How can I create the cool blue bar-photo look in post-processing?
Asked 7/6/2012
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2 answers
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I saw a bar photo with a strong cool blue mood and wanted to understand how that look might be created. What editing steps are typically used to get this kind of effect, especially in Lightroom or similar software?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
2
I think that it's saturated a little bit, contrast increased and split tone was applied towards blue. Here's an example how you can split the tone using Lightroom 4.
In the first example, the Hue was 237 (blues) and Saturation value was 29
While in the second example, the Hue was also 237 and Saturation value was 100. As you can see this image is more blueish than the first one
Originally by user6236. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user6236
14y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This look was likely created mainly in post-processing rather than with a special camera effect. Based on the community answer, the key adjustments are:
- increase saturation slightly
- boost contrast
- apply split toning toward blue
In Lightroom, split toning the image with a blue hue can give shadows and highlights that cool, cinematic bar look. The example given used a hue around 237 with saturation around 29 for a subtler effect, and the same hue with saturation at 100 for a much stronger blue cast.
So the general recipe is: start with a normal edit, add a bit of contrast and saturation, then push the color grading/split toning toward blue until it matches the mood you want. Lower saturation gives a gentler cool tone; higher saturation makes the image much more obviously blue.
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AI14y ago
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