Photoshop Tutorials

Make your photos interesting with this popular effect created from a combination of three photo effects. In this Photoshop tutorial, you'll learn how to create common photo effects that can be combined to simulate the trendy effect many photographers use on their photos.

Preview of Final Results

Trendy Neutral Photo Effect Photoshop Tutorial

Step 1: Open an image into Photoshop

Open a photo into Photoshop. This photo should not have any strong photo effect applied.

Step 2: Add a neutral color effect

First, we'll add a neutral color effect. To do this, we'll need to create a new layer with a grayscale version of the image as the layers content. Instead of duplicating the layer and desaturating it, we'll be using adjustment layers instead. Adjustment layers are non-destructive, editable anytime, and they keep the Photoshop file size small.

In the Layers palette, click on the new adjustment layer button and choose Black & White. The Black and White option is only available in Photoshop CS3. If you are using Photoshop CS2 or older, choose Hue/Saturation instead.

In the Black and White tool, adjust the settings to get the desired black and white effect you like. If you're using Photoshop CS2 or older and chose the Hue/Saturation tool instead, you can create a black and white image with the exact same options and results as the Black and White tool. Simply choose the color that you would like to edit and adjust the lightness. For example, if you want the reds to be brighter, choose "Reds" from the edit drop down menu and increase the lightness.

Change the blending mode of the new adjustment layer to Overlay. If you don't like the results, double-click on the layer icon to edit the settings again.