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Learn an easy way to convert a full color photo to a single color with this simple monochromatic color
effect in Photoshop! A step-by-step tutorial for Photoshop 2021 and earlier!
Written by Steve Patterson. In this tutorial, I show you a fast and easy way to add a monochromatic color effect to an
image with Photoshop. The term monochromatic means that the colors in the image are limited to different shades of the
same hue, or the same "main" color. And this is a great way to simplify an image or convey a certain mood or emotion.
Black and white photography is monochromatic since it uses only shades of gray, but any color can work.
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We'll start by going step-by-step through the basics of how to convert your image to monochromatic color using a Solid
Color fill layer, which is the easiest way to do it. Then we'll learn how to combine some of the steps to create the effect
even faster. From there, we'll look at a variation of the effect that mixes a single color with the photo's original colors to
create a unified color theme. And finally, I'll show you the trick to choosing your color directly from the image itself.
I'm using Photoshop 2021 but any recent version will work.
You can follow along by opening any image into Photoshop. I'll use this image from Adobe Stock:
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The original photo. Credit: Adobe Stock.
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Here is just one example of the monochromatic effect, using a sepia tone to give the photo a vintage look. Other colors
can be used depending on the subject and the mood you want to achieve:
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The monochromatic color effect.
And here's the variation of the effect with the sepia tone mixing with the photo's original colors to unify and blend all the
colors together:
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The new color blended with the original colors.
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Let's get started!
In the Layers panel, the original photo appears on the Background layer. Add a Solid Color fill layer above the image by
clicking the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon:
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Clicking the New Fill or Adjustment Layer icon.
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By default, it's black:
The selected color in the Color Picker blocks the image from view.
In the Color Picker, choose the color you want to use. At this point, we just need the hue (the main color). We'll come
back and adjust the saturation and brightness in a moment.
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Choosing a new color from the Color Picker.
Click OK to close the Color Picker, and now the new color blocks the image:
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The color is selected, but the image is still blocked.
To blend the color from the fill layer with the image below it, change the fill layer's blend mode from Normal to Color:
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Changing the blend mode to Color.
The Color blend mode keeps the tonal (brightness) values of the image below but replaces the original colors with the
color from the fill layer, creating the initial effect:
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The result after changing the fill layer's blend mode to Color.
To fix that, re-open the Color Picker by double-clicking the fill layer's color swatch in the Layers panel:
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Double-clicking the fill layer's color swatch.
I'll lower the Saturation (the S value) to 30 percent and the Brightness (the B value) to 40 percent. Click OK when
you're done:
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Lowering the saturation and brightness of the color.
And with the saturation and brightness lowered, the effect is much more subtle:
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Lowering the saturation and brightness of the color.
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In the Layers panel, you can toggle the effect on and off to compare it with the original photo by clicking the fill layer's
visibility icon:
And that's the basics of how to convert an image to monochromatic color using a Solid Color fill layer in Photoshop!
Before we continue, I'll delete my fill layer by dragging it down onto the trash bin:
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Dragging the fill layer into the trash.
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The original photo returns.
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Going to Layer > New Fill Layer > Solid Color.
Change the Mode (short for Blend Mode) option from Normal to Color:
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Instead, the color and the image are already blending together.
Since the default color is black, the initial result is a black and white effect:
Choosing black as the fill color converts the image to black and white.
But you can choose any color you like from the Color Picker. I'll go with a sepia tone this time by setting the Hue (H) to 30
degrees, the Saturation (S) to 40 percent and the Brightness (B) to 45 percent:
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Choosing sepia from the Color Picker.
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A sepia tone monochromatic effect.
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Download this tutorial as a print-ready PDF!
In the Layers panel, simply lower the opacity of the Solid Color fill layer. The more you lower the opacity below 100
percent, the more the original image colors will show through.
With the opacity lowered, the fill layer's color is mixing with the original image colors and blending everything together.
For comparison, the original photo is on the left and the blended version is on the right:
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The original colors (left) and the result after blending in the Solid Color fill layer (right).
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How to choose a monochromatic color from the image
Finally, instead of choosing a color for your monochromatic effect from the Color Picker, what if you want to choose one
from the image itself? Here's how to do it.
First, in the Layers panel, I'll drag my existing Solid Color fill layer down onto the trash bin so I'm starting once again with
the original image:
To change the color, click on the Foreground color swatch in the toolbar:
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Clicking the Foreground color swatch.
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Sampling a color from the image to use for the effect.
Click OK to close the Color Picker, and now the sampled color has become our new Foreground color:
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The new Foreground color.
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Changing the Mode to Color.
Then click OK, and the original colors are replaced with the sampled color from the image:
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The colors are replaced with the sampled color.
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Lowering the saturation and brightness of the sampled color.
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The monochromatic effect using the sampled color.
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Step 6: Lower the fill layer's opacity (optional)
Of course, you can also lower the opacity of the fill layer to blend the sampled color with the rest of the colors in the
image.
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The sampled color is unifying all colors in the image.
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Where to go next...
And there we have it! That's how easy it is to add a monochromatic color effect to an image with Photoshop!
Visit my Photo Effects section for more tutorial ideas. And don't forget, all of my tutorials are available to download as
PDFs!
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