Street documentary: gritty, honest colour with visible grain
Colour turned down, contrast up, edges darkened and a grain you can see. Nothing glossy, so the moment carries the frame.
True to cameraStreet documentary
Drag to compare. Left of the line is True to camera, the plainest look; right of it is Street documentary at full strength, rendered from the same file.
| What it does | Firm contrast, quieter colour, darker edges, visible grain |
|---|---|
| Good for | Street, reportage and documentary weddings |
When we'd reach for it
Street and travel reportage, documentary wedding coverage, markets, protests, behind the scenes.
When we wouldn't
Bridal portraits meant for the album cover. Muted colour can read as grim where you wanted soft.
A note on skin. This look turns all colour down a little, skin included, on purpose. If faces look flat, lower the strength.
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 Street documentary 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.