‘Smearing Shadows’ For More Pleasing High-Contrast Looks

April 14, 2023

Colorist Cullen Kelly explores a technique for sculpting rich, soft, and filmic shadows on high-contrast looks for a more pleasing effect.


Using Luma keys and Lift/Gamma corrections to soften high-contrast looks

We’ve all got our favorite techniques for fine-tuning the dark areas of our image, but oftentimes I find there’s a certain filmic shape I struggle to get in my shadows. Today are exploring a technique for sculpting rich and soft shadows.

Using film print looks as inspiration

One of the signature traits of a film print is the combination of strong contrast through the midtones with a “roll” in the highlights and shadows, creating a bold yet detail-rich image. This aesthetic can be achieved in many ways, but today we’re going to explore a highly effective technique I borrowed from Company 3 Senior Colorist Tom Poole. For lack of a better term, we’ll call it “shadow smearing” – a name I promise will make more sense after today’s Insight!

Key takeaways from this Insight

By the end of this Insight, you should understand how to:

  • Create a soft shadow qualifier and “smear” the high and low values closer together
  • Visualize a qualified lift/gain adjustment as a curve

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Questions or Comments? Leave a comment!

Is this Insight useful to you? Let us know! Mixing Light is all about community discussions, and we’re curious if you found this helpful, if you have something to add, or if you need more questions answered?

– Cullen


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