Gradients vs Gradient Maps

The Gradient Course: Every time I say or hear the term “Gradient Fill“ I can’t help but think of an old photography buff named Phil who comes around and spreads his knowledge. All his friends say, “Oh yeah, that Gradient Phil, what a guy!“ Okay, that was a bad joke, I promise that the rest of this post and the following tutorial WILL be better. A few weeks ago someone sent me an email asking me the difference between a Gradient Fill and a Gradient Map. They were struggling with the concept of the Gradient Map and didn’t understand exactly what the gradient fill was doing. I figured that would be a great video tutorial because while they both involve the term Gradient, they couldn’t be farther from each other. In simple terms: A Gradient Fill adds a directed wash of color. It can be directed in many ways, from a linear gradient to a radial gradient, to a reflected gradient. It is most useful as an adjustment layer and can be used in harmony with Blend Modes and Opacity for a