If Frank Miller Took a Picture of my Dog

Processing photos to have selective colors, or selective areas of color, are one of those things that can be done with great success if done properly but more often than not looks tacky and cheap. I have a feeling its a technique that family and wedding photographers use to further distinguish their photos from the average Joe's with an iPhone. It's easy enough to do, but requires more work than applying an Instagram filter, and not everyone with an iPhone knows how to do it.

The effect works best when highlighting one thing or sets of things in color. The most common example, highlighting flowers in wedding photos, is common because it works for the most part. The effect falls apart though when the photographer gets too complicated like highlighting shirts, sunglasses and hats. Especially if these items aren't part of the same theme. 

When I'm in the mood to Photoshop I end up using a lot of selective color. It's one of my guilty pleasures and I use it too often. Before I share the photo with anyone though I ask myself, "is this adding or distracting from the photo?" I continue to ask myself that with this photo. The red is very bold and saturated here but I think Larry is distinguished enough to hold his own.