo is a foreign language. A few years ago, I’d ask how to do something, and I’d hear “blah blah blah blah blah blah blah” as the response and I sat there with my jaw dropped staring at the person who just spoke to me. Ok, maybe I was staring at my computer screen as I read the words, but same thing, right? This, like switching to manual settings can be a frustrating process that will not come overnight. I’ve never liked when my husband says to me, “Don’t try to do it all at once.” And my reply would be…”but I want to, and I don’t know which to choose first!” This is true about the photography process, you really have to try to work on one thing at a time…but do what you will:)

I pop my color with a soft light layer.

Here is MY workflow—or steps I take to get my images to my own personal perfected state.

Let me just say that I shoot in RAW.  I won’t go into detail, but shooting in RAW allows you to do minor tweaks to exposure and saturation on a file before converting it to JPG. Shooting in RAW just makes processing 300 images per session MUCH faster. I love it.

When you look at this image below, it isn’t all that bad.  A little dark, but decent, right?  It isn’t until you see it as it could be that you realize it could be much better.

Let’s do that.

I open up my JPG file and see what needs to be done.

Is it too dark? To lighten, I open up levels—control “L” There is a slider (3 arrows under the histogram/mountain) and I can move the middle arrow right or left to lighten or darken. Play with the 3 arrows as you look at your image to determine a stopping point. Lightening a slightly dark image is easier than darkening a slightly light image. Blown images (too much light) are harder to save. After you like it, hit OK.

 

After I’ve played with levels, I go to the soft light layer. Not sure this is in all versions of photoshop, please let me know! I go to the top menu where is says: File- Edit- Image- Layer and click on LAYER. From the drop down choices, I select DUPLICATE LAYER and hit ok (see sample below).

Duplicating my layer allows me to have two layers of my image on top of each other. Keeping my original on the bottom, that layer stays the same.

 

Once my duplicate layer is highlighted in blue (it says background copy here) I can add the soft light layer.

Tweak the opacity to your liking. Opacity is how transparent a step in the process is, lightens or darkens.

Depending on the image, I might want to keep the opacity at 100% or I might want to lower it to where I like the look.
Here is a sample below of 0 soft light, at 50% opacity and at 100%.
I like 100%, the only thing that bothers me is the trees in the background got a lot darker (middle left).  I can dodge that a bit after.   I love the skin glow, so I stay with 100%.  The image was slightly underexposed, mostly it was just foggy.  If it were darker, the soft light layer wouldn’t look right. That is why it is important to do the levels before to lighten an image as needed first.

I tweak the top layer to my liking and eventually merge the two layers (layer + flatten image) into one.

 

 Now, I want to lighten that dark patch of trees in the back, left. I get my dodge tool, have the flow sorta low so it doesn’t go all white, but just a little.  The brush size big so it just “dusts” the area we want to lighten.
You can see my brush size and how it lightened just a touch.  Just go around in a little circle.  If you’ve done too much, go back a few steps with control+alt+z.
 I use dodge/burn/sponge a LOT. It is in the same spot, you just right click on the square for the button to change. Dodge lightens an area. Burn darkens it and sponge gives a burst of saturation.
 Next, I get the SPONGE and want to saturate the color in the trees and grass. It stays at the same 25% flow and I run my circle tool in circles around the areas I want a bit richer in color, making sure to avoid the skin tones (they will turn orange).

Just a little, not too much.  But if you want more, up the opacity to a higher percentage.

At the end, I always save as a duplicate file (file, save as, img_123a) and keep my original as is (img_123).

 There is your basic color pop.  Any specific question on what I did (nothing is stupid, believe me, I asked a lot of “dumb” questions back in the day)?
Do you want more photo tips? I’ve got a whole section of photography tips up at the top under “photography.” For a direct link to past photography tips and tutorials, click the link!
Tell me what you’d like to learn about photography. Something with your camera or a concept that you just don’t quite “get” and need another voice to explain to you? I’d love ideas!!

If you have a fancy camera that you don’t know how to use, check out my books!

 

If you’d to join the Capturing Joy Photo Club on Facebook, where we have photo challenges, Q&A’s, and image sharing, request to join HERE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/CapturingJoyPhotoClub/

Capturing Joy Photo Club

Privacy Policy