“Color is descriptive. Black and White is interpretive”
Elliot Erwitt (1928 – 2023, US Photographer)
Selective Colour / Color
Selective colour can be dated back to the early days of photography, when black and white photos were coloured with water or oil colours. In the early 2000s selective colour became very popular in digital photography, when layering and masking were implemented in Lightroom and Photoshop. Desired colours could be masked, painted and create a surreal dream like images (1).
Today it seems to be have been overwhelmed by AI and other methods. Currently, Adobe PS Express and Google Fotos have a filter called “Pop-Color” that creates an image like a selective colour image of the 2000s. The only problem is that it only focusses on one colour in the image. To demonstrate the limitations (Here in Adobe PS Express) I took a photo with a colourful toy car in-front of a colourful background. The images in the gallery below show the “Pop-Color”-variations compared to the original.
As you can see in the gallery below and on this image of a butterfly the filter selects the defined colour regardless if it’s part of the subject or not (i.e. red, yellow, RGB, etc.).
(1) www.institute-of-photography.com/selective-colour-in-photography (25/04/2024)
Selective Colour Gallery
Selective Coloration
2022/2023 I developed my own system to create my selective colour images. In my images I keep all of the subject’s original colours so instead of one you have all of the original nuances, hence millions of colours. With the background in black and white these colours really pop as you can see below. This is what I call selective coloration. My images are often HDR , focus stacked and/or panorama stitched. I initially started with vintage cars and I used my vintage yellow 1984 Volkswagen Beetle. Then I expanded it to butterflies, flowers and fungi. I am still experimenting with the technique many more examples may be added in the future.
As you can see Fillmore has all of his colours and the background is black and white. The technique can be used for anything in colour to contrast from the background, like a Swallowtail butterfly. In turn the black and white background can be coloured in one specific colour to make it unique. Usually contrasting colours are the best, like in the example with the red scale model Toyota Supra. You can also create an image in AI or via Gran Turismo and apply my technique...
Colour Variation
Selective coloration is most effective when the image shows only little colour variation in the picture. Just take this leaf. In the original on the right it hardly stands out, yet selective coloration (on the left) really draws you to it. Pop Colour Filters cannot deal with such close colours and hence cannot create such images.
Selective Coloration
Example Gallery
Selective coloration is ideal for taking photos of modern and vintage cars infront of a not so interesting background. The gallery shows some examples.
To really get a great shot of your modern or vintage car I can come to visit you for a shooting...
All prices are without German VAT tax of 19%, that will have to be added.
If you like these photos you can purchase them on PictRS by clicking on the button
Pricing
Below are six different modules of the selective coloration services I can offer. If you need anything more specific please dend me an e-mail by clicking on the button below.
Full Photo
Shooting
If you want your favourite car, motorbike or truck etc. as an impressive selective coloration art-piece on your wall you can book a Full Photo Shooting with me. Such a shooting takes about 1-5h depending on the number of images you want to have to choose from.
Example:
I own the Rallye Sunny Bug in the image above and that photo was taken to be entered into a photo competition. The photo may not look like it but it is HDR and Focus Stacked and depending on the size also Panorama stitched in addition to a selective coloration image. If you want to know what that is please click on the highlighted links.
A Full Photo Shooting will create up to 10 images of your preferred object either with a black and white background or a background with a single colour.
Such a shooting costs 500€/h (min 1h)
Usually such a shooting can take 2-4h depending on the number of photos requested and the size of i.e. the car...
Depending on the image and the intended use additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Reduced Photo Shooting
If you want your favourite car, motorbike or truck etc. as an impressive selective coloration art-piece on your wall you can book a Reduced Photo Shooting with me. Such a shooting takes about 1-5h depending on the number of images you want to have to choose from.
Example:
The basis of this photos are up to five photos that have been manipulated to selective coloration images.
A Reduced Photo Shooting will create five images of your preferred object either with a black and white background or a background with a single colour, by only taking simple photos, no HDR, no Focus Stacking or Panorama Stitching.
Such a shooting costs 400€/h (min 1h)
Usually such a shooting can take 1-3h depending on the number of photos requested and the size of i.e. the car...
Depending on the images and the intended use additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Minimal Photo Shooting
If you want your favourite car, motorbike or truck etc. as an impressive selective coloration art-piece on your wall you can book a Minimal Photo Shooting with me. Such a shooting takes about 1-5h depending on the number of images you want to have to choose from.
Example:
The basis of this photos is only one single photo that has been manipulated to a selective coloration image.
A Minimal Photo Shooting will create one image of your preferred object either with a black and white background or a background with a single colour, by only taking simple photos, no HDR, no Focus Stacking or Panorama Stitching.
Such a shooting costs 250€/h (min 1h)
Usually such a shooting can take 1-2h depending on the number of photos requested and the size of i.e. the car...
Depending on the image and the intended use additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Object
Photography
If you want a specific object, like a family heirloom photographed and showcased as an impressive selective coloration art-piece on your wall you can book my Object Photography package. Such a shooting takes about 2-5h depending on the number of images you want to have to choose from.
Example:
The basis of this photo is an HDR photo that has been manipulated to a selective coloration image.
Object Photography will create images of your preferred object either with a black and white background or a background with a single colour, by taking photos, HDR, Focus Stacking or Panorama Stitching.
Such a shooting costs 500€/h (min 1h)
Usually such a shooting can take 2-5h depending on the number of photos requested and the size of the object ...
Depending on the image and the intended use additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Product
Photography
If you want a new or established product photographed and showcased as an impressive unique selective coloration commercial advert or new key visual you can book my Product Photography package. Such a shooting takes about 2-5h depending on the number of images you want to have to choose from.
Example:
The basis of this photos is a HDR photo that has been manipulated to a selective coloration image.
Product Photography will create images of your preferred object either with a black and white background or a background with a single colour, by taking photos, HDR, Focus Stacking or Panorama Stitching.
Such a shooting costs 750€/h (min 1h)
Usually such a shooting can take 2-5h depending on the number of photos requested and the size of the product ...
Depending on the image and the intended use additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Digital
Transition
If you send me one or more photos that I can make it into selective coloration photos for you. This can have a black and white background or in a single colour like in the Rolls Royce image above.
This service costs 100€/h (min 1h)
The photo (s) should be supplied as:
- RAW
- JPG
- TIF
- or as a printed photo
Depending on the filesize, the intended use and/or format additional important work is required and has to be added:
- Increasing the format size (i.e. a mobile phone image) @ 25€/h (min 1h)
- Scanning service (i.e. printed photos) @ 25€/h (min 1h). The image will be scanned to the ideal format size so increasing the size is hence not necessary.
- Background variation if the photographed background doesn't appeal. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
- Object removal if the photographed object contains other distracting objects i.e. power lines. This costs 25€/h (min 1h).
If you are interested in booking my service for one or more photos, please click on the button below today to request a non-binding quote for your project. My time is limited and everyone is served on a "first come first served" basis.
Selective Coloration Blog Posts
Once a day I post a selective coloration image created to represent an event, a person's birthday or a company milestone. You can see the posts collated for every day of every month of the year by clicking on the links below ...
Please click on the month you are interested in...
Philosophy Cards
Since July 2026 I have been posting philosophy cards on social media like this one, where the background is selective coloration.
You can view all of the previous cards in a Google Fotos Gallery by clicking on the button.
If you like these philosophy cards you can purchase prints, cups etc. of them at Pixieset by clicking on that button.
Please support my art.