How to Make a Mind-Bending Color Photo Effect in Photoshop

Photoshop Color Effects

While you have been browsing some pages on the internet, you probably noticed a few images with unrealistic colors. These color effects have been used more and more during the past months, especially on flyers and posters. Even though this seems to be a very easy effect to make in Photoshop simply by using a Gradient Map, we can take it a step further and add a few other effects to make it even more appealing. And in the process, we will make the effect fully editable so you can change the colors even after the effect is finished.

Step 1

Open your image in Photoshop.

Step 2

Go to Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object.

Step 3

Go to Image > Adjustments > Gradient Map and click on the gradient thumbnail to open the Gradient Editor.

Step 4

In the Gradient Editor, add 3 more color stops by clicking right below the gradient bar.

Step 5

Set the color stops at: 0, 45, 70, 85 and 100.

Step 6

Next, double click on each of the color stops and pick any color you like from the Color Picker window. When you are happy with your gradient, click OK in the Gradient Editor and the Gradient Map windows.

Step 7

Go to Filter > Stylize > Solarize.

Step 8

Next, go to Image > Adjustments > Invert.

Step 9

Lastly, and to give the effect a nice finishing touch, go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise. Apply the following settings and click OK.
Note: Depending on your image size, you may need to change the noise amount a bit.

Some Final Tips:

Now that you've learned how to make a "mind-bending" color effect in Photoshop using a Smart Object as a base to work, you can easily get even more effects. Simply turn on/off some of the smart filters or change the Gradient Map by double clicking over "Gradient Map" in the Layers panel and editing your gradient.