Selective color is a process used broadly in photography after the original image has been taken. This technique entails converting selected parts of a photo to black and white but leaving out some parts in color. A lot of digital cameras these days have a selective color option you can use. But today I’m going to show you how to create a simple selective color image using only Adobe Lightroom as your post-processing software.

1. Import your Photo.

Open Lightroom and import your photo, then go to Develop mode.

Note: We used our Portrait Perfection Lightroom Presets Collection to improve and enhance an image. 

2. Select your color.

In this picture, we decided to leave a red color and convert all other colors into black and white. To do this, in HSL mode select Saturation, and then, increase to +30 points Red color, and decrease to -100 all other colors. 

3. Post-processing.

Use Tone and Presence options to enhance your image. We decided to do this with: Exposure +0.10 / Contrast +40 / Shadows -50 / White +30 / Blacks +20 and Clarity +23. The result you can see on the image below.

4. Use Adjustment Brush 

To completely remove all colors besides Red color, use Adjustment Brush and decrease Saturation option to -100.

You can compare before and after in the image below.

Thanks for reading! I hope you picked up one or two new tips.

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