General question about selective coloring...which parts do you color and which to leave black and white?

Question

i know this is a pretty popular artistic technique, but what's the most effective way to use it? I doubt it's pretty random, so which part of a photo do you leave colored? the part you focus on? or the part you don't focus on? or is it a matter of whatever looks good? experimentation? is one color better than two colors? sorry, but if you have general tips, it would be appreciated. Thx.

Answer 1

There are NO set rules here. YOUR the photographer and artist in these matters. One thing I love about photography is that it is so subjective to the one doing it. Another is - what are you trying to say..? (in the picture).. if anything...



Generally, when one is selectively coloring a object in a BW image they are either wanting to draw the eyes to that area or just enjoying the contrast of a single color in a sea of gray.. Of course you want the colored part to be in focus but it does NOT have to be the center OF focus. Often, it's a artsi fartsi approach in voicing the fact that you are a I and not a we and this is YOUR art and you made it this way because you wanted to.



As you said, experimentation is the way to go and try different ways, colors and items in the photo. Just like the guy who smashed 2 atoms together one day and said - wow, what a blast... Sometimes ya gotta think outside the box and just push the envelope...



Bob - Tucson and a big pusher (of envelopes)

Answer 2

Normally you would only color what you want to stand out in the photo. Of course since photography like any other form of art is subjective, then you can do the opposite and color the background leaving the subject in black and white. It all depends on the mood or story you want to project in the photo.

Answer 3

I think it depends on the image . Like for example if you had a image that had a bunch of people , you could keep on person that you want to people to look at right away so you would keep that person in color rest in black and white so that person will stand out . Like heres one of Perki's images that portrays that :



http://www.flickr.com/photos/perki88/616330442/

Answer 4

One thing that I've seen done and think it looks good is if someone is holding flowers everything would be b&w except the flowers. It especially looks good if the flowers are red since that really stands out against the b&w