You have to make sure the photo is in RGB mode not B&W then in that same menu, go down to colour balance & fiddle with the slides in there to get it where you want
If you want to switch between layers, go to your layers palette, and click on the layer you want. It will be highlighted in grey when it is the 'active' layer. You can also hold and drag the layer so that it is above or below another layer. You can't do this with a background layer though. If you want a 'background' layer to behave like a normal layer, right click and select "Layer from background". It will convert the background layer to a 'normal' layer.
To get different colour effects, the technique Sarah_H suggested (creating different layers then erasing the bits that you don't want in each layer) is the easiest, but yes, it can be fiddly! Depending on your version of photoshop and the image, you can also try using the smart select tool (easier than manually creating a path - what's called deep-etching an image). This is the little tool that looks like a magic wand. It has a lot of limitations, but the one advantage of using it is that you can then save the outline of the image as a 'path' which can be used on other layers - anyone who wants to know how to do it, just shout!
Some shortcuts to make erasing easier are ('m on Mac, so some of these shortcuts might be a bit different on a pc):
- Select your erase tool, and to change the brush size right click, a little menu should come up with options for diameter, and hardness. 0% hardness has a very soft edge, and 100% is a totally hard edge. A softer edged brush will look more natural than a hard edged brush. Start with a big brush, then do the fine details zoomed in with a small brush.
- To zoom in or out, use "ctrl +/-". You can also select the zoom tool whilst in erase mode by holding down option + space bar for zooming out, and ctrl + space bar for zooming in.
- To move around the screen whilst in erase mode, hold down the space bar (a hand will appear) and drag with your mouse.
Another way to get a single layer black and white is to use the hue and saturation tool. Copy and paste your image into a new layer (another way is to go to your layers window, right click on the layer you want to copy and choose duplicate layer), then select "Image + Adjustment + Hue / Saturation". Drag the "Saturation" slider down to 0%. This is also useful if you want to make part of a shot almost black and white, but not quite, so that the subject appears much brighter.
And also, if anybody is interested, you can adjust contrast / brightness manually using the Levels control (ctrl + L). This will allow you to control your shadows (with the black arrow), your midtones (grey arrow) and highlights (white arrow) separately. To increase contrast, move the black and white arrows a little closer towards the centre (this will make the shadows darker and the highlights brighter/whiter). Moving the grey arrow left will make your midtones darker, and lighter if moved right.
The filters will create different artistic and technical effects and are lots of fun! The artistic effects are good, especially if you want to make your photo look like a painting, for example. Things like the sharpen filters will have less noticeable effects, these are correction tools rather than artistic tools.
Like Michael suggested, an understanding of layer blending options will let you do some really cool things. It doesn't even matter if you don't understand them properly (or at all!), you can still have fun with them. At the top of the layers window is a drop down menu showing the blend mode options, and next to it is a control for opacity. "Normal" is the standard blend mode, and the opacity control will make it more or less transparent. The other modes, eg: Multiply, Overlay etc, define the relationship the layer has with other layers and how they interact. These can be used both creatively and technically (eg: defining how an image prints).
If you want to know about other settings in photoshop and what they mean, give me a shout. But you will find lots of really good information in online tutes, there's heaps of them out there!
Sorry if I've bored the pants of people... I just realised how much I've been rambling on!
i have posted about 3 photos in my gallery, all ive done is the B&W/colour photos so far, they are a bit rough, once i have the hang of it, ill take more time
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