An Easy Way To Find Neutral Gray In An Image

Step 1: Add A New Layer

With our photo open inside Photoshop, the first thing we need to do is create a new blank layer, so click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to create a new blank layer above the Background layer:

Click on the New Layer icon.

Nothing will happen in the document window, but we can see in the Layers panel that Photoshop has added a new blank layer named "Layer 1":

Photoshop adds the new layer and names it "Layer 1".

Step 2: Fill The New Layer With 50% Gray

Next, we need to fill our new layer with 50% gray, the same gray we're looking for in our image. To do that, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill:

Go to Edit > Fill.

This opens Photoshop's Fill dialog box. Select 50% Gray from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box:

Set the Use option to 50% Gray.

Click OK when you're done to close out of the dialog box. Photoshop fills the new layer with gray, temporarily hiding the photo below it from view in the document window:

The new layer is now filled with 50% gray.

Step 3: Change The New Layer's Blend Mode To 'Difference'

Go up to the Blend Mode option in the top left of the Layers panel and change the blend mode for Layer 1 from Normal to Difference:

Change the blend mode for Layer 1 to Difference.

The Difference blend mode isn't one that's used too often since it tends to make images look, well, different (some may even say frightening), as we see with my image after changing the blend mode to Difference:

The Difference blend mode certainly makes photos look different.

Believe it or not though, there is a method to the madness. The way the Difference blend mode works is that it compares the layer with the layer(s) below it and looks for differences between them (hence the name). Any areas in the layer which are different from the layer(s) below it show up as strange colors in the image, which is where the purples, blues and yellows are coming from, but any areas which are identical between the layers show up as black, or at least almost black if they're not 100% identical but still pretty darn close to it. In other words, with the Difference blend mode, any areas between the layers which are identical become the darkest parts of the image, and we can now use that to locate any areas that are supposed to be neutral gray!

How? Simple! We're now comparing our image on the Background layer with the layer above it that's filled with 50% neutral gray, which means that any areas in our image which are closest to that midtone gray color will now appear as the darkest parts of our image. So now, finding a midtone gray area is as easy as finding the darkest part of the image!

Step 4: Add A Theshold Adjustment Layer

Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon.

Choose Threshold from down near the bottom of the list of adjustment layers:

Choose "Threshold".

If you're using Photoshop CS5 as I am, the Threshold controls will appear in the Adjustments Panel, new to CS5. In Photoshop CS4 or earlier, the Threshold dialog box will appear. Click on the little white triangle at the bottom and drag it all the way to the left:

Drag the white slider all the way to the left.

This will turn the image in the document window completely white:

The document window now appears filled with white.

Now slowly drag the triangle towards the right until you begin to see black areas appearing in your image. The first black areas that appear are the neutral gray areas you're looking for (assuming, as I mentioned at the beginning of the tutorial, that there actually are areas of gray in the photo). Continue dragging the triangle until an area of black becomes just big enough that you'll be able to click on it to select it, which we'll be doing in a moment. This is the exact same way you would normally find the darkest parts of the image when you're removing any color casts from the shadow areas, but now, thanks to the Difference blend mode, these darkest areas represent the areas closest to midtone gray. Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Threshold dialog box (Photoshop CS5 users can simply leave the Adjustments Panel open):

Drag the white slider towards the right until a small area of black appears.

Step 5: Click On The Black Area With The Color Sampler Tool

Select Photoshop's Color Sampler Tool from the Tools panel. By default, it's nested behind the Eyedropper Tool, so click and hold on the Eyedropper Tool for a second or two until a fly-out menu appears, then select the Color Sampler Tool from the list:

Select the Color Sampler Tool.

With the Color Sampler Tool selected, click on an area of black in the image to add a marker. Zoom in on the area first if it makes it easier to select your black area, as I've done here:

A small target symbol will appear at the spot you click on with the Color Sampler Tool.

Step 6: Delete The 50% Gray and Theshold Layers

Our layer filled with 50% gray and our Theshold adjustment layer have served their purpose and are no longer needed, so with the Threshold adjustment layer currently selected in the Layers panel, hold down your Shift key and click on Layer 1 below it to select both layers at once. Then drag them down on to the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to delete them:

Drag the top two layers onto the Trash Bin.

Step 7: Add A Levels Or Curves Adjustment Layer

Click once again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and this time, select either Levels or Curves, you're choice. Either one will do. I'll use Levels:

Choose either Levels or Curves from the list of adjustment layers.

Step 8: Select The 'Set Gray Point' Eyedropper

As with the Threshold adjustment layer, Photoshop CS5 users will find the controls for Levels or Curves in the Adjustments Panel, while CS4 and earlier users will see the Levels or Curves dialog box appear. Click on the Set Gray Point eyedropper to select it (it's the middle of the three eyedropper icons):

The Set Gray Point eyedropper is the middle of the three.

Step 9: Click With The Eyedropper On The Marker In The Image

With the Set Gray Point eyedropper selected, simply click directly on the small marker in the image (the one we added a moment ago with the Color Sampler Tool) and Photoshop will neutralize the colors in that spot, effectively removing any color cast from the midtones.

Personally, I don't find the eyedropper icon to be very helpful when trying to click on a marker, so you may want to press the Caps Lock key on your keyboard which will change the icon from an eyedropper to a target symbol, identical to the marker's icon, making it easy to line them up over top of each other and then click. I'll leave mine set to the eyedropper icon here just to make it easier to see in the screenshot:

Click directly on the marker to neutralize the midtones in the image.

And with that one click, any color cast in the image's midtones has been neutralized:

Any midtone color cast has been removed.

Step 10: Remove The Marker

To remove the color sampler marker from the image when you're done, with the Color Sampler Tool selected, simply click on the Clear button in the Options Bar at the top of the screen (don't worry if you forget to remove the marker since it won't print anyway):

Click the Clear button to remove the color sampler marker.

Moving Photos Between Documents In Photoshop

Here, I have two photos open on my screen. I'm using Photoshop CS5 but all versions will look fairly similar. Each photo appears inside its own floating document window:

Photoshop's interface, with two photos currently open.

CS4 and CS5 Users Only: Just a quick note, if you are using Photoshop CS4 or CS5 and you're following along with your own images, they may be opening in tabbed documents rather than in floating document windows. As I mentioned earlier, we'll look more closely at these new tabbed documents in the next tutorial, but for now, if you're not seeing floating document windows, go up to the Window menu at the top of the screen, choose Arrange, and then choose Float All in Windows (again, this is for Photoshop CS4 and CS5 users only):

For CS4 and CS5 users, go to Window > Arrange > Float All in Windows.

Even though we're seeing two document windows on the screen, Photoshop, for the most part, only works with one document at a time (the other one just kind of sits there being ignored). The one we're working on is known as the "active" document, and the easiest way to tell which one is currently active is by looking in the Layers panel. For example, if we look in my Layers panel right now, we can see that the Background layer's preview thumbnail is displaying the photo of the woman looking through the curtains, which means it's the active document:

The preview thumbnail shows us what's on the layer.

To switch between documents and make a different one active, all we need to do is click anywhere inside of it. I'll click inside the photo of the water drops, which makes it the active document, and if we look again in the Layers panel, we see the water drops image sitting on the Background layer. The other photo no longer appears:

With a different document now active, the Layers panel shows a different image.

The important thing to note here is that only one photo at a time was appearing in the Layers panel, not both, and that's because each photo is open in a completely separate document. Yes, both photos are open in Photoshop and yes, I can see them both on my screen, but that's the end of it as far as Photoshop is concerned. All Photoshop sees is two totally independent documents that have nothing to do with each other. I'd like to blend these two photos together, but there's currently no way I can do it, not unless I can somehow move one of the photos into the other photo's document. Let's look at a few easy ways to do just that.

Method 1: Drag and Drop

Moving a photo from one document to another in Photoshop can be a real drag. And by that, of course, I mean that the easiest and most common way to move an image between documents is to simply drag it! To do that, we need Photoshop's Move Tool, which you can access by clicking on its icon at the top of the Tools panel. Your Tools panel may appear as a single or double column depending on which version of Photoshop you're using, but the Move Tool is always at the top:

Select the Move Tool.

With the Move Tool active, click inside the photo you want to move. Then, with your mouse button still held down, drag it into the other photo's document window. I want to move the water drops photo into the other photo's document, so I'll click inside the water photo document, keep my mouse button held down, and drag the photo into the other document:

Click inside one document, hold your mouse button down, and drag the photo into the other document.

When you release your mouse button, Photoshop drops the photo into the other document:

A copy of the photo appears inside the other photo's document.

Notice, though, that Photoshop simply dropped the photo at the spot where I released my mouse button, which in my case placed it in the bottom right of the document. That's kind of a sloppy way to work. A better way to move a photo is to hold down your Shift key as you're dragging from one document to another. In other words, click inside the photo you want to move, hold down Shift, drag the photo into the other document, then release your mouse button, then release the Shift key. Adding the Shift key tells Photoshop to center the photo inside the document.

I'll quickly undo my previous step by pressing Ctrl+Z (Win) / Command+Z (Mac), then I'll again drag the water drops photo into the other document, this time while holding down the Shift key. I'll release my mouse button, then release my Shift key (very important that you release your Shift key after releasing your mouse button), and here we can see that the water drops photo now appears in the center of the document:

The photo now appears in the center.

If we look in the Layers panel, we see that we've successfully copied the photo into the other photo's document, as both photos are now showing, one on top of the other. The original photo is sitting on the Background layer, and Photoshop placed the water drops photo on its own new layer above it:

When you move a photo from one document to another, Photoshop automatically adds a new layer for the photo.

If the "drag and drop" approach isn't your thing, we'll look at two more ways to easily move photos between documents next!

Method 2: Duplicating The Layer

If the freestyle "drag and drop" approach to moving photos between documents doesn't appeal to you, you can also use Photoshop's Duplicate Layer command. First, click inside the document that contains the photo you want to move, which makes it the active document. I'll click inside my water drops photo. Then, go up to the Layer menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen and choose Duplicate Layer:

Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer.

Alternatively, you can Right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) directly on the layer itself in the Layers panel and choose Duplicate Layer from the menu that appears:

Right-click (Win) / Control-click (Mac) on the layer and choose Duplicate Layer.

Either way opens the Duplicate Layer dialog box. Enter a name for the layer that the photo will appear on in the other document. I'll name mine "Water drops". Then, in the Destination section at the bottom of the dialog box, select the name of the document you want to move the photo into. I'll select my "looking through window.jpg" document. Yours, of course, will probably be named something different:

Name the new layer, then select the destination document.

Click OK when you're done, and Photoshop copies the photo from its original document into the new one. I can see in my Layers panel that the water drops photo is now sitting on a layer named "Water drops" above the Background layer:

Photoshop placed the photo on a new layer named "Water drops", since that's the name I gave it in the Duplicate Layer dialog box.

Method 3: Copy And Paste

Yet another way to move photos between documents is the standard "copy and paste" method which will be familiar to anyone who's been using a computer for any length of time. First, click inside the document that contains the photo you want to move. Then, go up to the Select menu at the top of the screen and choose All (or press Ctrl+A (Win) / Command+A (Mac) for the keyboard shortcut):

Go to Select > All.

This selects the entire photo. A selection outline will appear around its edges in the document window:

Select the photo you want to move.

With the photo selected, go up to the Edit menu and choose Copy (or press Ctrl+C (Win) / Command+C (Mac)), which copies the photo to the clipboard:

Go to Edit > Copy.

Click inside the document you want to copy the photo into to make it the active document, then go back up to the Edit menu and choose Paste (or press Ctrl+V (Win) / Command+V (Mac)):

Go to Edit > Paste.

Photoshop pastes the photo into the new document, and once again in the Layers panel, we see that the photo has been placed on its own layer above the original image on the Background layer:

One photo has been copied and pasted into the other photo's document.

With both photos now inside the same document, I'm ready to blend them together. An easy way to blend photos is to change the layer blend mode. With the water drops photo's layer active (active layers are highlighted in blue), I'll go up to the blend mode option in the top left of the Layers panel and simply change it from Normal to Soft Light:

Changing the top layer's blend mode to Soft Light.

Changing the blend mode was all it took to combine the two photos into a whole new image, with the water drops now appearing on the window the woman is looking through:

Photo To Sketch With More Detail

Let's get started!

Step 1: Duplicate The Background Layer

Let's begin as we usually do with photo effects by making a copy of our original image. This way, all of the changes we make will be made to the copy, leaving the original photo unharmed. If we look in the Layers panel, we see our image sitting all by itself on the Background layer, which is currently the only layer in the document:

The Layers panel showing the photo on the Background layer.

Go up to the Layer menu in the Menu Bar along the top of the screen, choose New, then choose Layer via Copy. Or, for a faster way to run the same command, press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) on your keyboard:

Go to Layer > New > Layer via Copy.

Either way makes a copy of the layer. Photoshop automatically names the copy "Layer 1" and places is above the Background layer in the Layers panel:

A copy of the image appears above the original.

Step 2: Desaturate The Layer

Go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen, choose Adjustments, then choose Desaturate:

Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate.

The Desaturate command quickly removes all color from the image, leaving it in black and white:

The image after running the Desaturate command.

Step 3: Duplicate The Layer

Just as we did in Step 1, make a copy of the layer by going up to the Layer menu, choosing New, then choosing Layer via Copy, or by pressing Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) on your keyboard. A copy of Layer 1 appears above the original in the Layers panel:

Photoshop names the new layer "Layer 1 copy".

Step 4: Invert The Image

Go up to the Image menu, choose Adjustments, then choose Invert:

Go to Image > Adjustments > Invert.

This will invert the brightness values in our black and white image, making light areas dark and dark areas light:

Inverting a black and white image creates a "photo negative" effect.

Step 5: Change The Layer Blend Mode To Color Dodge

Change the blend mode of the inverted layer from Normal (the default setting) to Color Dodge. You'll find the blend mode option in the top left of the Layers panel:

Change the layer blend mode from Normal to Color Dodge.

This will temporarily turn the document white:

The document becomes filled with white.

Step 6: Apply The Minimum Filter

Up to this point, the steps have been the same as in the previous tutorial where we turned a portrait into a sketch. In that tutorial, we used Photoshop's Gaussian Blur filter to create the sketch effect by blurring the layer. This time, we want more detail in the sketch than what the Gaussian Blur filter would give us, so we'll use a different filter. Go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen, choose Other, then choose Minimum:

Go to Filter > Other > Minimum.

This opens the Minimum filter dialog box. Leave the Radius value at the bottom of the dialog box set to 1 pixel, then click OK to close out of it:

The default Radius value of 1 pixel usually works great.

The photo is instantly converted into a sketch with lots of fine detail, much more than what we could have achieved with the Gaussian Blur filter:

The initial sketch with lots of detail.

Next, we'll darken the sketch lines, colorize it, and learn how to complete the entire effect in 60 seconds or less!

Step 7: Merge The Layers Onto A New Layer

Hold down your Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) key and, with the key still held down, go up to the Layer menu and choose Merge Visible:

Hold down Alt (Win) / Option (Mac) and go to Layer > Merge Visible.

This will merge all of the existing layers onto a brand new layer, "Layer 2", above them:

Holding down Alt / Option (Mac) while choosing Merge Visible keeps the original layers intact.

Step 8: Change The Blend Mode To Multiply And Adjust The Layer Opacity

Change the blend mode of Layer 2 from Normal to Multiply. This will darken the lines in the sketch. If you find the sketch is now too dark, lower the layer's Opacity value, which you'll find to the right of the blend mode option. Keep an eye on the image in the document window as you lower the opacity to fine-tune the results. I'll lower mine down to 65%:

Change the blend mode to Multiply, then lower the Opacity value.

Here's my result with the sketch lines now darker:

The sketch now appears darker against the white background.

Step 9: Duplicate The Background Layer

Let's add color to the sketch using the colors from the original image, which is sitting safely on the Background layer. First, click on the Background layer in the Layers panel to select it:

Click on the Background layer to select it.

With the Background layer selected, make a copy of it by going up to the Layer menu, choosing New, then choosing Layer via Copy, or by pressing Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) on your keyboard. Photoshop duplicates the layer, names the copy "Background copy" and places it directly above the original Background layer:

Photoshop always places a copy of a layer directly above the original.

Step 10: Move The Background Copy Above The Other Layers

Press Shift+Ctrl+] (Win) / Shift+Command+] (Mac) to instantly jump the Background copy layer to the top of the layer stack so it sits above the merged layer (Layer 2). The original photo will once again appear in the document window:

The Background copy layer jumps above the other layers.

Step 11: Change The Blend Mode To Color And Adjust The Layer Opacity

Finally, change the blend mode of the Background copy layer from Normal to Color, which will colorize the sketch. If the color seems too intense, lower the Opacity value until you're happy with the results. I'll lower my opacity down to 50%:

Change the blend mode to Color and lower the opacity if needed.

Here, after colorizing the sketch, is my final result. I've cropped away some of the empty background with the Crop Tool:

The final colorized "photo to sketch" effect.

Photo To Sketch In 60 Seconds Or Less

As promised at the beginning of the tutorial, here's how to create this same photo to sketch effect in 60 seconds or less, using keyboard shortcuts for most of the work! Before you begin, make sure the Move Tool is selected at the top of the Tools panel, otherwise some of the keyboard shortcuts won't work.

Step 1: With the photo newly opened in Photoshop, press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate the Background layer.
Step 2: Press Shift+Ctrl+U (Win) / Shift+Command+U (Mac) to desaturate the layer.
Step 3: Press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate the desaturated layer.
Step 4: Press Ctrl+I (Win) / Command+I (Mac) to invert the layer.
Step 5: Press Shift+Alt+D (Win) / Shift+Option+D (Mac) to change the blend mode to Color Dodge.
Step 6: Go to Filter > Other > Minimum. Leave the Radius value set to 1 pixel and click OK to close out of the filter's dialog box.
Step 7: Press Shift+Alt+Ctrl+E (Win) / Shift+Option+Command+E (Mac) to merge the layers onto a new layer above the others.
Step 8: Press Shift+Alt+M (Win) / Shift+Option+M (Mac) to change the blend mode of the merged layer to Multiply, which darkens the sketch effect.
Step 9: Lower the layer Opacity value if the sketch now appears too dark.
Step 10: Click on the Background layer in the Layers panel to select it, then press Ctrl+J (Win) / Command+J (Mac) to duplicate it.
Step 11: Press Shift+Ctrl+] (Win) / Shift+Command+] (Mac) to jump the Background copy layer to the top of the layer stack.
Step 12: Press Shift+Alt+C (Win) / Shift+Option+C (Mac) to change the blend mode to Color to colorize the sketch.
Step 13: Lower the Opacity value to reduce the intensity of the color if needed.

And there we have it!

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