Photoshop Tutorial : Adding emphasis to a photograph with colour

Fri, Nov 9, 2007

In this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to use the History brush tool to “repaint” some colour into an image. The History tool is an oft neglected but important part of your Photoshop toolkit. It’s easy to use and very versatile. It can restore details, colours or any attribute that appeared at an earlier point in the photo’s history.

One of the most popular ways to use the History Brush tool is covert an image to black and white and then paint back in the original colour in a small part of the image. This is used regularly in wedding photography and can produce a nice artistic effect.

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9 Comments For This Post

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 4:50 pm

Ah! Thank you for explaining a way to use the History Brush! You have a very steady hand! I really liked your article on using the Art History Brush to paint the lily picture to look like a watercolor, too. There are a few tools that I’ve always wondered about and those are the big ones.

What about doing some tutorials on using filters effectively? Like using it in a way to get an interesting effect on part of an image–not just applying it to a photo and anyone who has used PS can tell which filter you used. An unexpected way to use a filter well, like your lens blur tutorial or using clouds to make lightning. I recently discovered a use for the Spatter filter–to distress masks.

Jennifer Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 8:28 am

Hi Lauren Marie,

thanks for visting and for your comments. Yes, I will definitely look into doing some interesting filter work. Watch this space!

chemist2dio Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 11:28 am

Thanks for this nifty tutorial, you’ve made good use of the art history brush, your technique seems eaiser to do than mine. keep on posting more video tutorials. ^^

Jennifer Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pm

You’re very welcome, chemist!

haus Says:
November 25th, 2007 at 2:43 am

great tutorial.!!!
THanKS

Jennifer Says:
November 25th, 2007 at 10:11 am

Glad you liked it Haus!

HeavyGod Says:
November 27th, 2007 at 10:58 am

Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe ) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!

Jennifer Says:
November 28th, 2007 at 4:34 pm

Thanks HeavyGod! And, yes there are more short tutorials on the way.

Jennifer Hawkins Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm

Hi there…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Friday

3 Trackbacks For This Post

Does Anybody Use The Art History Brush? Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 3:58 am

[...] is far from useless though. Jennifer Farley from Laughing Lion posted a great, very simple tutorial on using the Art History brush to recolor certain parts of a photograph that you previously turned [...]

Jason D. Moore Photography » Blog Archive » P&P Weekly: #56 Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 12:26 pm

[...] Jennifer of Laughing Lion Design is back with a tutorial on using the History Brush. [...]

ThemePassion - Best stuff about design! » Photoshop Tutorial : Adding emphasis to a photograph with colour Says:
November 28th, 2007 at 2:20 pm

[...] Al W wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptIn this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to use the History brush tool to “repaint” some colour into an image. The History tool is an oft neglected but important part of your Photoshop toolkit. It’s easy to use and very versatile. … [...]

LaurenMarie - Creative Curio Says:
November 9th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Ah! Thank you for explaining a way to use the History Brush! You have a very steady hand! I really liked your article on using the Art History Brush to paint the lily picture to look like a watercolor, too. There are a few tools that I’ve always wondered about and those are the big ones.

What about doing some tutorials on using filters effectively? Like using it in a way to get an interesting effect on part of an image–not just applying it to a photo and anyone who has used PS can tell which filter you used. An unexpected way to use a filter well, like your lens blur tutorial or using clouds to make lightning. I recently discovered a use for the Spatter filter–to distress masks.
Jennifer Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 8:28 am
Hi Lauren Marie,

thanks for visting and for your comments. Yes, I will definitely look into doing some interesting filter work. Watch this space!
chemist2dio Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Thanks for this nifty tutorial, you’ve made good use of the art history brush, your technique seems eaiser to do than mine. keep on posting more video tutorials. ^^
Jennifer Says:
November 11th, 2007 at 12:35 pm
You’re very welcome, chemist!
haus Says:
November 25th, 2007 at 2:43 am
great tutorial.!!!
THanKS
Jennifer Says:
November 25th, 2007 at 10:11 am
Glad you liked it Haus!
HeavyGod Says:
November 27th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Really good and really interesting post. I expect (and other readers maybe ) new useful posts from you!
Good luck and successes in blogging!
Jennifer Says:
November 28th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
Thanks HeavyGod! And, yes there are more short tutorials on the way.
Jennifer Hawkins Says:
December 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
Hi there…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Friday

Does Anybody Use The Art History Brush? Says:
November 10th, 2007 at 3:58 am
[...] is far from useless though. Jennifer Farley from Laughing Lion posted a great, very simple tutorial on using the Art History brush to recolor certain parts of a photograph that you previously turned [...]
Jason D. Moore Photography » Blog Archive » P&P Weekly: #56 Says:
November 12th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
[...] Jennifer of Laughing Lion Design is back with a tutorial on using the History Brush. [...]
ThemePassion - Best stuff about design! » Photoshop Tutorial : Adding emphasis to a photograph with colour Says:
November 28th, 2007 at 2:20 pm
[...] Al W wrote an interesting post today!.Here’s a quick excerptIn this tutorial, we’ll take a look at how to use the History brush tool to “repaint” some colour into an image. The History tool is an oft neglected but important part of your Photoshop toolkit. It’s easy to use and very versatile. … [...]

Laughing Lion Design