Tag Archives: photo editing

How to Make a Gradient Map to Create Duotone or Blended Images in Photoshop

A gradient map is a smooth blending from one color to another. The Gradient Map adjustment in Photoshop converts existing colors to a gradient based on whether the area is a dark, mid-tone, or light color. The dark color becomes the color to the left of the gradient map, the light color becomes the color to the right of the gradient map, and a mid-tone becomes a blend of the colors. By using gradient map, you can transform your picture into an attractive duotone image or a rainbow image that looks very wacky.

How to Make a Gradient Map in Photoshop

Pick Colors

  1. From the Tools panel, pick two colors for the gradient.
    2. Pick a Foreground and Background Color

    Pick a Foreground and Background Color

    • The foreground color swatch sets the dark colors. Pick a dark color such as dark blue or dark green.
    • The background color swatch sets the light colors. Pick a light color such as light blue or light green or white.
    • The mid-tones will become a blend of those two choices.
    foreground and background colors

    Be thoughtful when selecting the foreground and background colors.

    View the Gradient Map

  2. From the Image menu, select Adjustments. Pick Gradient Map.
  3. The picture is now a duotone image:
    • To smooth the appearance of the fill, click the Dither checkbox.
    • To switch the order of the colors, click the Reverse checkbox.
    Create a Duotone Image with Gradient Map

    Create a duotone image.

    Edit the Colors in the Gradient Map

  4. To adjust the color in the gradient map, click on the Gradient Used for Grayscale Mapping bar.
    5. Adjust the colors in the gradient map.

    Adjust the colors in the gradient map.

  5. From the Gradient Editor dialog box, click on a bottom stop.
  6. Click on the Color box. Make a selection from the spectrum. Click OK
    7. adjust the color of a gradient map stop

    Adjust the foreground or background color of the gradient map.

  7. Reduce the value in the Location box to adjust the position of the stop. This will increase the amount of the color in the image.
    8. location stop

    Set the location of the stop to increase the amount of color.

  8. Click OK to apply the changes and close the Gradient Editor dialog box.
    9. duotone image and gradient map

    Adjust the color and position of the stop to create a unique duotone image.

    Apply a Preset Gradient Map

  9. To pick from a selection of preset gradients, click the arrow beside the color bar.
  10. Make a selection.
    11. Pick a preset for the gradient map.

    Pick a preset for the gradient map.

  11. Explore the options to create a unique artistic effect.
    12. Apply a colorful gradient using the Preset options.

    Apply a colorful gradient using the Preset options.

  12. Click OK to apply the changes.

    13. Photoshop Activities

    Are you interested in easy to follow Photoshop activities for middle and high school students? TechnoPhotoshop is a technology project with assignments that have students create a digital scrapbook. They learn how use the Adjustment commands, including Gradient Map to create artistic effects.

Batch Conversion to Change the File Type of Photos

Do you need to resize a batch of photos? Do you want to quickly convert multiple pictures to a new file type? You can!

You can resize a batch of photos using Photo Gallery if you have Windows 7 or Windows 8. However, at this time you can only convert the file type to JPG. Which is annoying! I posted to the Microsoft forum and received a response to use IrfanView.

Great advice! IrfanView is easy to use and can do everything I want. Follow the instructions below to batch convert your picture files. To learn more about this program view IrfanView Frequently Asked Questions.

How to Batch Convert Photos using IrfanView

  1. Download and install IrfanView.
  2. Copy the photos you want to convert into a folder.
  3. From the program window click File and select Batch Conversion/Rename.
  4. Select the files you want to convert:
    1. From the Look in: section, click the arrow and locate the folder with the photos.
    2. Double click the folder to view all the files.
    3. Click Add all to select all the files OR select a photo and click Add.
      select photos to batch convert

      Locate the folder with the photos you want to convert.

  5. In the Batch conversion settings area, choose the Output format from the drop down menu. In this case I wanted to convert my JPG files to BMP.
    6. select file type

    Which file type do you want to convert the photos?
    Set the Output format.

  6. If you also want to reduce the file size:
    1. In the Batch conversion settings area, tick the Use advanced options checkbox and then click Advanced.
    2. In the RESIZE section, set the options.
    3. Click OK.

      4. resize a batch of photos

      Select the options for editing the batch of photos such as crop, size, color, rotation, and more!

  7. In the Output directory for result files section, click Browse to choose a location for the converted photos.
    Click OK.

    8. select a folder

    Browse to select a folder to place your newly converted images. NOTE: It is a good idea to have already created the folder you want to use.


    Note: I made this the same folder as my original photos. Since I was changing the format my originals would stay intact. If I was going to just make changes to the originals (leaving them as JPG) I would likely create a subfolder to put them in. After all I would not want to lose my originals

  8. Click Start Batch
  9. When done, click Exit batch.
    batch conversion of photos

  10. Close the program and go to the folder where you converted the photos. That’s it – your done!

You will have to check with your system administrator if you do not have permission to download and install programs on your own. But for a freebie I thought this software worked quite well. It was simple and easy to use and accomplished the task I needed.

Now, I have an excellent option to use while I wait for Microsoft to add batch conversion (to something other than JPG) to Photo Gallery on its next update.

If you want to know more about converting photos refer to my blog article Resizing Images Without Losing Quality.

Batch Convert Images Using Windows Live Photo Gallery

Do you need to reduce the file size of more than one photo at a time? It is fast and easy to do a batch conversion of photos using Windows Live Photo Gallery. Windows Live Photo Gallery is a free program from Microsoft. If you have Windows 7 or 8 you can download this program.

  1. Open Photo Gallery.
  2. From the left pane, select the folder with the photos.
  3. Select the photo thumbnails that you wish to convert to JPG format. To select all the photos in a folder, use Ctrl-A.
  4. Right click on the selection.
  5. Click Resize.
  6. Select a size such as Smaller or type in a Custom dimension.
    7. file size and batch conversion

    Select a size for your photos.

  7. Create a new folder to save the photos:
    1. Click Browse in the Save to area.
      2. resize a batch of photos to reduce the file size

      Select the location to save the photos.

    2. Select the folder with the original folders.
    3. Click Make New Folder.
      4. windows live photo gallery

      Create a new folder to save your images.

    4. Type resized as the folder name.
    5. Click OK.
  8. Click Resize and Save.
  9. The photos will be resized. You will now see duplicate photos in the pane. This is because Photo Gallery displays all the photos in the main folder. Do not worry! Your resized photos are in the resized folder. Click on the resized folder to see just the smaller images.