smadell 243 Posted November 9, 2017 Today, let’s have fun with Gradient Maps… Gradient Maps are a great way to color grade photos, since they map dark, light, and midtone values according to a pre-defined gradient. This can easily define a “look” for photos that might otherwise be hard to accomplish. Although I am not a user of Photoshop, our “arch rival” has a wonderful group of gradient maps called “Photographic Toning” that are specifically designed to color grade photos. Although you have to drill down through a few panels and dialog boxes to find them (and you sort of have to know they’re there in the first place) they are a truly nice addition. Also, they are easily obtained by anyone. But, as they say, there’s the rub. Affinity Photo cannot import Photoshop gradient maps. Affinity Photo can store pre-defined gradients in the Swatches studio, but for some unknown reason the stored gradients are not available from the Gradient Map studio panel. Gradient Maps can be stored as presets, and can be chosen from the Adjustments panel, but I don’t believe they can be easily exported from one computer and brought into a different one. So… after a long couple of days of transcription, I have created a set of Macros that apply each of the 38 Photographic Toning gradient maps. Since macros are easy to store, and to share, I am making them available for anyone who wants them. There are actually 2 sets of Macros included - each as an easy-to-import Category from the Library panel. The first group of Macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients” and these are named according to the gradient map they apply. Each macro creates a Gradient Map layer, applies the appropriate color values, and names the layer according to the gradient map it applied. The second set of macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients - reduced.” This category also applies the gradient maps in a similar fashion, but then reduces the opacity of the layer to 30%. This reduces the effect of the Gradient Map, and produces a much subtler effect. Here is an image that shows the full-strength versions of all 38 gradient maps. And here is a photo to which I’ve applied a full-strength gradient map, and also a reduced-strength gradient map. These macro categories are included in the ZIP file attached to this post, along with a Letter sized JPG that includes samples of the gradient maps. Also included in the ZIP file is another macro category that includes one more macro. It’s called “Obama Hope Poster” and, as you might have guessed, it turns any photo into an Obama Hope-style poster. Just because… Please enjoy them! Photographic Toning Gradient Maps.zip 17 3 DuctTape, LyricsGirl, pottering and 17 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RNKLN 65 Posted November 9, 2017 Thanks for sharing your macros, smadell. I love gradient maps and i'm certainly going to play with your macros. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DuctTape 19 Posted November 11, 2017 @smadell Thank you !! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roger C 65 Posted November 15, 2017 Thank you, @smadell Clever stuff, and well done! And thanks too for the bonus extra of the Obama Hope poster. You've absolutely nailed it - It is superb: The most fun ever! (Now, whose twitter feed could we apply it to...?) Affinity Designer & Photo : Win 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smadell 243 Posted November 15, 2017 Thanks, folks. I hope you enjoy them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dmstraker 303 Posted November 16, 2017 Spectacular!! Many thanks, @smadell Dave Straker Cameras: Sony A7R2, RX100V Computers: Win10: Chillblast Photo with i7-3770 + 16Gb RAM + Philips 40in 4K; Surface Pro 4 i5 Favourite word: Aha. For me and for others. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Madame 273 Posted November 18, 2017 Thank you! I missed that! - Affinity Photo 1.6.7 - Affinity Designer 1.6.1 MacBook Pro 8 GB MacBook Pro Mojave 10.14.2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alfred 3,234 Posted November 18, 2017 1 hour ago, Madame said: Thank you! I missed that! Ditto! And ditto! Alfred Affinity Designer 1.6.5.123 • Affinity Photo 1.6.5.123 • Windows 10 Home (4th gen Core i3 CPU)Affinity Photo for iPad 1.6.11.85 • Affinity Designer for iPad 1.6.4.45 • iOS 12.1.4 (iPad Air 2) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LyricsGirl 40 Posted November 30, 2017 Thank you so much! although Design is my main program I do have a growing need top interact with Photo as well. These are amazing!!!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LyricsGirl 40 Posted December 1, 2017 Thank you! I am going to play around with these.I know nothing about photos but I love tweeking them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
smadell 243 Posted December 1, 2017 I’m really glad you’re enjoying them. Have fun! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob C 28 8 Posted July 2, 2018 Fantastic - your time and effort is greatly appreciated! Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WeiPhotoArts 18 Posted July 16, 2018 Just learning to use Gradient Maps for Toning. So I found these Toning Maps today and downloaded them. After I unzipped them, I went to Affinity Photo 1.6.7 and tried to download them from the MACRO tab, just like I had in other macros. However, both of the macros in the zip file were blurred out, so I couldn't download them. Any suggestions? I have an older (mid-2009) Mac Book Pro running macOS 10.11.6 (El Cap). What may I be doing wrong? Everyone else seems to have no problem. Wei Here's what I unzipped: Photographic Toning Gradients - reduced.afmacros Photographic Toning Gradients.afmacros Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PaulEC 51 Posted July 16, 2018 You need to open them in the Library tab, not the Macro tab. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WeiPhotoArts 18 Posted July 16, 2018 My bad. Thanks PaulEC. Re-did my workflow and opened them in Library. Worked like a charm. Wei Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Suzy Hearn 0 Posted December 10, 2018 Thank you so much - late to discover them but just got into really learning and using Affinity Photo and want to do a lot more black and white photography. Suzy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jock Thomson 0 Posted January 15 On 11/10/2017 at 7:56 AM, smadell said: Today, let’s have fun with Gradient Maps… Gradient Maps are a great way to color grade photos, since they map dark, light, and midtone values according to a pre-defined gradient. This can easily define a “look” for photos that might otherwise be hard to accomplish. Although I am not a user of Photoshop, our “arch rival” has a wonderful group of gradient maps called “Photographic Toning” that are specifically designed to color grade photos. Although you have to drill down through a few panels and dialog boxes to find them (and you sort of have to know they’re there in the first place) they are a truly nice addition. Also, they are easily obtained by anyone. But, as they say, there’s the rub. Affinity Photo cannot import Photoshop gradient maps. Affinity Photo can store pre-defined gradients in the Swatches studio, but for some unknown reason the stored gradients are not available from the Gradient Map studio panel. Gradient Maps can be stored as presets, and can be chosen from the Adjustments panel, but I don’t believe they can be easily exported from one computer and brought into a different one. So… after a long couple of days of transcription, I have created a set of Macros that apply each of the 38 Photographic Toning gradient maps. Since macros are easy to store, and to share, I am making them available for anyone who wants them. There are actually 2 sets of Macros included - each as an easy-to-import Category from the Library panel. The first group of Macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients” and these are named according to the gradient map they apply. Each macro creates a Gradient Map layer, applies the appropriate color values, and names the layer according to the gradient map it applied. The second set of macros is called “Photographic Toning Gradients - reduced.” This category also applies the gradient maps in a similar fashion, but then reduces the opacity of the layer to 30%. This reduces the effect of the Gradient Map, and produces a much subtler effect. Here is an image that shows the full-strength versions of all 38 gradient maps. And here is a photo to which I’ve applied a full-strength gradient map, and also a reduced-strength gradient map. These macro categories are included in the ZIP file attached to this post, along with a Letter sized JPG that includes samples of the gradient maps. Also included in the ZIP file is another macro category that includes one more macro. It’s called “Obama Hope Poster” and, as you might have guessed, it turns any photo into an Obama Hope-style poster. Just because… Please enjoy them! Photographic Toning Gradient Maps.zip Thanks, they will be useful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard S. 90 Posted January 25 Thank you for putting the time and effort in to convert these gradient maps. Much appreciated. High-End Photographic Prints Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CliveYoung 0 Posted February 9 Thank you for your great work and the download. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites