Photoshop Tutorial - Using Gradient Maps

10 Oct 2011

Gradient maps are a great way to enhance images and really change the dynamic of it. It's a very simple technique that yields great results. For this tutorial, I'm going to be using a photograph of Hollywood hard man, Jason Statham. Although it looks ok, we make it better. The image seems rather washed out, so we're am going to add more tone and contrast. Here's how...

Step 1 - Apply an adjustment layer

In the layers panel, create a new adjustment layer and select gradient map.

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Step 2 - Edit the gradient map

In the adjustment's view, click on the gradient to edit ("click 1"). I choose to select a pre-set gradient ("click 2") as it worked really well for this image, but you can create your own gradient if they don't do the job. Select what gradient you want and hit the OK button.

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Step 3 - Change the blend mode

Select the layer in the layers panel. Click on the dropdown box and select Overlay.Now we want to reduce to strength of the adjustment layer, so we'll drop the opacity down to 40%-50%.

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And that's it. All done. Check out the two images below to see the difference.You can experiment with different gradients, e.g. for a sunset photo, try using an orange or red gradient. Check out some more of my examples and go try it out for yourself!!

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