To get a film look, tint the shadows and highlights with different colours using split toning or color grading, lift the black point slightly, soften contrast and add grain. Each film stock has its own character, so aim for a mood rather than an exact copy. The settings below are general ideas to adjust by eye.

How to Use Split Toning and Color Grading for a Film Look

What Gives Film Its Look

  • Colour casts: shadows and highlights lean toward different hues.
  • Lifted blacks: shadows are not fully black, giving a soft, faded feel.
  • Gentle highlight roll-off: bright areas fade smoothly instead of clipping hard.
  • Grain: visible texture, especially in midtones and shadows.
  • Muted or shifted colour: certain hues look denser or shift slightly.

Step by Step Workflow

  1. Fix the basics first: set exposure, white balance and lens corrections before any stylistic edit.
  2. Soften contrast slightly and lower highlights a little to mimic film roll-off.
  3. Lift the black point by raising the bottom-left point of the tone curve a small amount, so the darkest areas turn dark grey.
  4. Open Color Grading, or Split Toning in older versions, and choose a hue for shadows. Teal, blue or green are common choices.
  5. Choose a different hue for highlights, often warm orange or yellow, to create the classic cool shadow and warm highlight contrast.
  6. Keep saturation low, since small values go a long way. Adjust balance to decide which tint dominates.
  7. Use the midtone wheel sparingly to unify skin tones or foliage.
  8. Reduce overall vibrance a touch, and shift individual hues in the colour mixer, such as pushing greens toward yellow.
  9. Add grain with a moderate amount and size, and check at full size.
  10. Compare against the original and dial back anything that looks heavy.

Mood Ideas to Try

  • Warm and nostalgic: amber highlights, soft green or brown shadows, lifted blacks.
  • Cool and cinematic: teal shadows, gentle orange highlights, slightly higher contrast.
  • Soft pastel: low contrast, light magenta in highlights, faded blacks.
  • Black and white film: convert to monochrome, add contrast and strong grain, and a faint tone in the highlights.

Common Mistakes

  • Pushing tint strength so far that skin turns an odd colour.
  • Applying the same recipe to every photo without adjusting white balance.
  • Adding too much grain on small web images, where it turns to noise.
  • Crushing contrast and losing the detail film would have kept.

Once you like a result, save it as a preset, then adjust exposure and white balance for each new image.

FAQ

Is split toning the same as color grading?

Color grading is the newer, more flexible tool, with separate controls for shadows, midtones and highlights. Split toning only handles shadows and highlights, but the idea is the same.

Do I need presets to get a film look?

No. Presets save time, but doing it by hand teaches you what each control does and lets you fit the look to each image.

The Short Version

Lift the blacks, soften contrast, tint shadows and highlights in different hues, and add modest grain. Keep every move small, and save your recipe as a preset to reuse.