Dual Color Lighting: Painting Light with Photoshop
In photography, light doesn’t just illuminate—it shapes, transforms, and whispers. In this tutorial, I’ll show you one of my favorite techniques: simulating two-colored lighting to create a cinematic atmosphere from a single image.
It’s an effect I turn to when I want a photo to say something beyond the surface. Red and blue may evoke tension. Violet and green, a dreamlike state. Light becomes not a tool, but an emotional language.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this tutorial:
- How to add two distinct light sources from different directions.
- Smart use of blending modes.
- Balancing hue and warmth to keep realism.
- And most importantly, how to think like a painter, placing light deliberately to craft a visual narrative.
It’s not about slapping on a filter—it’s about carving out atmosphere until the image breathes a new scene. I hope this inspires you as much as it moves me every time.
Welcome to the space where light speaks stories.
2-color lighting.
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Take a look at the before and after of the retouching applying the tutorial you just saw. Move the center bar with your mouse to move the effect. (The photos should appear below, otherwise refresh the page -F5)
