Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Okay, I need to clarify here a bit: The trick is for “Great-Looking Duotones,” but
I also cover how to do a split-tone effect, since it kind of uses the same controls.
A duotone generally starts with a B&W photo, then you expand the visual depth of
the image with a deep color tint. Split toning is where you apply one color tint to the
highlights and another to the shadow areas. We'll cover duotones first, because not
only are you more likely to do a duotone, they just look better (I'm not a big split-
toning fan myself, but hey, I'm still happy to show ya how to do one, just in case).
Step One:
Here's our original color image, shown in
Lightroom's Develop module. Although
the actual duotone or split tone is created
in the Split Toning panel (in the right side
Panels area), you should probably convert
the photo to black and white first. (I say
“should,” because you can apply a split-
toning effect on top of your color photo,
but…well…yeech!) Start in the Basic
panel (at the top of the right side Panels
area), and in the Treatment section, click
on Black & White to convert the photo
to black and white.
Step Two:
You can do a little tweaking to the photo
to make it nice and contrasty, as I did
here, by increasing the Blacks amount, the
Clarity amount to give it some snap (I took
it to +52 here), and the Recovery amount
just a bit to reduce the glare outside the
window in the center. I also increased the
Brightness setting a bit. Although I don't
use the Contrast slider very often, for a
quick tweak it doesn't hurt, so I dragged
it a little to the right, too. Now that we've
toned the image a bit, it looks better, but
it looks a little cold (when you convert
from color to black and white, you often
lose the visual depth the color provides.
Adding a duotone brings some of that
back without bringing back all the original
color, which is what I love about adding
the effect).
Continued
