Toning with Gradient Map - steven berkowitz – educational pages

TONING with GRADIENT MAP
A Gradient Map Adjustment Layer can be used to tint or tone a photograph with good control
of the blend of colors. Several colors can be added to a single gradient map or several
gradient map adjustment layers can be overlaid, each technique producing a different
visual effect.
Start with a corrected, well-balanced Black & White photograph
created with a Black & White adjustment layer
ADD a ‘GRADIENT MAP’ ADJUSTMENT LAYER
open the Layers menu at the top of the screen
add a NEW ADJUSTMENT LAYER> GRADIENT MAP (not a Gradient Adjustment Layer)
look at the Adjustments palette
the default Gradient Map should be black to white
if it is reversed, select a different map in the editor,
use the map that is dark on the left and light on the right, see below>
CHANGE the BLENDING MODE immediately
change the LAYER BLENDING MODE
to COLOR in the drop-down menu
note: other blending modes also work
experiment!
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Steven Berkowitz
USING the GRADIENT EDITOR
USE the GRADIENT EDITOR
open the GRADIENT EDITOR
click on the gradient map in the Adjustments panel
ADD a SHADOW COLOR
click just below the color map to add another COLOR TAB
note the LOCATION of the COLOR TAB
EDIT the SHADOW COLOR
open the COLOR PICKER dialog box 2xClick on the shadow COLOR TAB
turn off ‘only web colors’
edit the color to a real toning color
each time you click in the large color box
that color will be applied to the image
use colors that are similar to what can be achieved chemically
but stretch beyond what is typically possible
going too far makes it unbelievable and cliché
people just think, “Oh, it been Photoshopped!”
sepia . . . selenium
sepia: pull the color slider down into the oranges
select a color down in the dark end
selenium: pull the slider up into the violets
select a color down in the middle end
try setting the L color to equal the LOCATION number
to select an appropriate luminance value
click [OKAY] when you are happy with the color
[ENTER] or [RETURN]
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Steven Berkowitz
FURTHER GRADIENT MAP TECHNIQUES
ADJUST the TONAL RANGE
click on one COLOR TAB
move the center BLENDING button (small dot between Tabs) to shift the balance
between that COLOR TAB and its neighbor
ADJUST the SMOOTHNESS and/or OPACITY
click on a SMOOTHNESS TAB above the color map strip
SMOOTHNESS TABS can be added simply by clicking above the mask
SMOOTHNESS TABS can be removed by dragging them away from the map
adjust the amount of smoothness with the SMOOTHNESS number box slider
a low smoothness approaches the way that bleach degrades the silver in a print
adjust the opacity of the tone with the OPACITY number box slider
this lets more of the tone below show through
ADD ADDITIONAL COLOR TABS to MAKE a DUOTONE, TRITONE or QUADTONE
add additional COLOR TABS for each toner;
sepia, bleach, selenium, etc.
adjust the colors and their positions,
adjust their blending points,
adjust the smoothness for each
adjust the opacity for each, etc.
remove a COLOR TAB
simply drag it away
from the gradient map
ADD SEPARATE GRADIENT MASKS to MAKE a DUOTONE, TRITONE or QUADTONE
add a separate GRADIENT MASK for each toner;
sepia, bleach selenium, etc.
this approaches the magic of darkroom toning because the
areas where the colors crossfade will produce
unexpected tones that are greater than the sum of the
parts
this gives even more control
over the blending of individual tonal effects
adjust the OPACITY of the individual
GRADIENT MASK adjustment layers
alter the BLENDING MODES of the individual
GRADIENT MASK adjustment layers
rename each adjustment layer
to show the tone it contains
add another CURVES layer on top
to balance the luminance of the final photo
digital photography
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Steven Berkowitz
REUSING GRADIENT MAPS
SAVE a GRADIENT MAP
A single Gradient Map cannot be saved individually. Only the whole bank of Gradients can be
saved. And first you have to define each gradient you make for yourself.
first, define a New gradient
name the gradient
in the NAME box
give it a meaningful name, not just gradient 03
click the NEW button
then, hit the SAVE button
this will save the entire BANK of gradients!
save the gradient bank to your memory stick
so they can be used on any computer
In the end you will end up with your own collection of gradient maps.
COPY ADJUSTMENT LAYERS
Another technique is to copy any or all of the Gradient Map Adjustment Layers from one photo
to another.
[CMD] CLICK on any adjustment layers to be copied to another photo
this works for any type of adjustment layer!
have the ‘target’ photo also open
DRAG the selected adjustment layers to the other photograph
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Steven Berkowitz
INVERSE COLOR STRATEGY
Once upon a time I was scanning a Cyanotype. These are prints that are bright blue in color
because they are made with Iron rather than Silver. I accidentally hit the Inverse
command and lo and behold, I had a beautifully sepia toned photograph. Sepia is a
warm brownish tone. It was then that I realized that blue and warm brown are actually
complimentary colors, aka on the opposite ends if the color wheel. These make a very
pleasant color combination when toning photographs. Then I though that perhaps any
complimentary color combination would work well.
Here is a technique for making a second complimentary Gradient Map from one tone, for this
example, the shadows. This second Gradient Map will shift both in terms of hue and
brightness so it will be applicable to the opposite end of the tonal spectrum.
find the color that makes one end of the photo look good,
e.g. shadows
make a duplicate of that adjustment layer
the copy will have the blending mode
and opacity of the original
find the inverse for the shadow color,
open the Color Picker in the Gradient Map editor
find the LAB numbers
subtract the L: number from 100
change the A: and B: numbers to negative
if they are already negative,
make them positive
example: compare the Lab numbers for these complimentary colors:
move the color slider to the location that equals the L: value
fine tune the opacities to get the best blends between the two Gradient Maps
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Steven Berkowitz
UNDERSTANDING CHEMICAL TONING
BASIC CHEMICAL TONALITIES
These two toners actually chemically alter the silver in a print.
• Sepia uses a bleach to remove color from the silver crystals in a print. The result is a
yellowish color and some degradation.
• Sepia then replaces the color with a reddish brown tone.
• Selenium coats the individual silver crystals with a purplish or reddish black.
One popular treatment is to bleach and then Selenium tone a print.
The toners below merely stain the sprint and can be used in various combinations.
• Toning in tea stains the paper itself an off-white. This can be applied to the entire sheet
or just the image area.
note: digital prints can also be tea-toned, since the ink is waterproof.
• Iron toner imparts a bluish cast. This works well with Sepia brown in the highlights.
• Copper toner add as red cast.
SPLIT TONING
Split Toning is a tem that is generally misunderstood. It is an effect that happens sometimes
when toning silver prints where the chemicals migrate into certain areas but not others,
without any obvious reason.
The term is often used to describe prints that have been toned in more than one chemical, where
one chemical tones the highlights and another tones the shadows, as we see here with
sepia highlights and selenium shadows.
RESEARCH EXISTING PRINTS
see what an actual color range is
find a photo in the Student Gallery Page that you like
check the Darkroom pages, and
check the Hybrid pages for crazier tonalities
reduce the print to Indexed Color/ 8 or 16 colors IMAGE> MODE> INDEXED COLOR…
open the IMAGE> MODE> COLOR TABLE
sample the colors
2xClick on each
the COLOR PICKER will open
write down all the values
crate a gradient map with 8 or 16 color tabs
paste the values for each tab into the color editor, as desired
yes, it’s tedious, but you will learn what make a s well-toned picture
TONING BOOK
The definite guide to toning silver prints is written by Tim Rudman in England,
http://www.timrudman.com. The book went out of print but has been reprinted in the
Fall of 2010. It is available from his distributors site:
http://www.silverprint.co.uk/ProductByGroup.asp?PrGrp=160 and it should be
available from Amazon.com before the end of the year. The price is £25 = $40. plus
shipping.
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Steven Berkowitz
TONING POSSIBILITIES
straight black & white
sepia
sepia & bleach
sepia & selenium
selenium & bleach
sepia & bleach & selenium
original silver photograph by Kira Vidumski, Fall 2009, all variations are digital
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Steven Berkowitz
TONING POSSIBILITIES, cont’d
iron blue
bleach over iron
copper red
sepia & copper
original silver photograph by Kira Vidumski, Fall 2009, all variations are digital
digital photography
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Steven Berkowitz