Picture This: Working with Gradients

In our latest lookbook, Autumn Reflections, we used a Gradient technique to manipulate some of the photos. We love the effervescent and illuminated  look gradients give our photos, and in today's tutorial we've come up with a simple introduction to using this technique.

Step 1. From your Adjustment Layer Menu (black and white circle at the bottom of the right hand side toolbar) select Curves. Brighten your image by pulling the curve line up to the left.















Step 2. Next select a color you want to use for your 1st gradient. We did a mint green. Select Gradient from your Adjustment Layer Menu. Play around with the scale and angle of your gradient. Lower the opacity.

 Step 3. Open up curves again and darken the image by dragging the line down to the right.














   

Step 4. Select another color and repeat Step 2.

Step 5.  From the Adjustment Layer Menu select Brightness/Contrast. Adjust brightness.

Step 6. Select the Color Burn Tool from the toolbar on your left hand side. Set the range to Shadow  and Exposure to 50. Click over to your original background layer and mouse your curser over parts of the images you want to darken. This will bring out some of the details lost in the editing process.

Enjoy Your New Image!

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