Colorizing Images With Gradients In

Photoshop
Written by Steve Patterson. 
In this Photoshop Effects tutorial, we’ll learn how to add complex colorizing effects to images using custom
gradients! Specifically, we’ll look at the Gradient Mapimage adjustment and how it allows us to apply
different colors to different brightness levels in the image. We’ll see how easy it is to create our own custom
gradients in Photoshop so we can colorize our images with any colors we choose. As always, we’ll be using
the adjustment layer version of the Gradient Map so we avoid making any changes to the original photo, and
so we can easily adjust the intensity of the effect when we’re done!
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Here’s the image I’ll be working with:

The original image.

Here’s how it will look after colorizing it with a gradient and then reducing the intensity of the effect. This is
just one of endless possibilities:
The final result.

Let’s get started!

Step 1: Create A Custom Black And White Version Of The Image

Before we start colorizing the image with a gradient, let’s first remove the existing colors and create a custom
black and white version. This will help us fine-tune the results at the end. If you’re using Photoshop CS3 or
higher (I’m using CS4 in this tutorial), the easiest way to create a great looking custom black and white version
is with a Black & White adjustment layer, which is what I’ll be adding in a moment. If you’re using
Photoshop CS2 or earlier, use either a Channel Mixer or Hue/Saturation adjustment layer to create your
black and white version. You’ll find complete details on these and other ways of converting color images to
black and white in our Photo Editingsection.
If we look in our Layers palette, we see that we currently have only one layer, the Background layer, which is
the layer that contains our image. To add a Black & White adjustment layer, click on the New Adjustment
Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers palette and choose Black & White from the list of adjustment layers
that appears:
Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon and select Black & White from the list (Photoshop CS3 and higher).

As soon as you select the Black & White adjustment layer, you’ll see your image in the document window
suddenly appear in black and white, based on the default settings for the adjustment. In Photoshop CS3, the
controls for the Black and White adjustment layer will open in a dialog box on your screen. In CS4, they’ll
appear inside the Adjustments Panel, which is new to CS4. In either case, the way it works is the same. Simply
drag any of the color sliders (Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, and Magentas) left or right to brighten or
darken areas in the image that originally contained that particular color. Dragging a slider towards the left will
darken areas of that color, while dragging to the right will lighten them.
For example, skin tone always contains lots of red, so to lighten someone’s skin in the black and white version
of the image, simply drag the Reds slider towards the right. Trees and other plants usually contain lots of
yellow (even though they appear green to us), so to brighten or darken them, just drag the Yellows slider.
Always keep an eye on your image in the document window as you drag the sliders to judge the results:
Drag the color sliders left or right to darken or lighten different areas of the black and white version.

Once you’re happy with the results, click OK to exit out of the dialog box if you’re using Photoshop CS3. In
CS4, the Adjustments Panel can remain open. Here’s my image after converting it to black and white:

A custom black and white version has been created.

If we look in our Layers palette again, we see that we now have two layers. The original image is still sitting
on the Background layer, and directly above it is our adjustment layer. The black and white conversion we just
applied is contained entirely within the adjustment layer itself. The original image below it remains in full
color, untouched and unaffected by anything we just did, which is why we should always use adjustment
layers whenever possible:
With adjustment layers, the original image remains unharmed.

Step 2: Add A Gradient Map Adjustment Layer

Now that we have our black and white version, we can colorize the image with a gradient. For that, we’ll use
another adjustment layer, this time a Gradient Map. Click again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the
bottom of the Layers palette and choose Gradient Map from the list:

Click again on the New Adjustment Layer icon and this time, choose Gradient Map.

As with the previous adjustment layer, if you’re using Photoshop CS3 (or earlier), the controls for the Gradient
Map will open in a dialog box on your screen. In CS4, they appear in the Adjustments Panel.

Step 3: Create A Custom Gradient

By default, Photoshop uses a gradient based on your current Foreground and Background colors, which, unless
you’ve changed them, will be black (Foreground) and white (Background), which gives us a black to white
gradient. We can see what the current gradient looks like in the gradient preview area:
The preview area shows us the current colors in the gradient.

Since we want to colorize our image, a black to white gradient won’t do us much good, so let’s change the
colors and create our own custom gradient! Click directly on the gradient preview area, which opens up the
largerGradient Editor. At the top of the Gradient Editor is a series of thumbnails, each one representing a
different pre-made gradient (known as a gradient preset) that we can choose simply by clicking on its
thumbnail. We’re not going to do that though (so don’t click on any of them) because we’re going to see how
easy it is to create a custom gradient.

The Presets area at the top of the Gradient Editor contains a selection of ready-made gradients.

It wouldn’t be called the Gradient Editor if all we could do was choose from pre-made gradients, and in fact,
it’s very easy to create our own using any colors we want. In the bottom half of the dialog box is a larger
version of the gradient preview area we saw a moment ago. Directly below the preview area on either end is
a color stop which shows the current color that’s being used in that part of the gradient. The color stop on the
left is filled with black, while the one on the right is filled with white. To change either color, simply click on
the color stop, then click on the rectangular color swatch to the right of the word Color at the bottom of the
dialog box.
Let’s change the black on the left of the gradient to something else. Click on the black color stop to select it,
then click on the color swatch:
Click on the black color stop to select it, then click on the color swatch to change its color.

This opens Photoshop’s Color Picker. For best results, you’ll usually want to create gradients that progress
from darker colors to lighter colors, so I’ll choose a dark purple from the Color Picker, which will replace
black in the gradient:

Replacing black in the gradient with a dark purple.

Click OK when you’re done to exit out of the Color Picker. If we look at my image in the document window,
we see that by replacing black in the gradient with purple, all of the dark areas in the photo now appear purple
rather than black:
The dark areas in the image now appear purple.

Let’s do the same thing for the white color stop below the far right of the gradient preview area. Click on the
color stop to select it, then click on the color swatch to change its color:

Changing the white color on the far right of the gradient.

When the Color Picker appears, I’ll choose a bright yellow to replace white:
Replacing white in the gradient with a bright yellow.

Click OK to exit out of the Color Picker, and we can see that the areas in the image that were originally white
(or a light shade of gray) now appear yellow:
The dark areas are still purple, and now the light areas appear yellow.

Adding More Colors

At the moment, our gradient is made up of only two colors, but we can add as many colors we like simply by
adding more color stops. To add a color stop, just click below the gradient preview area at the spot where you
want it to appear. I’ll add a third color stop below the middle of the gradient. As soon as you click, the new
color stop appears:

Click anywhere along the bottom of the gradient to add another color stop.
To change its color, simply click on the color swatch, then select a new color from the Color Picker. I’ll select
a medium orange. Notice that I’m purposely selecting new colors that match, as close as possible anyway, the
brightness of the original color in the gradient. You can create wild and crazy color effects by selecting colors
with very different brightness levels than the originals, but for smoother, more natural looking gradients, it’s
best to try and match the brightness levels as closely as possible:

Choosing a medium orange to replace the medium gray in the gradient.

I’ll click OK to once again exit out of the Color Picker, and we can see in the document window that the
midtones in my image now appear orange. The darker areas are still purple, and the lighter areas are still
yellow thanks to the three-color gradient I’ve created to colorize the image with:
Darker areas are purple, lighter areas are yellow and midtones are orange thanks to the custom 3-color gradient.

Not only can we add new colors to the gradient, we can move existing colors around. To move any of the
colors and change the look of the gradient, simply click on the color stop and drag it left or right along the
bottom of the gradient preview area. You can also click and drag the small diamond shape that appears
between two color stops to change the distance it takes for one color to blend into another. Keep an eye on the
image in the document window to judge the results. Finally, to remove a color from the gradient, just click and
drag its color stop away from the gradient preview area until it disappears, then release your mouse button:

Drag any of the color stops to change the position of colors in the gradient. Drag the small diamond shapes to change the
transition from one color to another.
When you’re done creating and editing the gradient, click OK to exit out of the Gradient Editor, then click OK
to exit out of the Gradient Map dialog box (Photoshop CS3 and earlier).

Step 4: Change The Blend Mode Or Lower The Opacity

If you find that the initial colorizing effect is too intense (as mine is), there’s a couple of easy ways to give it a
more subtle appearance. One is by changing the blend mode of the Gradient Map adjustment layer. I’m going
to change my blend mode from Normal (the default blend mode) to Soft Light:

Change the blend mode of the Gradient Map adjustment layer to Soft Light.

You can also try the Overlay blend mode for a higher contrast look. In my case, Soft Light works better and
gives me a much more subdued colorizing effect:
Changing the blend mode results in a more subtle effect.

Another way to reduce the intensity of the effect is by lowering the opacity of the Gradient Map adjustment
layer. I’ll set my blend mode back to Normal and this time, I’ll lower the Opacity option (directly across from
the blend mode option) all the way down to 25%:
Lower the opacity of the Gradient Map to reduce its intensity.

By lowering the opacity of the adjustment layer, we get a softer look with less contrast than what the Soft
Light blend mode gave us:

Lowering the opacity creates a softer colorizing effect.

And there we have it!