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lil cactus

How to make a duotone photo

Beginner5 minutesUpdated

Quick answer

In Lil Cactus, choose Layer then New Adjustment Layer then Gradient Map… and use Type Solid with Method Classic. Select the left color stop under the gradient, click its Color swatch and enter 1E2A78 for navy; set the right stop to FF6B6B for coral. Click Apply, then export with File then Export then PNG… Save a layered copy with File then Save As then Lil Cactus Project… to revise the palette later.

A street portrait in its original colors and the same photo mapped to navy shadows and coral highlights
The palette changes across the whole photo while its detail stays visible. Drag the handle to compare.
Time
5 minutes
Level
Beginner
You need
A color or black-and-white photo
Works with
JPG, PNG and WebP photos
Open the sample in Lil CactusUse your own photo

Free, no sign-up. Your photo stays on your computer.

A duotone gives a photo a two-color treatment. A Gradient Map assigns colors by brightness: dark parts use the gradient’s left end and bright parts use its right end. It follows the photo’s tones rather than laying a colored gradient from one side of the canvas to the other.

Make a duotone in five steps

  1. Open the photo

    Open the sample from this page, or choose File then Open… for your own photo.

  2. Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer

    Choose Layer then New Adjustment Layer then Gradient Map… Check that Type is Solid and Method is Classic (the defaults). The starting black-to-white gradient gives a grayscale preview.

    Gradient Map dialog with complete Type Solid and Method Classic controls, left color stop and Color swatch field ringed
    The small stops below the gradient select the color to edit.

  3. Choose the dark color

    Click the left stop below the gradient bar (0%), then click the Color swatch. In Selected stop color, enter 1E2A78 in the # field and click OK. This navy replaces the darkest tones.

    Selected stop color dialog with the complete hex field 1E2A78 and OK button ringed
    Choose the shadow end of the palette.

  4. Choose the light color and apply

    Click the right stop below the gradient bar (100%) and its Color swatch. Enter FF6B6B in the # field and click OK for coral. Back in Gradient Map, click Apply and wait for the dialog to close.

    Selected stop color dialog with complete hex field FF6B6B and OK button ringed
    Choose the highlight end of the palette.
    Gradient Map dialog with right color stop, complete Color field and Apply button ringed, showing a navy-to-coral gradient
    Apply the finished palette.

  5. Export, and keep the palette editable

    Choose File then Export then PNG…, enter duotone.png in File name and click Export.

    Export writes a new file and leaves the original as it was. To keep the Gradient Map editable, choose File then Save As then Lil Cactus Project…; after that, File then Save updates the project. File then Save on the opened JPEG instead writes a flat JPEG back to it, and the first time it opens Save Image.

    Whole File name field and label ringed, showing duotone.png
    Name the image copy.
    Complete Export button ringed beside Cancel in the export dialog footer
    Export the recolored image.

Compare and revise the duotone

Click the eye beside the Gradient Map layer to compare with the original photo, then click it again to restore the effect. The photo layer’s pixels are unchanged.

Double-click the adjustment thumbnail, the half-filled circle in that row, to reopen Gradient Map. Edit the stops as in steps 3 and 4 and click Apply. The long layer name may appear shortened in Layers.

Layers panel with the Gradient Map row’s eye and half-filled adjustment thumbnail ringed above Background
The eye compares; the half-filled circle reopens the settings.

What to do next

Duotone photos: questions and answers

Do I need a black-and-white photo before making a duotone?

No. In Lil Cactus, Gradient Map uses the brightness of a color photo too. You do not need a separate Desaturate step.

Why does a duotone photo contain more than two flat colors?

A photographic duotone uses mixtures of its two endpoint colors to keep shading. In Lil Cactus, the Classic Gradient Map blends between the chosen stops rather than reducing every pixel to one of two solid colors.

Why can I still see the original colors through my duotone?

In Lil Cactus, a lower adjustment-layer opacity or a different blend mode can mix the original photo back in. For this example, keep the Gradient Map layer’s Blend mode on Normal and Opacity at 100%.

Can I apply a duotone to only part of a photo?

Yes. In Lil Cactus, use the adjustment layer’s mask to limit the effect to an area of the photo.

How do I swap the dark and light duotone colors?

In Lil Cactus, reopen Gradient Map, check Reverse and click Apply. Reverse changes which end of the palette maps to the dark and light tones.

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