How to invert the colors of any image in Photoshop in 3 simple steps

Ross James

Nov 20, 2019, 01:26 IST

How to invert the colors of any image in Photoshop in 3 simple steps

Ross James/Business Insider
To invert colors in Photoshop, use the Image options tab.

You can invert colors in Photoshop to create a "negative" of an image.
Inverting colors on a picture in Photoshop sets all the image's color values to their opposite value on a color wheel - white becomes black, green becomes purple, and more.
To invert colors, you just need to go to Photoshop's Adjustments menu.
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Is a zebra black with white stripes, or white with black stripes? With the invert colors tool in Photoshop, it can be whichever you want.

The inverted colors tool creates a "negative" of the image, which can be useful for making hidden details stand out, or to shift colors into a different spectrum for colorblind users. It can also be fun to see the colors in your photo change wildly.

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Or you can just do it because it looks cool.

Here's how.

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How to invert colors in Photoshop

1. Open Photoshop, and load in the image that you want to invert.

2. In the menu bar at the top, click on "Image." In the drop-down menu, hover your mouse over "Adjustments" to create a new sub-menu.

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Here we'll be using a picture of a jacaranda tree, taken in my front yard.

3. From the "Adjustments" sub-menu, select "Invert."

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Go to "Images" in the top bar, and select "Adjustments."

Your photo will immediately become inverted.

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The final product, with colors inverted.

You can invert it again to restore it to its original colors.

That's not the only way to invert your picture. If you want to do it quickly, by default, the hotkey shortcut for inverting colors is Ctrl + I on Windows, or Command + I on Apple computers.

You can also select a specific portion of the image, to only invert the selected section. Select the section using the marquee, lasso, or selection tool, and press the hotkey to invert the selected area.