What Is HEAT for Photoshop?

Summary

HEAT for Photoshop is a PSD file with 14 heat-map gradient styles inside it, priced at $20.00. You open it in Adobe Photoshop, swap the provided photo for your own, and pick the style you want. Everything below is the practical layer: where Gradient Map adjustment layers sit in the stack, how clipping masks contain them, which blend modes change the result, and how to get a clean file out the other end.

What Is HEAT — Photoshop Gradient Maps?

HEAT — Photoshop Gradient Maps is a pack of 14 heat-map gradient styles for Adobe Photoshop, delivered as a PSD file for $20.00 as an instant digital download. The effects it produces are thermal and duotone — the color of each pixel is decided by how bright that pixel is, not by what color it originally was.

There is no installer and no plugin. The product is the document. That means every part of the effect is visible in the Layers panel and every part of it is yours to move, retarget or switch off.

How HEAT Works in Photoshop

  1. Unzip and open the PSD — after download, extract the file and open it with File > Open in Adobe Photoshop.
  2. Look at the Layers panel first — open it with Window > Layers if it is hidden. You will see the photo layer at or near the bottom and the gradient map styles stacked above it. Understanding the order before you touch anything saves you from undoing later.
  3. Replace the provided photo with your own — this is the one step that matters. If the photo layer is a Smart Object, double-click its thumbnail, which opens the contents in a new tab. Place your image there, save with Cmd/Ctrl + S, and close that tab. The parent document updates with your photo underneath the same gradient stack. If the photo is a normal pixel layer instead, select it and use Layer > Smart Objects > Convert to Smart Object first so you get the same non-destructive behavior.
  4. Fit your image to the frame — inside the Smart Object, use Cmd/Ctrl + T to scale and position. Hold Shift while dragging a corner if you need to constrain proportions on an older version's default behavior.
  5. Choose the gradient map style you like — toggle the visibility eye on each of the 14 styles in turn and leave the one you want switched on. Only judge them at 100% zoom; gradient ramps read differently when the screen is interpolating.
  6. Fine-tune the mapping — with the gradient map layer selected, open Window > Properties and click the gradient bar to open the Gradient Editor. Dragging a color stop left or right moves which tonal band that color lands on. This is the single most useful adjustment in the whole file.
  7. Save your version — use File > Save As and give it a new name so the original pack file stays clean for the next project.

The Gradient Map Adjustment Layer, Properly Understood

A Gradient Map adjustment layer is created from Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map, or from the half-filled circle icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. It affects every layer beneath it in the stack — which is why layer order is not cosmetic here.

  • Layer order — the gradient map must sit above the photo. Drag it below and the photo will simply cover it. If you add retouching layers, put them between the photo and the gradient map so the map processes the retouched result.
  • Clipping masks — to confine a gradient map to one layer instead of everything below it, select the gradient map and press Cmd/Ctrl + Alt/Option + G, or use Layer > Create Clipping Mask. A small arrow appears next to the layer. This is how you thermal-map a subject while leaving a background untouched.
  • Layer masks — every adjustment layer arrives with a white mask already attached. Paint black on it with a soft brush to pull the effect off eyes, skin or a logo. Black conceals, white reveals. Cmd/Ctrl + I inverts the mask so you can brush the effect in instead of out.
  • Opacity — dropping a gradient map to 60–80% opacity lets a trace of the original color show through, which is often the difference between a graphic look and a heavy-handed one.

Blend Modes That Change the Result

The blend mode dropdown sits at the top-left of the Layers panel. Set on a Gradient Map layer, it decides how the remapped colors combine with what is underneath.

Blend mode Result on a gradient map
Normal Full replacement. The straight thermal or duotone look.
Color Takes the ramp's hue and saturation, keeps the photo's own luminance. Gentler, keeps skin texture reading naturally.
Overlay Pushes contrast up hard and tints the extremes. Good for aggressive poster work.
Soft Light A restrained version of Overlay. Useful when you want a hint of the ramp, not the whole thing.

Cycle through them with Shift + + and Shift + - while the layer is selected rather than clicking the dropdown each time.

Working Non-Destructively

Two habits keep the file editable to the end of the job:

  • Keep the photo as a Smart Object — scaling, warping and filters applied to a Smart Object stay re-editable. Applied to a flattened pixel layer they are permanent, and you will find out at the worst possible moment.
  • Add corrections under the gradient map, not over it — a Levels or Curves adjustment layer placed between the photo and the gradient map changes which tones land on which colors. That is the correct place to control the look. A Curves layer above the gradient map just bends the already-mapped colors and usually looks muddy.

Exporting

  • Keep the layered master — File > Save As a PSD before you flatten anything. This is your version to come back to.
  • Web and social — File > Export > Export As, choose PNG for flat graphic ramps with hard color transitions, JPEG at 80–100% quality for photographic ones. Confirm the document is in sRGB via Edit > Convert to Profile before exporting so the colors survive the browser.
  • Print — Image > Mode > CMYK Color and save as TIFF or PDF. Duotone ramps that use very saturated magenta or orange will shift on press; proof before you commit a run.

Video editors doing the same thing to footage rather than stills work with lookup tables instead of gradient maps; our post on what a LUT is explains how that side works.

Conclusion

The whole reason HEAT ships as a PSD is that a gradient map is a stack, not a button. Once you can see the stack — photo at the bottom, corrections in the middle, gradient map on top, mask attached, blend mode chosen — you can push it well past the presets it came with. Open the file, drop in your photo, pick one of the 14 styles, then start editing gradient stops and blend modes. Grab it at HEAT — Photoshop Gradient Maps for $20.00.

FAQ

Q: What software do I need for HEAT?
A: Adobe Photoshop. HEAT is delivered as a PSD file and is compatible with Photoshop.

Q: How do I put my own photo in?
A: Open the PSD and replace the provided photo with your own. If the photo layer is a Smart Object, double-click its thumbnail, place your image in the tab that opens, then save and close that tab.

Q: Why does my gradient map affect layers I didn't want it to?
A: Adjustment layers affect everything below them. Select the gradient map and press Cmd/Ctrl + Alt/Option + G to clip it to just the layer directly beneath.

Q: Can I change the colors in a style?
A: Yes. Select the gradient map layer, open the Properties panel, click the gradient bar, and edit or move the color stops in the Gradient Editor.

Q: How do I keep some of the original color?
A: Lower the gradient map layer's opacity, or set its blend mode to Color or Soft Light instead of Normal.

Q: What should I export for Instagram or a thumbnail?
A: Convert to sRGB, then use File > Export > Export As — PNG for hard-edged graphic ramps, JPEG for photographic ones.