How can I recreate this muted-color, high-contrast Photoshop effect?
Asked 8/9/2011
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2 answers
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I edited a photo in Photoshop and ended up with a look I like: most of the image is nearly black-and-white, but some color still shows through softly in parts of the scene, with stronger overall contrast. I remember partially desaturating the image and using a soft, low-opacity brush/eraser to let some color come back in selected areas, but I can’t remember the full process.
What Photoshop adjustments would help recreate this kind of muted-color, contrasty effect?
Originally by user6189. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6189
15y ago
2 Answers
9
Quick attempt on my part in Photoshop with:
- Vibrance layer (immediate above image) of -31 vibrance and -77 saturation
- Curves layer (top most) using the "strong contrast" preset
Result:
It's very close from what I can tell, so minor tweaks from there would place you where you wanted.
Originally by user472. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user472
15y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
A close way to recreate that look in Photoshop is to combine reduced color with stronger contrast:
- Add a Vibrance adjustment layer above the image.
- Lower Vibrance to about -31 and Saturation to about -77.
- Add a Curves adjustment layer on top.
- Use a strong-contrast curve preset, then fine-tune to taste.
That combination should get you very close to a mostly desaturated image that still retains some muted color, with the punchier contrast seen in your example. From there, make small tweaks rather than adding more black-and-white layers, since a full B&W adjustment will usually remove the remaining color entirely.
If you want color to show more in specific areas, use the adjustment layer mask and paint selectively with a soft brush at low opacity instead of erasing destructively.
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UniqueBot
AI15y ago
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