Spot Color
🎯 Spot Color
This creative tool turns most of your image black and white while allowing you to decide what sections keep in fully vivid color —instantly drawing the eye. It’s perfect for making a red umbrella pop on a rainy street, highlighting a colorful balloon, or giving flowers the spotlight in an otherwise muted scene. Spot Color is all about drama, contrast, and fun—but like any bold effect, a little goes a long way. Use it when you want to create visual focus or tell a color story without any words!
Icon: Circle over colored background
Use: Make one color stand out while turning rest of image black & white
Apple: Not native
Android (Samsung Gallery):
Edit > Style > Spot Color
Tap the locations/color you want to keep
🖌️ How Spot Color Works
Open your photo and tap the ✏️ pencil icon to enter editing mode.
Tap the four dots (⋯) to see more editing tools.
Select Spot Color.
Your entire image will turn black and white, ready for you to bring back color—just where you want it.
Tap on the spot you want to highlight in color using the dropper with a plus sign (+). That color will reappear wherever it exists in the photo.
If too much gets colored, don’t worry! Use the dropper with a minus sign (–) to remove that color from areas where you don’t want it.
For precise control, use the eraser tool on the right. This lets you manually erase color from smaller spots—even if it's the same color elsewhere in the image. If the same color shows up in more than one place, the eraser lets you clean up just one section at a time without affecting the rest.
Tip: Spot Color works best when you’re focusing on a small, clearly defined object—like a flower, a balloon, or a bright shirt.
⚠️ Limitations to Keep in Mind:
If the area you touch contains many similar shades or blended colors, your phone might color more than you intended.
Movement or fuzzy edges (like hair, fur, or grass) can make it harder for the tool to detect clean borders.
You can bring back multiple different colors— but some phones may limit you to one color range at a time.
💡 Pro Tip: Zoom in while editing for more precision, and if the result looks messy, try again with a smaller area or a simpler subject.
In the image above, a proud Panthers fan flashes his jersey... in Canada. Bold move during the 2025 Stanley Cup—some might call it brave, others might say he's risking an international incident. 🇨🇦🏒🐾
In the second image, we used Spot Color to drain the background of color, keeping only the jersey and flags in full glory. We also brought color back to the fan himself—because a bright jersey floating on a ghostly black-and-white body? Yeah... that’s a horro
Whistler, Canada: The view Whistler Mountain “Peak to Peak” area is made even more beautiful with the brilliant red and white Canadian flags arranged in a row along the fence.
🖍️When To Use Spot Color
To make this effect really pop, look for images where one item naturally stands out—like a red umbrella on a rainy day, a yellow taxi in a sea of gray buildings, or a child’s bright balloon against a cloudy sky. The more contrast between the highlighted item and the rest of the scene, the more dramatic the result. When taking or choosing a photo to use for spot color, keep an eye out for bold colors, simple backgrounds, and strong shapes that can draw attention and tell a story all on their
Venice, Italy: The before-and-after images above are a perfect example of spot color in action! In this case, the luggage steals the spotlight—and for good reason. Anyone who’s ever been to Venice knows that dragging your bags over all those charming (but endless!) bridges is a memory you’ll never forget. By highlighting just the luggage, the photo tells the story with humor, heart, and a pop of color.
Colorful architecture is a goldmine for spot color magic! Whether it’s a bold red door, a striped awning, or a sunlit balcony bursting with flowers, buildings often have one bright element that begs to be highlighted. Spot color lets you draw attention to that one splash of vibrancy while everything else fades into monochrome—instantly adding drama and charm. Keep your eyes open for clean lines, bold shapes, and standout hues that make a building pop.
Venice, Italy: In the above images, the vibrant color of the orange building caught our eye! Part of the creative process is looking for images that celebrate a particular creative style or edit effect, like spot color.
The Old & The New
Weathered paint, worn doorways, and old window frames are perfect subjects for spot color. Their chipped textures, faded layers, and rustic charm add visual interest, especially when highlighted against a black-and-white background. The pop of color draws attention to the details—cracks, peeling edges, and vintage tones—that might otherwise go unnoticed, turning age and imperfection into artistic beauty.
While we don’t encourage graffiti, (really, really…. we don’t encourage graffiti) the contrast between the old stone buildings and the vivid spray paint can make for a striking spot color opportunity. By isolating the bold hues, the image captures the whimsy between tradition and modern expression. Sometimes even an uninvited splash of color can be used thoughtfully to tell a visual story.
Venice Italy: Along the rivers we found endless opportunities for photography with interesting doors and weathered windows. Highlighting only the green paint creates a more intriguing image. In sharp contrast, tucked away in narrow alleyways, we came across a few walls marked with graffiti—unexpected bursts of color, with a modern character rests against the aged, historic architecture. Although grafetti can be a fun illustration of spot color, but please, please, please do not mark up your city walls. Let’s all work together to keep the streets of the world clean and beautiful!
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