Have you ever loved the papers and elements in a particular kit, but when you put them together with your photos, the result was less spectacular than you hoped? While there are numerous reasons a layout may disappoint, one major reason could be that the colors in the papers and elements are not a good match for the photos you are scrapping. If that is the case, you can ‘get happy’ now, because with Photoshop it is a simple matter to recolor those papers and elements to achieve beautiful results. Read on!

Note: The following instructions are geared toward the novice user, and are very detailed. If you are an experienced Photoshop user, you might like to skip to the end of the tutorial where we have included a “speedier” version of these instructions!

Here is what you will need for this project/tutorial:

* Adobe Photoshop 7, CS, or CS2

* Digital backgrounds and elements from the DeeDoo freebie mini kit, which can be downloaded Here.

* Freebie tutorial photo located here.

* NOTE: This tutorial instructs using DeeDoo’s mini kit, but you can substitute your own papers and elements and photos, if you prefer.

When you finish you will be able to apply these methods to maximize usage of your kits and elements, while creating layouts that enhance your photos.

Let’s begin!!!

With your Photoshop program open:

1. Open Paper01 in the Chameleon Kit – Here’s how:
* On the Menu Bar, choose File-Open
* Go to the directory where you saved the freebie DeeDoo Chameleon mini kit. Highlight and double-click on DDoo147-Paper01 to open it in Photoshop.

2. Rename and Save a copy of the paper. You will use this new file for your work, thereby preserving the original paper for future use. Here’s how:
* On the Menu Bar, choose File-Save As
* When the window opens, you can choose a different folder in which to save the file, if desired.
* Rename the paper and click “Save”. Since you will need to see more than one open file at a time, take a moment to minimize this new document, if necessary, by clicking on the bottom right corner of its window and dragging up and to the left a bit.
* Close the original paper.

3. Open the free tutorial photo. (Follow “Open” steps in #1 above). Again, since you will need to see more than one open file at a time, take a moment to minimize the photo file, if necessary, by clicking on the bottom right corner of its window and dragging up and to the left a bit.

4. Now we are going to drag the photo into the background paper document.

* Holding down the “Shift” key, click on the photo layer in the layers palette of the photo file and drag the photo into the open background file, releasing the mouse (first) & the “Shift” key (second).
* This centers the photo in the background paper file, so it is easy to find.
* Close the original photo file.
* The photo will be called “Layer 1″ in the background paper file.

5. If necessary, lengthen the layers palette viewing space by clicking with your mouse and dragging the lower left corner of the palette to the left and down slightly, just until you are able to see all the layers.
6. Layer 1 will be just above the Background layer if you are using the DeeDoo mini kit and photo. If not, click on your photo with your mouse and drag it to the spot just above the background paper layer you wish to use.

This is one way to recolor:

7. With the Background layer highlighted in blue, use your mouse and click on “Image” on the Menu Bar and choose “Image – Adjustments – Hue/Saturation”. The Hue/Saturation window will open. Now you can have some fun!

1. Notice there is an “Edit” window with a down-arrow at the top of the main window. The word “Master” appears in the Edit window now. Other choices can be viewed by clicking on the down-arrow. Be sure that “Master” remains in the window when you continue with the tutorial.

2. There are also three sliders in the window, one each for Hue, Saturation, and Lightness. Each slider has a corresponding window, each of which contains a “0″ at this time.

3. At the lower right of the window there are 3 eyedroppers, which we will not discuss in this tutorial. In addition, you will see two items with boxes next to them: Colorize and Preview. The box next to Preview should have a green checkmark in it to allow you to see previews of the color changes you make without closing this window. Please also click with your mouse in the box next to “Colorize”.

4. You will see that the color of your background paper has instantly changed from the original light green to a light mauve. Notice that the Edit box is now faded out. The Hue slider has moved to the far left, while the Saturation slider is now set at 25 and the Lightness slider remains at “0″.

5. Drag the Hue slider to the right until the number “122″ appears in its window (or you can simply type “122″ into the box).

6. Drag the Saturation slider to the right until the number “31″ appears in its window (or you can simply type “31″ into the box).

7. Drag the Lightness slider to the left until the number “-52″ appears in its window (or you can simply type “-52″ into the box).

Your background paper is now a darker green that goes well with the green in the roof of the gingerbread house in the photo. You can now click “OK” to accept this color, or drag each of the sliders until you arrive at a color you think will best complement the photo. Highlight the photo layer and go to the next step.

8. Now open DDoo147-Embel-Tag02 and drag the tag into your background paper document. It will be labeled “Layer 2″. Drag the tag to a place in the window that allows you to see it against the background while still able to compare it with the photo. With “Layer 2″ highlighted, repeat the sub-steps contained in Step 7, above. However, this time enter “0″ for Hue, “44″ for Saturation, and “-42″ for Lightness, then click “OK” to close the window.

The tag is a medium red that coordinates with the green background paper and the red in the gingerbread house.

Continue the tutorial, below, without closing your file or changing the steps you have already completed.

This is another way to recolor:

(Note: This process requires that you have the layer you wish to apply the new color to selected at the beginning of the steps.)

9. Open DDoo147-Embel-SpongedFlower, drag the flower stamp into your background paper document, and position it so you can see it easily. It will be labeled “Layer 3″. With “Layer 3″ highlighted, click on “Image – Adjustments – Match Color”.

At the bottom of the Match Color window, notice the word “Source”. The word “None” currently appears in its window. Click on the down-arrow to the right of the window. You will see only one file available, your background document (which you have renamed). Highlight that document.

Now the word “Layer” and its window, below the “Source” item, are no longer faded out. The words “Layer 3″ now appear in the Layer window. Layer 3 is the sponged flower layer that we wish to recolor. We need to change this selection to “Layer 2″, the red tag layer, which is the layer we wish to match. This will immediately apply the same red coloring from the red tag layer (Layer 2) to the sponged flower layer, because we started this process while we had the sponged flower layer selected. Click “OK” to close the window.

Tip: You can use your “Tab” key to tab through the choices in both the Hue/Saturation window and the Match Color window.

Tip: I prefer using the first method because I am able to control the degree of color, saturation, and lightness much better using the choices in the Hue/Saturation window.

Speed Tutorial:
First Method
In the Layers palette, highlight the layer you wish to recolor.
Choose Image-Adjustments-Hue/Saturation from the Menu Bar.
Check the Colorize box at the bottom right corner of the Hue/Saturation window.
Move the Hue, Saturation, and Lightness sliders until you find the color you wish to use.
Click OK.

Second Method
In the Layers palette, highlight the layer you wish to recolor.
Choose Image-Adjustments-Color Match from the Menu Bar.
Choose the name of the file from which you wish to obtain the color match. This file must be open at the time. It can be the same file you are actually working on, as in our longer tutorial example, or a different, open file.
Choose the name of the layer within that file that contains the color you wish to match.
Click OK.