How can I smoothly blend a color photo into black and white?
Asked 8/24/2021
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2 answers
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I want to create a single image where one side stays in color and the other side fades smoothly into black and white. I have both a color and a black-and-white version of the same scene, although I may only need the color original. What is this effect usually called, and how can I do it in common editing software or online editors?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
25
Usual technique (here with Gimp, but same technique is doable with PS):
- Put your two pictures in layers (they should of course overlap as exactly as possible, which is easy if like here one is a desaturated version of the other, but can be harder in other cases)
- Add a layer mask to the top one
- Fill the mask with a gradient where you want the transition to happen (between the eyes in this case)
Originally by user75947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75947
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This is usually done with a layer mask and a gradient, rather than as a special named effect.
Common workflow:
- Start with the color image.
- Either place a black-and-white version above it as a second layer, or make the top layer black and white with a desaturation/Hue-Saturation adjustment.
- Add a layer mask to the black-and-white layer.
- Apply a black-to-white gradient on the mask where you want the transition. This creates a smooth fade from color to monochrome.
If both images are separate files, they must align exactly for the blend to look right.
This can be done in editors like GIMP or Photoshop. A non-destructive version is to use a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, reduce saturation to zero, and paint or gradient the mask until the split looks right.
In Lightroom, you can do a similar effect from a single color image using a Graduated Filter with saturation set to -100, then refine the black-and-white side. Lightroom is not meant for blending two separate image layers.
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