Gradients from black to white are developing a brown tint. How can this be fixed ?

Forum|Forum|2 days ago
May 20, 2026
3 replies
44 views

Whenever I create a fade in Photoshop where the dark values range between RGB (0,0,0) and (20,20,20) and gradually transition to white, the gradient becomes discoloured and appears brown in the midtones. It should display only shades of gray. How can I remove the brown tint? Desaturation does not help.

Correct answer davescm

Check, with the eyedropper and the info panel, whether the discoloration is in the image or just your display system. If it is in your image, the eyedropper will show uneven values. If it is your display system, the eyedropper will show even values and you will need to look at your monitor calibration and profile, as advised by D Fosse.

Dave

davescm

Correct answer

Community Expert

Check, with the eyedropper and the info panel, whether the discoloration is in the image or just your display system. If it is in your image, the eyedropper will show uneven values. If it is your display system, the eyedropper will show even values and you will need to look at your monitor calibration and profile, as advised by D Fosse.

Dave

P

Peter CarrAuthor

Inspiring

Thanks. I see the color profile in System Settings (macOS) was set incorrectly.

D Fosse

Community Expert

This would happen if your document is CMYK. The 4 offset printing inks don’t have equal density, so this needs to be compensated in the CMYK profile. The result is a brownish tint when desaturated to equal values in the CMY channels.

If that’s not it, you have a defective/broken/incorrect monitor profile.If you’re not using a calibrator to make your profiles, you’ll get manufacturer profiles distributed through Windows Update, and these profiles are surprisingly often bad in various ways. Try to replace it with sRGB and relaunch Photoshop so it can load the new profile.

Claire H.

Community Manager

Hi @Peter Carr, thanks for reaching out to the Photoshop Community Forum! A few things to check first:
1. Ensure that the document is in RGB mode. Go to Image > Mode and select RGB Color if it is not already selected

2. Ensure that the color profile used in the document is not affecting the gradient. Go to Edit > Color Settings and check the settings to ensure they are appropriate for your work.

Would you be able to send some screenshots of your workspace, the settings, and the results you're seeing? That would help us try to figure out the issue. Thanks! ^CH