A brief article on digital image "toning": Advanced Color Fill Method in Photoshop

[Ken Lee]

The Blend If method is a bit harder to grasp, but it doesn't suffer from a problem I've noticed using Curves, namely colors getting inverted. I don't know if this is a bug or a feature. I suspect it's a bug where a calculated value is dropping below zero instead of being limited to zero.


Here we have cut off the toning at the lowest and highest ends of the tonal scale. We expect to see toning only in the middle of the scale. However, Photoshop has inverted some of the values... Oops !

Back to the drawing board

Here's an experiment using the Blend If method, where we have gradually applied warm toning to the middle of the brightness scale. This method works !

Thank you Alan9940 !!

[Alan9940]

Ken,

Looks like you've got a good grasp of using Blend If. Not sure how you used Blend If on the example above, but, FWIW, it's always been easier on my brain to think about allowing portions of the underlying layer to show through. Therefore, I typically use the "Underlying Layer" ramp vs the "This Layer" ramp. So, following your excellent toning technique I'd apply the Color Fill layer, then go into Blending Options and manipulate the "Underlying Layer" sliders until I got what I wanted.

[Ken Lee]

Ken,

Looks like you've got a good grasp of using Blend If. Not sure how you used Blend If on the example above, but, FWIW, it's always been easier on my brain to think about allowing portions of the underlying layer to show through. Therefore, I typically use the "Underlying Layer" ramp vs the "This Layer" ramp. So, following your excellent toning technique I'd apply the Color Fill layer, then go into Blending Options and manipulate the "Underlying Layer" sliders until I got what I wanted.

That works very well, and it's very quick since you can apply the Blend If directly to the Fill Layer... Brilliant !

Here I've applied some toning that is strongest around 35% brightness, rolling off to neutral above and below it.

[Alan9940]

Ken,

Funny...I just spent a bit of time playing around with the Blend If sliders on the "This Layer" ramp of the Color Fill layer and found that, with certain images I got smoother transitions of the toning; this played out quite visibly in clear blue sky. So, thank you for alerting me to this method of toning and for inspiring me to try working with the "This Layer" ramp. I can clearly see now that both ramps are useful and, possibly, are image dependent. After 20 years of PS, I'm always learning something new!

[Ken Lee]

One last experiment, a tri-tone (2 Color Fill layers blended over a monochrome background): purple shadows transitioning into warm high values.

I don't have any training in what happens when we mix colors but the combined effect is intriguing.

[Alan9940]

Very nice!!

[Ken Lee]

I have revised my article Selective Toning with Photoshop

None of the methods appear to be straightforward.

Please contact me with any corrections or suggestions.