Deep shadow and a warm key light, like a painting lit from a single source. Dramatic and focused, with skin that stays alive.
- XMP · Lightroom Classic, CC & Camera Raw
- .costyle · Capture One
- .cube · 3D LUT (DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro)
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Chiaroscuro
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Or test Chiaroscuro on your own photo
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Color rendering varies per monitor and camera model. Your photo is not saved.
Character and mood
Chiaroscuro is built around one idea from painting: let the light do the work. One clear source, everything else falls into shadow. Not even lighting, but a directed pool of light your eye is drawn to on its own.
What the preset does to your photo: shadows sink deep while the key light stays warm and keeps skin alive within it. Contrast is high but directed, not spread across the whole frame. Highlights stay safe so the light itself never clips.
The look suits portraits by window or candlelight, still life with a single light source, and any image where you want part of the frame to stay in the dark on purpose.
Choose Chiaroscuro when your subject is already lit from one side. Under flat, even light, Window Light from this pack works better, since it leans less on contrast.
Installation
Lightroom Classic & CC (desktop)
Unzip the downloaded file on your computer. Open Lightroom Classic and go to the Develop module. Right-click the Presets panel, choose 'Import Presets', and select the .xmp file. The preset appears in your list immediately and can be applied to any photo straight away.
Lightroom Mobile
Lightroom Mobile syncs presets via the cloud. Import the .xmp file into Lightroom CC on your desktop first. Once cloud sync completes, the preset is automatically available on your phone or tablet. An Adobe CC subscription is required for this sync feature.
Capture One
Unzip the file. Open Capture One and navigate to the Styles panel. Click the arrow next to 'Styles' and choose 'Import Style'. Select the .costyle file. The style is available in your library immediately. Works with Capture One version 21 and later.
DaVinci Resolve / Premiere Pro (3D LUT)
Copy the .cube file to your application's LUT folder. In DaVinci Resolve via Project Settings → Color Management → LUT folders. In Premiere Pro via the Lumetri Color panel → Creative tab → Look → Browse. The LUT works on both LOG and standard exposed video footage.
