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How to Edit Photos in Black & White With Color

A black-and-white photo with one small colored area highlights that particular area or object. This technique is used on images that are originally taken in color. Images that are originally black and white can be only painted over with color. While it is easy to perform this task in a graphics program with layers, according to The Graphic Reporter, it can also be done with readily available paint programs bundled into most operating systems.

Things You'll Need

Original color image
Photo management program
Paint program

Instructions

- 1
  Open the original color image in a photo management program of your choice, such as Picasa. Use the available black-and-white option to turn the photo into a black-and-white photo and save it with a different name.
- 2
  Open the original color photo and the black-and-white photo using a paint program of your choice.
- 3
  Select the area on the color photo that you want to show in color on the black-and-white photo using the "Free Form Select" option--or equivalent--in your paint program. Copy the selected area by clicking on "Edit," then "Copy."
- 4
  Click on "Edit," then "Paste" on the black-and-white photo to paste the colored area into the photo. You may need to adjust or move the colored area to exactly where you want it on the black-and-white photo.
- 5
  Click on "File" and then "Save As" to save the new image.

Photography