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Last Updated:
Jan 30th, 2007 - 03:44:27 |
Tinting is a great way to simplify an image whether you have too many competing colors or you are trying to achieve a subtler look. If you have ever wanted to do more than just monochromatically tint your photos, using Gradient Maps is powerful tool that can result in a very wide variety of looks.
1. Open your photo in PSE.
2. Set your foreground and background colors to the dark and light value that you want to tint your image. I used a very dark blue (#033748) and a cream color (#E8E7D4).
3. From the main menu select Layer> New Adjustment Layer> Gradient Map
4. In the New Layer window, click OK.
5. Make sure that Preview is checked in the Gradient Map window. If the highlights are dark in the preview image, click the Reverse box to flip your light and dark values. Click Ok.
Here is the tinted result for my original photo. Instead of a monochromatic image, the image subtly shifts from cream highlights to dark blue shadows.
6. Now you have a Gradient Map that is a real mask in PSE. So if you would like just a portion of your image tinted and the remainder in its original colors you can easily do that. Click on the Mask thumbnail for the Gradient Map layer in the Layers Palette.
Select the portion of your image that you want in color using one of the Lasso tools or even the Selection Brush and delete the selection.
Notice how the Mask thumbnail now shows a black splotch. This is the area of the image that is not affected by the Gradient Map.
Here is how the image itself looks.
You can also use the Eraser on the mask of the Gradient Map to remove the tinting over any portion of the image. If you remove too much tinting just paint it back in using a white foreground and the Brush tool.
Modifying a Gradient Map in Photoshop Elements
1. Another great thing about tinting images with a Gradient Map is that you can change the gradient itself at any time. Double click on the Gradient icon in the Layers Palette and the Gradient Map window will reopen.
2. Click on the down arrow next to the gradient preview to see some of the available gradients.
3. You can also click the right arrow in the drop down menu to select more gradients to use for the Gradient Map. Click on any of the gradient samples and preview how your image will look.
Gradient Maps have access to all the standard gradients available in PSE. If you cannot find a gradient that transforms your image in quite the manner you wanted, you can create your own gradient with the gradient tool and then apply it as a Gradient Map. Just to show you how limitless the tinting possibilities are with Gradient Maps here are a few different versions of my original image.
You can use gradients with three or more colors for very uniquely tinted images. This image uses a gradient that goes from light yellow to pink to purple. It gives a very soft pastel look to the image.
Here’s another sample of a three-color gradient (bright yellow to green to royal blue) that gives a very different effect than the first sample.
The colors make me think more of pop art.
Try applying the Gray Value Stripes gradient to your image and you’ll think that you ran a filter on your image instead of “tinting” it. Gray Value Stripes is a standard gradient that can be found under the Special Effects category.
Don’t forget to try layering Gradient Maps for even more options. The Gray Value Stripes gradient as a Gradient Map is great layered under other Gradient Maps. It completes the pop art feel when layered under the yellow-green-blue Gradient Map.
Have fun tinting your images in new and different ways with Gradient
Maps!
© Copyright 2003-2005 by Scrapbook-Bytes; & original creator/s of tutorials/articles
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