Make an Image Negative – Three Easy Ways

Turning an image into a negative version of itself actually has some uses. Sometimes it lets you see the details that would not be recognizable otherwise. Sometimes it creates a stylish look and feel. Whatever is your goal, here you’ll find easy ways to achieve it!

All you need is a trusty tool for the job. In this review, we will go over three that vary in complexity and offered features. You are likely to find one that fits your skill level and budget, but there’s always more to learn about how to make an image negative, if you wish to take your editing one step further. Without further ado, let’s dive into it!

Way 1 – Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom is a pro-level editor and manager for professional photographers, so rest assured – you can squeeze any visual change out of it as long as you are willing to learn its ins and outs. However, Lightroom has no one-click negative feature, but you still can achieve this effect in a few easy steps. Here’s how to make a photo negative with it:

Step 1. Run the program and load your image.

Step 2. Go to the Develop module and navigate to the Tone Curve tab.

Step 3. Drag the right end of the curve all the way to the bottom and the left one to the top. If you want to save the inversion as a preset, open the Tone Curve dropdown menu and select Save.

Step 4 – Export the edited image. With a saved preset, you can invert a whole bunch of images in a snap!

Powerful as it may be, Lightroom has a learning curve, and its subscription is rather pricey. So, if inversion is the only editing you want to do, it might be overkill – there are more accessible programs that can do this one trick for you.

Way 2 – PhotoWorks

PhotoWorks is a versatile AI-powered tool that is designed for a wide audience of various backgrounds and skill levels. It only takes a few clicks to convert positive photos into negative images and vice versa and get a professional-looking result. PhotoWorks does have a dedicated feature to make a photo negative, and here’s how it works:

Step 1. Install PhotoWorks and run the program.

Step 2. Drag your image into the program window, or click Open Photo and find it in the file browser.

Step 3. Go to the Enhancement tab and click Negative.

Step 4. Click the Apply button at the bottom, then hit Save. Done! You can also apply this effect to multiple images in the Batch editing mode.

PhotoWorks is easy-to-use and quite affordable while offering a wide array of features to play with. From basic tools and adjustments, it includes 200+ effect and LUT profiles, supports 400+ RAW formats, includes a portrait processing module, and a lot of other useful tools. On top of that, you can try it all for free!

Way 3 – Negative Image

If a mobile phone is both your camera and editing platform, then you can resort to a dedicated mobile app. Negative Image is one such app for Android. Here’s how to make a picture negative with it:

Step 1. Download and run the app on your device. Then upload the image you wish to invert.

Step 2. Apply the inversion to the whole picture, or highlight only a certain area.

Step 3. When done, click the Save icon to export the image to your photo gallery.

Negative Image is easy to use, but it is a one-trick pony and has annoying ads in the free version. It is completely serviceable if you wish to invert an image on your phone, but in case you’ll need to do anything else, you’ll have to find other tools.

And that’s it! Now you are familiar with three effective ways to make an image negative. If you are still not sure which one to pick, let’s do a quick recap. If you’d like to master an all-encompassing tool, then take your chances with Adobe Lightroom. In case you want to keep things as simple as it gets, go with mobile apps, such as Negative Image. And if you want something user-friendly and universal, then PhotoWorks is the way to go.