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How can I have a photo be only a solid color and solid white?

New Here ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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I am aiming to turn pictures of people into color outlines.  Specifically I want the subject to be only solid red and solid white.  I would like for a white shirt to be slightly red.  I am attaching a photo for the look I am hoping to achieve.  Thank you for any help.  I was able to find a post that was kinda of like what I am going for however it didn't look quite like what I was aiming to achieve.  Converting a greyscale image to a single solid colour with Photoshop, while preserving transparency ...

test color file.jpgThis is what I was able to create however it is not where I want it to be.

a6724b70f4d8e8d47ea20ae67a9f263c.jpgThis is what I want to achieve focusing on just the people in the photo.  I am not focused on the drawings of the chairs in the photo.  Also if you can help me figure out how to remove the background after doing this I would greatly appreciate it!

Thank you for any help you can offer!

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Engaged ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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Hi TheMangoMarket​ you can try to use the posterize tool or convert to an Bitmap mode or use the Duotone mode.

If you want just an unique solid color you should go with the bitmap mode!

For the Duotone mode you need to convert firstly into a Grayscale, you can find more details here Use duotones in Photoshop .l If you want to stay to RGB/CMYK mode you can experiment with the gradient map to see if it can give the effect that you want. And in order to make transparency you should use the color range tool!

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Advocate ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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It would be better if you started with the original image. As you can see your image did not have enough detail to make anything out of it so here is the directions with another image.

Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 2.48.41 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-01-03 at 2.47.59 PM.png

  1. Select what you want to keep (might be easier to do this before you add your color. I used the quick selection tool and Select & Mask)
    Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 2.59.04 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-01-03 at 3.07.47 PM.png
  2. Add a Layer mask (use the option in Select& Mask or use the Add Layer Mask at the bottom of the layers panel)
    layermask.jpg
  3. Add an adjustment level to the image. I added curves and Channel Mixer Adjustment layer (since color does not have the contrast of black and white and color does not translate exactly how you like it... you may want to push the reds into whites instead of blacks, etc.)  but make sure you make the adjustments a clipping mask Layer>Create Clipping mask or option/alt click between the layers.
    Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 3.18.50 PM.pngScreen Shot 2018-01-03 at 3.19.40 PM.png
  4. Add a color solid if and make sure you you add the clipping mask
  5. Add a white solid as a background if you wish. (I keep the original layer as the original but off)
    Screen Shot 2018-01-03 at 3.20.11 PM.png

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Community Expert ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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An alternative approach is to mask the wanted area (the people) then add a gradient map adjustment layer with the gradient set from Red to White.

Dave

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Community Expert ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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Is that aging rocker you Dave?  You'll have to meet my brother John who is into that sort of thing, and I suspect thinks he is Johnny Cash reincarnated. I think he lives oop you way as well.

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Community Expert ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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Is that aging rocker you Dave?  ...

Yep that's me I couldn't see the facebook link you posted though.

Dave

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Community Expert ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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Given that your examples are "not what you want" can you provide an image example of what you do want?

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Community Expert ,
Jan 03, 2018 Jan 03, 2018

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The key to removing the background is learning how to create layer masks. Every different example posted here uses a layer mask in some form or another.

If I was contracted to do a project like this, I would start by using the pen tool to draw an outline around each subject. The pen tool will give you clean crip edges that might be hard to achieve using selections on images like the one in your post. The basic steps are as follows:

1. Use the pen tool to draw a Path

2. Convert the path to a selection

3. Add layer mask to the layer.

The example that you are trying to achieve looks very contrasted. There are several methods that would work to achieve contrast. I’d probably try a levels adjustment layer for contrast and the add a color fill set to color blend mode on top of that. This assumes that you are starting with an original color image.

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