Authored by Tracy Clark

One especially helpful feature included in Photoshop Elements is a "helper application" called Recipes. These provide the user with step-by-step descriptions of common tasks, including photo touch-ups, red-eye elimination, text stylizing, and addition of drop shadows and other enhancements.

The following tutorial will present one of the more popular uses of Photoshop Elements: adding color to a black and white photo.

Colorizing a Black and White Photo

1. Open Photoshop Elements. The following window will appear:

2. Locate the Recipes window, along the right-hand side of the Photoshop Elements main work area. As the image below suggests, Recipes are a quick, easy way to perform some of the more popular tasks for which consumers or hobbyists would use an image-editing program.

3. Click on arrow next to Select a Recipe; then select Color Correction. The Color Correction window will appear, and you will be able to choose from a number of options within this larger option.

4. Notice that selections become hyperlinks when you move your cursor over them, as shown below:

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5. After selecting the desired task, click on the corresponding hyperlink. The following window will appear:

6. Follow the instructions provided within the recipe.

NOTE: Completing this task will not restore colors obscured in the original black-and-white process, a la colorized versions of popular black and white films. It simply allows you to add color to a black and white photo!