Gradient Map - points and stops

[Outdoorslover]

Hi there,

I'm watching a Black & White photography tutorial, in which the instructor is using Photoshop. I'm trying to map what he's doing in PS to Affinity Photo, and part of the problem is that I don't use or know AP all that well. 

The instructor has taken a color image and converted it to B&W by using a gradient map. He then moved the middle gray point a bit to the right, so as to give the blacks "more room to stretch out. More tonal room to operate", darkening the entire image. (See attached photo) Next, added a new color stop, which also gave him another middle gray point. With that send middle gray point, he moved it to the left, thus darkening the blacks even more. (See attached photo). He did further adjustments to refine the blacks and whites, using the 2 middle gray points that he had, as well as moving the stop to dial in exactly what he wants. To that end, can this be done in Affinity Photo, and if so, how? I wasn't able to figure it out, but I'm still pretty new to AF, though a long time user of PS, though I haven't used it in years.

Cheers!

 

[v_kyr]

• Gradient tool (video)
• Gradient map (video)
• Gradient tool (help)
• Black & white adjustment

 

[Outdoorslover]

27 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

 

• Gradient tool (video)
• Gradient map (video)
• Gradient tool (help)
• Black & white adjustment

 

Thanks for the response, but from what I've seen with the AP gradient map, it doesn't have the same ability as Photoshop. Sure, I can add additional Stops, but that's not what I'm wanting to do. And by the way, this Gradient Map is being added on top of a B&W Adjustment layer, which is on top of an HSL layer, so that I have extreme control over the base colors, as well as the black & white range.

[v_kyr]

Hard to tell what you saw in Photoshop without any reference to that! - Gradients can also be applied on masks in APh etc. - However, see also this video:

• Monochrome Conversion using the Gradient Map (using Affinity Photo)

[v_kyr]

I assume the above video shows what you are after in terms of a B&W conversion via gradient maps.

[Outdoorslover]

Here is exactly what I saw, and am attempting to do. Using a Gradient Map (not the Tool or Gradient):

• We currently have 3 different Stops (A is the far left, the Black stop; B is the Center/midpoint Stop (currently 50% gray); C is the far right Stop (the White stop)
• Move the current midpoint Stop (B) to right to a new position closer to C (call it a position of 80%)
• Add a new Stop between A & B (call it D) and move it to a position of 30%
• Adjust the midpoint between the Stops A and D.

This can easily be done in Photoshop, but I'm not sure if it can be done in Affinity Photo. If it can be done, how?

[Move Along People]

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[Outdoorslover]

3 minutes ago, haakoo said:

Giving a link would help

It's a paid tutorial that I downloaded, that isn't publicly available, unfortunately.

[v_kyr]

5 minutes ago, Outdoorslover said:

Here is exactly what I saw, and am attempting to do. Using a Gradient Map (not the Tool or Gradient):

• We currently have 3 different Stops (A is the far left, the Black stop; B is the Center/midpoint Stop (currently 50% gray); C is the far right Stop (the White stop)
• Move the current midpoint Stop (B) to right to a new position closer to C (call it a position of 80%)
• Add a new Stop between A & B (call it D) and move it to a position of 30%
• Adjust the midpoint between the Stops A and D.

This can easily be done in Photoshop, but I'm not sure if it can be done in Affinity Photo. If it can be done, how?

Did you looked this one here (?), it shows what you tell at starting at ~ the midlle of the video.

• Monochrome Conversion using the Gradient Map (using Affinity Photo)

[Outdoorslover]

15 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

I assume the above video shows what you are after in terms of a B&W conversion via gradient maps.

• What I'm after is the ability to modify the mid point, between 2 Stops.
• Points A, B, and C.
• Modify the midpoint between A & B, from 50% to 20% or 75%, while leaving A at 0 and B at 128 and C at 255.

[Outdoorslover]

Here's a snipped of the tutorial that explains what I'm attempting to do in Affinity Photo.

[Outdoorslover]

12 minutes ago, v_kyr said:

Did you looked this one here (?), it shows what you tell at starting at ~ the midlle of the video.

• Monochrome Conversion using the Gradient Map (using Affinity Photo)

Thanks for link to the video. I'm not quite sure if that's the answer that I'm after, but it is definitely helpful and good to know.

[Outdoorslover]

Just curious if anyone has any ideas on how to achieve what I'm wanting to do in Affinity Photo, or if it simply can't be done?

[lepr]

13 hours ago, Outdoorslover said:

Just curious if anyone has any ideas on how to achieve what I'm wanting to do in Affinity Photo, or if it simply can't be done?

The Gradient Map Adjustment in current Affinity apps lacks the mid point control that influences the transition between a pair of stops. (It's a strange omission when you consider that mid point control is in the gradient editors of the Gradient Tool and the FX Gradient Overlay.) You could try to get an acceptable result by using additional stops in lieu of mid points.

Edit: @Lagarto explains below what I meant by using additional stops. After inserting a stop to represent a mid point control, drag that new stop left or right as you would drag a mid point control. The effect won't be identical to a real mid point control, but it should be better than nothing.

Edited December 13, 2020 by anon2

[lacerto]

(...)

[Outdoorslover]

Thanks @anon2 and @Lagarto

I'd actually been doing exactly as you suggested, though it's not quite the same as a true midpoint. But it's a workaround.

 

Cheers!