Split Toning is an old film effect that is somewhere in between black and white and colour.
This can be achieved in the dark room or digitally in programs such as photoshop. Today I will be focusing on the digital split toning process.
Split toning originated from the technique called SEPIA TONING. When film photographers decided to use sepia toning, they found their image to have not completely bleached and this left a multi-toned style image which was given the name split toning, a happy accident!!
Split toning is used to accentuate a particular colour in the highlights and shadows of an image. Below is an example of one of the methods used to achieve a split toning effect.
Step 1: If original is in color please use adjustment layer to black and white.
Step 2: Select Image > Adjustments > Color Balance. Then select shadows from the adjustment panel. First, we want to create the nice blue color - I would advise copying my settings from below, as these have worked for me on a great number of occasions.
Step 3: This time, select mid tones and then we almost need to switch settings over completely.
Step 4: Hue +40, Saturation 0, Lightness -40. Last but not least, select the highlights and fill in the last of the settings.
Final Image
Final Image
Below are some additional examples of images where split toning has been used. As you can see it can be used in ALL genres from landscapes to portraits, to highlight and accentuate details within each individual image.
Landscape
Portrait
