VFX Atlas
H 279 / 3212010s

Split Toning

Split toning. 2010s preset culture; chemical precursors significantly older

Typeface · Playfair Display

Adobe tutorial example: digital split toning with separate highlight and shadow colors.
Adobe tutorial example: digital split toning with separate highlight and shadow colors.Adobe / Teaching example; not a historical recordingView source ↗

Prompt

Apply Split Toning with muted teal coloring in shadows and soft peach-gold coloring in highlights. Blend the two hues gradually through neutral midtones, preserving luminance detail, natural edge definition, and restrained saturation. Maintain distinct tonal color separation without adding colored outlines or texture overlays. Keep the original subject and composition.

Paste it into LetzAI with your own image to apply the effect ↗

Identify

Lights and shadows have different color tones.

Principle

Two color areas are colored separately according to image brightness1.

Example

Cool shadows meet warm lights.

Try it out

Create three moods using the same two color controls2.

Background

Analog toning could alter shadows and highlights differently. Digital programs made this logic easily repeatable as a combination of sliders. Lightroom long offered separate shadow and highlight colors for this purpose; in 2020, Adobe expanded the principle with color grading that included additional midtones. A good learning objective is to guide the mood with subtle color shifts and to consciously control skin tones.

Distinction

Split toning refers to two differently tinted brightness ranges and is not a selective object coloring. The presence of multiple colors in an image does not prove this technique. The decade mark indicates the digital learning and preset context, not the origin of chemical split toning.

Aftermath

Color can structure brightness instead of changing the color of objects.

Further examples · 12 images

Carla (8644102566)
02 Carla (8644102566)The portrait utilizes a teal tint in the shadows and a warmer, creamy tone in the highlights. This color contrast creates depth and a stylized aesthetic common in digital photography.Lies Thru a Lens  · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Amboy (California, USA) -- 2012 -- 4”
03 Split Toning, applied to “Amboy (California, USA) -- 2012 -- 4”A roadside motel sign stands against a desert sky. Warm yellow highlights contrast with cool blue shadows in the sky and ground.Dietmar Rabich (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Czech-2013-Prague-Astronomical clock face”
04 Split Toning, applied to “Czech-2013-Prague-Astronomical clock face”An astronomical clock face shows ornate gold and blue details. The edit applies blue tones to darker recessed areas while warming the lit metallic surfaces.Godot13 (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Wandelen over de Planken Wambuis vanuit Mossel 43”
05 Split Toning, applied to “Wandelen over de Planken Wambuis vanuit Mossel 43”A park bench sits in a misty forest clearing. The highlights in the fog shift toward a warm cream hue while the grass shadows become cooler.Dominicus Johannes Bergsma (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Pont de la Machine Genève BLS”
06 Split Toning, applied to “Pont de la Machine Genève BLS”Buildings line a river under a sunset sky. The right side shows deep blue shadows in the water and buildings paired with orange-tinted highlights.Benh LIEU SONG (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
AI illustration: A man stands in direct sunlight against a building
07 AI illustration: A man stands in direct sunlight against a buildingA man stands in direct sunlight against a building. Warm yellow tones occupy the highlights on his face and the wall, while deep teal tints are applied to all shadow areas.Illustration generated for the Atlas (AI)
Split Toning — machine version
08 Split Toning — machine versionReal-world algorithm demonstration, applied to a NASA portrait.Atlas of Visual Effects
Untitled
09 UntitledThe highlights in the sky and building are tinted with a warm orange-yellow. In contrast, the shadows and midtones of the wall and graffiti are rendered in a distinct cool blue hue.Hugo Pereira · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Tone
10 Split ToneA beach scene under a pier displays distinct color tints in different luminance levels. The highlights of the waves and sky are shifted toward cyan, while the darker structural shadows contain a warm, yellowish-brown hue.aaronsteger · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Gröna Lund June 2015”
11 Split Toning, applied to “Gröna Lund June 2015”A night scene of the Gröna Lund amusement park shows blue tints in the dark sky and water. The bright lights on the rides and carousel appear warm and orange.Arild Vågen (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Split Toning, applied to “Pavillon Cour des Lions Alhambra Granada Spain”
12 Split Toning, applied to “Pavillon Cour des Lions Alhambra Granada Spain”The Alhambra pavilion displays deep blue tones in the recessed shadows and dark doorways. The sunlit stone surfaces and sky are shifted toward a warm, amber hue.Jebulon (photo); processed for the Atlas · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Question

What criterion separates the two colors in split toning?

Show possible answer +

The brightness ranges of the image, especially shadows and highlights.

Sources