How To Get The JOKER Look in Photoshop
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- 0:00 Intro
- 2:45 Adjust The Brightness of the photo.
- 3:45 Adjust the Details of the photo.
- 4:17 Control the darkest and brightest pixels using Curves.
- 5:55 Use the Split Toning controls to apply a color to the shadows.
- 7:18 Use the HSL sliders to fine-tune the color in the image.
- 9:50 Blur the image using the Radial Filter.
- 11:41 Add grain and a vignette.
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Here’s how to get the Joker look in Photoshop using only the Camera Raw filter, matching the movie’s teal shadows, warm skin tones, and grainy film texture.
In today’s Copycat Wednesday, I’m going to show you how to recreate the Joker look in Photoshop!
The Joker was one of my favorite movies last year, and I really loved the cinematography and the Color Grade that was applied. In this video, you will learn to use Camera Raw to get the Joker look.
Note: Camera Raw’s interface changed six days after this video was recorded. Every panel and slider used below still exists in current Camera Raw, just arranged differently.
Key Takeaways
- Raising Contrast and lowering Highlights in the Basic panel fakes the Joker’s faded blacks, since the film never hits a true black or a true white.
- Texture and Clarity bring out skin and hair detail without adding the noise that Sharpening would.
- The Split Toning panel pushes shadows toward teal, and the Balance slider decides whether that teal or the warm highlights read stronger.
- In the HSL panel, Hue picks a color’s direction, Saturation controls its strength, and Luminance controls its brightness. All three work together on the same color.
- The Radial Filter, opened with J (Windows) or J (macOS), blurs everything outside its oval to fake a shallow depth of field after the photo has already been shot.
- Running the Camera Raw Filter on a Smart Object keeps every slider editable. Double-click the filter in the Layers panel to reopen it anytime.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Tutorial Image
- Adjust The Brightness of the Photo
- Adjust the Details of the Photo
- Control the Darkest and Brightest Pixels Using Curves
- Use the Split Toning Controls to Apply a Color to the Shadows
- Use the HSL Sliders to Fine-Tune the Color in the Image
- Blur the Image Using the Radial Filter
- Add Grain and a Vignette
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Get the Joker Look in Photoshop: Final Thoughts
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to get the Joker look in Photoshop with the Basic, Split Toning, and HSL panels in Camera Raw
- How to use Texture and Clarity to bring out skin and hair detail
- How to color grade shadows and highlights with the Split Toning panel
- How to fine-tune color with the HSL panel’s Hue, Saturation, and Luminance sliders
- How to blur a background with the Radial Filter for a shallow depth of field
- How to finish the look with film grain and a vignette
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2020 (version 21.1 or later) or the current version
Tutorial Image
Here’s the file link to the image used in this tutorial: Man Sitting
Adjust The Brightness of the Photo
Start by right-clicking on the layer and select Convert to Smart Object.
Note: A Smart Object is a container that holds one or more layers. It keeps every adjustment, filter, and transformation editable, so you can come back later and change the settings without starting over.
Choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter to control and enhance details and colors in the image entirely.
To get the “Joker look” in Photoshop, take note that the film doesn’t have any full black or full white. To replicate that, start by increasing the Contrast slider.
Reduce the Highlights.
Adjust the Details of the Photo
Increase the Texture slider as this concentrates on the image’s medium-sized details such as the hair and the skin texture.
Increase the Clarity to add contrast to edge pixels.
Control the Darkest and Brightest Pixels Using Curves
To get the Joker look in Photoshop, you need to adjust the brightness and the contrast for a deeper, gloomy ambiance. Go to the Tone Curve tab, and from there, click on Point.
Set the Input to 0 and click-and-drag the point upward to lighten the shadows to a dark gray.
From Input 255, click-and-drag it downwards up to the Output of 190-200.
Add a point to add more contrast to the image.
And add another point to add brightness to the image.
Use the Split Toning Controls to Apply a Color to the Shadows
Please switch to the Split Toning tab, where it allows you to add colors to your Highlights and your Shadows.
Note: Current Camera Raw replaced the Split Toning tab with the three-way Color Grading panel, which adds separate color wheels for shadows, midtones, and highlights. See Photoshop 2021: Color Grading in Camera Raw for the current version of this step.
Starting with the Shadows, adjust to Hue to set up the color of the Shadows into teal.
Increase the Saturation dramatically to amplify the color teal on the Shadows.
Meanwhile, you can adjust the Balance slider to determine which color remains more dominant: the Shadows or the Highlights.
Use the HSL Sliders to Fine-Tune the Color in the Image
Switch to the HSL Adjustments tab, where you can adjust each of the color’s Hue, Saturation, and Luminosity.
Adjust the Reds to look more orange.
Tweak the Oranges to remove the Yellow undertone.
Remove the green undertone from the Yellows.
Switch to the Saturation tab and desaturate the Orange slider.
On the Luminance tab, brighten up the Orange slider.
Increase the Yellow slider dramatically to emphasize the skin tone.
For a faster one-click fix on off skin tones, see Fix Skin Tones in Photoshop with One-Click Curves.
Blur the Image Using the Radial Filter
To mimic the shallow depth of field, select the Radial filter or press J (Windows) or J (macOS). Click this icon and set it to Reset Local Correction Settings.
Note: Current Camera Raw calls this tool the Radial Gradient. It works the same way and still opens with the same keyboard shortcut.
Then, set the Effect to Outside,
And set the Feather to 25.
Click-and-drag to expand the Radial filter until it only selects his face.
To blur the image, reduce the Sharpness slider, and you can see the effect applied when you uncheck the box for Mask.
Add Grain and a Vignette
To regain the authentic feel to the image is to retrieve the film grain. To do that, switch back to the Effects tab and increase the Amount slider to add back the Grain to the image.
When you’re done, press OK to save all the changes, and it applies the effect as a Smart Object.
Since you are working non-destructively, you can always come back and readjust the Camera Raw filter by double-clicking it in the subject layer.
This is one of many Copycat Wednesday color grades. See the Homecoming poster color grade for another movie-inspired look built the same way.
With Camera Raw at your fingertips, you can easily recreate the cinematic looks of your favorite films.
Hopefully, you find this simple tutorial informative on how to get the Joker look in Photoshop!
Frequently Asked Questions
Here’s how to get the Joker look in Photoshop on any recent copy of the app. This tutorial uses the Camera Raw Filter in Photoshop 2020 (version 21.1) or the current version, and every slider it uses still works the same way today.
No, this technique relies entirely on the Camera Raw Filter. Apply it to a Smart Object first so every adjustment stays editable afterward.
The film’s color grade lifts the shadows and pulls down the highlights, so nothing reads as pure black or pure white. Raising Contrast and lowering Highlights in the Basic panel recreates that faded look.
The Split Toning panel tints the shadows teal. Current Camera Raw calls this panel Color Grading, and the Balance slider still decides whether the teal shadows or the warm highlights read stronger.
Open the Radial Filter with J (Windows) or J (macOS) and draw an oval around the subject’s face. Set the Effect to Outside, then lower the Sharpness slider inside that oval to blur everything around it.
Go to the Effects tab and raise the Amount slider under Grain. This adds back the texture a digitally clean photo is missing.
Converting to a Smart Object keeps the Camera Raw Filter editable. Double-click it in the Layers panel anytime to reopen and adjust your settings.
How to Get the Joker Look in Photoshop: Final Thoughts
That’s how to get the Joker look in Photoshop with nothing but the Camera Raw Filter. The Basic, Split Toning, and HSL panels reshape contrast, color, and skin tone until the photo matches the movie’s grade.
Because the whole edit lives inside the Camera Raw Filter on a Smart Object, none of it is permanent. Reopen the filter anytime to push the look further or pull it back.
Watch the full video above for every slider in motion, and comment on the video if you have a question.
Selections and Masking Mastery
Complete course includes 2.5 hours of step-by-step lessons, 6 structured modules, downloadable practice files, and custom Photoshop brushes. Everything you need to master selections and masks in one place.
Keep going
Next, learn the current version of the Split Toning step in Photoshop 2021: Color Grading in Camera Raw.
Related Links
Final Image
Drag the slider to see before and after
