Selenium black and white: a cool-toned monochrome print
A black and white mix that lifts skin, then a cool blue-grey tone in the shadows, like a selenium-toned print. The whites stay clean.
True to cameraBlack & white selenium
Drag to compare. Left of the line is True to camera, the plainest look; right of it is Black & white selenium at full strength, rendered from the same file.
| What it does | Monochrome with blue-grey shadows, near-neutral whites, firm contrast |
|---|---|
| Good for | Winter and city weddings, architecture, formal portraits |
When we'd reach for it
Winter weddings, city streets, architecture and formal portraits, where a cooler monochrome suits the place.
When we wouldn't
Candlelit rooms and heritage venues. Warm-toned black and white keeps their feel better.
The recipe
These are the settings stored in the look, drawn rather than listed. They sit on top of your camera's own colour and the exposure and white balance CullTone sets for each photo, so the same look lands a little differently on every frame.
Every look has a strength from 0 to 1.5. At 0 you get the plain camera-matched edit, at 1 the look as drawn here, and above 1 more of everything it does. More on reading curves in tone curves for photographers.
Close to this one
Try Black & white selenium on your own photos
Start a trial, create a project and pick this look. The studio shows it on your frames, at any strength, before anything renders.