Adding Color to an Old Photo

Open the photo image and open a new image, white background, sized the same as your photo.

Immediately add a new layer, filling this layer with a Starburst Gradient fill, colors of your choice. The lighter color should go in the center of the starburst to act as a halo around your subjects head once they are added to the image.

Activate the photo image, increasing it's color to 16 Million colors. (Colors | Increase Color Depth | 16 Million Colors)

Use the Smart Selection tool to cut the subject out of the background. Once your subject is selected, press CTRL + C to copy.

Activate the new image, pressing CTRL + L to paste your selection as a new layer .

To remove splotches and imperfections from the subjects face, use the Clone Brush. A lower opacity setting on the Clone Brush will give greater control; it may take two clicks to remove a splotch, but that's better than one click creating a negative splotch. (I used an opacity setting of 41).

Open the Layers Palette and drag layer 2 down to the Create New Layer icon. "Copy of Layer 2" will become your active layer. Layer 2 itself is no longer needed, unless you make a mistake. It's sole purpose in life is to be there and prevent you having to repeat the above steps if your working layer is messed up beyond repair.

Working with the Copy of Layer 2, let's add a little color. Select Colors | Colorize on the menu bar. I used a setting of hue 5 | saturation 75, but you may prefer slightly different settings. Remember, the flesh tones are the lower numbers in the hue setting.

Once you have your color, it may be just a little dark. Adjust this in the Colors | Adjust | Brightness/Contrast option on the menu bar. I used a setting of brightness 3 | contrast 15

Using the Magic Wand, select the subjects hair. You may have to hold shift key in to retain the selections, adjusting tolerance settings between selections, but continue selecting until most of the hair has been selected. You won't need to select every last bit of hair as the parts not selected will act as a highlight. If some of the face or neck is selected press the ctrl key while clicking on the area to remove it from the selections.

Once the hair has been selected to your satisfaction, colorize it. The hue remains the same (for brunettes), but the saturation increased to 99.

Add an empty layer by holding the shift key in and pressing the New Layer icon in the Layer Palette. We'll be working on this new layer, but will need to have the Copy of Layer 2 in the on position so that we can see what we're doing.

Okay guys, time to learn how to apply a little make-up. :) First we'll add a little color to the cheekbones. Set the foreground color to R=255, G-81, B-188. Select the Airbrush Tool, adjusting it's size to 6, hardness to 46, and opacity to 4. Density should remain at 100. One click at a time, add the color to the cheekbone areas. The color should be just a trace, too much and your subject will look like a clown.

Change the Airbrush size to 4 add a touch of the same color to the lips. Don't worry about going outside the lip area. This color's easier to remove than lipstick... just use the eraser if you get carried away.

Reduce opacity of this layer to 70 on the Layer Palette.

The eyebrows are a little pale and need something to bring them out more. Zoom in close, and with the Magic Wand, select as much as possible of the eyebrows, without getting any of the face. Don't worry about selecting all of the eyebrows, and don't be concerned if your selection appears to be uneven and mis-shapen. With the eye dropper, pick up some of the darker hair color as the foreground color. Use the Paint Brush tool or the Airbrush Tool to add the color to the selected areas. Zoom back out, (Normal View), and you're eyebrows should appear normal, not mis-shapen.

Almost finished. On the Layer Palette, select the Copy of Layer 2. (This should be your subject layer). On the menu bar, select Image | Sharpen | Sharpen. (If your starting image was exteremly clear, you don't need to do the step).

For a final touch, and to make the subject appear to be part of the background layer, and not just pasted there, soften the hairline a little. This can be done by using the Retouch Tool, Retouch Mode set to Soften, Brush Tip Opacity set to 14. Lightly run over the hair where it meets the background. Be careful to not have your brush size so large that it softens any of the facial features.

Merge your layers, and save.