A system and method for expansion and reduction of images uses an absolute value associated with each pixel of an input image (e.g., a color and/or intensity value) to determine a respective energy value for each pixel. For example, a given color or range of colors (e.g., skin tones, or other high-priority colors) may be assigned higher energy values than other colors and/or color ranges, and may be protected during image reduction and/or expansion. These energy values may be used to determine a cost associated with various seams of the image, which may represent the priority of the seams in the image. One or more low-cost seams may be identified for removal or replication to produce a resized image. The methods may be used in conjunction with an automated skin tone detector or a user interface that allows selection of one or more high priority colors or color ranges.