Split Toning

Split toning gives shadows one color and highlights another. It started in the darkroom, where printers toned black-and-white prints in two baths, and it became one of the most recognizable color grades in film and photography: teal shadows with orange highlights in blockbusters, warm highlights with cool shadows in moody landscapes. This tool applies the effect with independent controls for each part.

How it works

Every pixel is classified by its brightness. Dark pixels receive the shadow tint, bright pixels the highlight tint, and midtones a smooth blend of both. The tint changes only color, so each pixel keeps its exact brightness. That is why detail in deep shadows and bright skies is preserved, unlike a color overlay that lightens or darkens the image.

Choosing hues

Hue is set on the color wheel from 0 to 359 degrees: around 0 is red, 30 orange, 60 yellow, 120 green, 180 cyan, 220 blue and 280 purple. The defaults pair a warm orange in the highlights with teal in the shadows, the classic complementary grade that makes skin tones glow against cool backgrounds. Complementary pairs, opposite each other on the wheel, give the strongest look.

Saturation

Saturation sets how strong each tint is. Subtle values between 10 and 30 add mood without looking obviously filtered. Values above 50 create a stylized, poster-like grade. Shadows usually tolerate more saturation than highlights, where strong tints quickly look unnatural on skin.

Balance

Balance moves the dividing line. At zero, shadows and highlights meet in the middle. Positive values let the highlight color reach further into the midtones, giving a warmer overall impression with the defaults. Negative values let the shadow color spread, making the image cooler.

Popular combinations

Teal and orange for cinematic portraits and travel. Warm yellow highlights with blue shadows for golden-hour landscapes. Cream highlights with purple shadows for a dreamy look. For black-and-white photos, warm sepia highlights with cool blue-gray shadows reproduce classic split-toned prints.

With black-and-white images

Split toning shines on monochrome photos, where there is no existing color to clash with. Convert to grayscale first with a film filter in Grayscale Image, then add toning here. Low saturation values of 15 to 25 give the most refined result.

Preview and download

The preview reacts immediately on a reduced copy, with a compare switch. The download is processed at full resolution as JPG, PNG or WebP.

Keeping it subtle

A good split tone is often felt rather than seen. Compare with the original and reduce saturation until the photo looks natural yet more atmospheric. Apply the same settings to a whole series of images for a consistent look across a portfolio or social feed.

Where the look came from

In the darkroom, split toning came from partial toning: a print was bathed briefly in one toner that affected highlights first, then in another for the shadows. Digital grading tools adopted the name, and film colorists made teal-and-orange famous because it separates warm skin from cool backgrounds.

Related tools

For ready-made film looks, the LUT Previewer applies .cube color grades. Correct color casts first with the White Balance Fixer. For single-color toning, use the Sepia Photo Filter.