GRADIENT MAP

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Gradient Maps can provide a creative method of toning your images. The gradient map uses a given channel (Red, Green, Blue or Brightness) in your image as a look-up into a gradient with low values for that channel mapping onto the left side of the gradient (defaulting to black) and high values mapping on to the right side (defaulting to white). If you choose a mapping channel of All, each of Red, Green and Blue is mapped separately. This keeps the colors in your image, but allows you to control them.

Some common uses of Gradient Map

• Flattening the histogram. Setting Mapping Channel to All is a way of bringing out detail in your image by giving more contrast to common tones in your image. Changing the Flatten Method allows you to control how colors are affected.
• By choosing a Mapping Channel of Brightness then adding a color in the middle of the gradient, you can achieve a split tone and sepia effects.
• By setting Mapping Channel to All and tweaking the gradient by adding more grey swatches in the middle, you can get very precise control over tone. This has exactly the same result as adjusting curves in other software packages.
• By setting Mapping Channel to All and tweaking the gradient by adding colored swatches, you can get very precise control over the colors in your image.