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Using Photoshop to Simulate How Colorblind Users See Your Photos

Nearly 1 in 10 people who look at your photos are likely to perceive colors differently because of some form of colorblindness. Here's a way to use Photoshop to simulate how your photos will look to someone who is colorblind.

Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

Categories: Software, Tips
Tags: Adobe Photoshop
Last updated about 2 months ago // Originally published about 3 years ago

Everyone perceives color slightly differently. There are all sorts of variables, and the colors that you perceive this morning might not be the same as if you came back to the same image in the afternoon. Things like mood, tiredness, and stress can all play a role, as well as more deep-seated biological and neurological traits.

Another important factor is colorblindness. Because nearly 9 percent of the population has some form of colorblindness, statistically a good portion of the people who look at your photos or graphic designs will see the colors quite differently to how you see them.

There are two main types of colorblindness. The vast majority of those with colorblindness can still see colors–they just have trouble distinguishing between some of those colors. The most common types are deuteranopia and protanopia, which are characterized by trouble distinguishing between middle- and long-wavelength colors like green and red. Less common is a type known as tritanopia, where it’s hard to distinguish between shorter wavelength colors like green and blue.

Those with Protanopia-type have trouble with long wavelength colors such as red and orange and green and therefore have trouble distinguishing between green and red.

In some cases, you might be able to compose the shot specifically to factor in colorblindness. That’s relatively straightforward when creating a graphic design, but it might also influence the background you choose when doing a product shoot in a studio or the clothes ensemble on a model. But even if you can’t change the scene, such as with landscape photography–it can still be useful and interesting to see how nearly 10 percent of your image’s viewers will perceive the colors in it.

Simulating Colorblindness in Photoshop

Photoshop has a built-in feature that can simulate what they’ll see.

This tool is especially useful for graphic designers to make sure that designs are clear to the maximum number of people, but whether it’s just out of curiosity or whether it’s structuring the colors of a commercial advertising shoot, the tool can also be useful for photographers to get a sense of how different people are likely to perceive your image in terms of its colors.

It’s very easy to do. And it does not affect the underlying image–think of it as a removable preview filter.

Open your image as you normally would.

Then go to View > Proof Setup. You have two choices: Protanopia-type or Deuteranopia-type. The effects are similar but not quite the same.

Examples

Here are some practical examples:

Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21698" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Protanopia-type[/caption]

Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21703" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Deuteranopia-type[/caption]


Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21690" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Protanopia-type[/caption]

Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21692" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Deuteranopia-type[/caption]


Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21705" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Protanopia-type[/caption]


Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21700" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Deuteranopia-type[/caption]

Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users

[caption id="attachment_21708" align="aligncenter" width="678"]Photoshop Proofing for Colorblind Users Protanopia-type[/caption]

Simulating Colorblindness Without Photoshop

If you don’t use Photoshop or want to dive a bit deeper into the other forms of color vision deficiency, color-blindness.com has a free color blindness simulator that you can upload your own photo to.

By David Coleman
Instagram: @havecamerawilltraveldc

Last updated on November 5, 2020

Categories: Software, Tips
Tags: Adobe Photoshop

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News & Deals

With the holidays fast approaching, there’s some great deals on photography gear and services available. I’ve put together a roundup of Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2020 Photography Deals. It’s a running list as new deals are announced, so be sure to check back.

Canon announces new EOS Rebel T8i DSLR. Canon has announced their new T8i DSLR. 24MP APS-C cropped CMOS sensor, 4K24 video, and updated image processing and detection systems. It’s available for preorder from B&H Photo.

New Firmware for the Ricoh GR III. Ricoh has release firmware v1.31 for the GR III. Release notes are: “Corrected — When shooting with the multiple exposure, in rare cases the live view may not display correctly. Improved stability for general performance.” You can download it here.

New Canon 1D X Mark III Pro DSLR Announced. Canon has announced their new flagship model of pro DSLR, the 1D X Mark III. They’re sticking with a 20.1MP CMOS sensor, but it’s a new and improved version and boasts an incredible native ISO range of ISO 100 to ISO 102400 and an extended range that goes up to a jaw-dropping ISO 819200. With revamped autofocus, a new image processor, and all sorts of other bells and whistles, it’s no wonder that Canon is billing it as “The Ultimate EOS.”

New Manfrotto Pro Rugged Memory Cards. Manfrotto, an Italian probably best known for their tripods and studio accessories, has launched a new Pro Rugged range of high-end SD, microSD, and CompactFlash cards. While they don’t have a huge selection of sizes and speeds, the cards are aiming for very fast cards that can put up with rugged demands. For instance, they claim that their V90 rated SD cards can withstand three times the force (20kg / 45 lbs) of a regular SD card. I’ve ordered some to run through my speed tests.

New Sony Alpha a7 firmware released. A firmware update for the Sony a7R IV now lets you control external Sony flashes from the camera’s own menu system. Up to 15 flashes in five groups can be controlled via the camera. It also applies to the a7R III and a7 III.

Comments

  1. Brian says

    August 6, 2020 at 2:11 pm

    You got me chuckling because I’m partially color blind and the photos you share look so dang similar only brighter or darker really. Which then also has me stumped on why I’m deuteranopia but even the other types for those images they still look so alike it’s just brightness and darkness that seems different to me lol. Dang great share! I want to do some photography that’s all deuteranopia so people might get an idea what it’s like my problem is in the original image when I then add deuteranopia to it, it looks the same 馃槀 but I’ll trust photoshop that it’s doing what it says!

    Reply
  2. D.McCarthy says

    September 11, 2017 at 5:16 am

    Thank you for your reply _ I’ll keep looking for info.

    Reply
  3. D. McCarthy says

    September 8, 2017 at 12:52 am

    That’s good BUT are there any suggestions/guides/rules FOR us colour blind people.
    How should we prepare OUR files so that people with correct colour perception will see them correctly?

    Reply
    • David says

      September 8, 2017 at 10:48 am

      It’s a good question, but I don’t have an answer for it. It looks like a Microsoft engineer has been exploring one possible angle. Google also seems to have developed a plugin for Chrome that might help somewhat. But I don’t have first-hand experience with either of them.

      Reply
  4. Sue says

    September 5, 2017 at 10:56 am

    Well, you learn something new every day! Very interesting, thank you.

    Reply

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