Monochrome portraits are a great way to highlight the eyes and facial features of your subject. By editing the background to black and blending the subject’s outlines in one frame, you can create Frame your portrait to make the subject stand out a negative space that allows the subject to stand out, while effectively drawing the viewer’s attention to the frame. With this technique, your portraits will look as though they were shot in a high-end studio.
1 Add drama Firstly, work on the overall contrast of the image. Add a Curve Adjustment layer and make the line into an S-curve by adding nodes and dragging the line to bring the highlights up and the shadows down. The layer works non-destructively, so you can fine-tune the settings at the end.
2 Colour in the background Add a Pixel layer. Select the Paintbrush tool with 100% flow, opacity and 0% hardness. Choose black from the colour wheel. Paint around the subject, avoiding the outlines. Add another Pixel layer. Select the Brush tool with 20% flow and use it to fill in the gaps. Correct with the Eraser.
3 Blend outlines Add a third Pixel layer. Use the Paintbrush tool to paint over the outline of your subject. It doesn’t need to look perfect, as we will blend it in. Open the Blend Ranges option and focus on the right graph. Lower the right node and move it to the left to recover any overpainted highlights and details.
4 Add a mood To create a moody look, adjust the darker areas by adding another Curve Adjustment layer. Select the bottom left node and gradually increase i
