Color Balance: Shift Shadows, Midtones and Highlights
Nine sliders across three tonal ranges, with weights that add to exactly one at every brightness. That means a shadow adjustment genuinely cannot reach a pure highlight, rather than almost not reaching it.
Drop images here
or click to browse · or paste with Ctrl+V
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Tonal range
Each range has its own three sliders. Switching tabs does not reset anything.
Keeps the brightness of every pixel where it was, so you are shifting colour rather than exposure.
Presets
Your photos are never uploaded. The tonal weighting and the correction both run inside this browser tab.
People also use
Everything this tool does
Weights that sum to exactly one
The three ranges partition the brightness scale rather than overlapping approximately. Checked at all 256 levels, the largest deviation from 1.000 was 0.
Shadows cannot reach highlights
The shadow weight is zero at pure white, so a pure white pixel comes back unchanged with the shadow sliders at maximum. That is a guarantee rather than a tendency.
Per-pixel luminosity preservation
Each pixel is rescaled to its original brightness after the shift. On a test image with strong shifts on all three ranges the mean luminance changed by 0.00 levels, against 6.5 with the option off.
Nine independent values
Cyan to red, magenta to green and yellow to blue, for each of shadows, midtones and highlights. Switching range tabs keeps everything you have already set.
Built for split toning
Pushing shadows and highlights in opposite directions is how most film looks and colour grades are made, and the exact ranges here keep the two from bleeding into each other.
Drag to compare
Before and after share one frame with a slider, which is essential for adjustments this subtle.
Six purpose-built presets
Cool shadows with warm highlights, teal and orange, warm overall, cool overall, faded print and kill a green cast.
Batch with one ZIP
Apply one grade across a whole set so the frames match, and take everything as a single archive built in your browser.
Transparency preserved
The alpha channel is untouched for PNG and WebP output.
Nothing is uploaded
No server, no queue, nothing to delete afterwards. Close the tab and every trace of the image goes with it.
What each control does
Three sliders, three ranges. Each slider moves one pair of opposite colours, and each range covers a different part of the brightness scale, weighted so the three add up to exactly one everywhere.
| Control | Moves between | Typical use | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cyan to Red | cyan and red | skin tones, warmth | All three |
| Magenta to Green | magenta and green | fluorescent casts, foliage | All three |
| Yellow to Blue | yellow and blue | sky, shade, tungsten | All three |
| Shadows | darkest part of the range | cool shadows, film looks | Cannot touch pure white |
| Midtones | the bulk of most photos | overall colour mood | Peaks at mid grey |
| Highlights | brightest part of the range | warm highlights, split tone | Cannot touch pure black |
| Preserve luminosity | keeps every pixel's brightness | always, unless deliberate | On by default |
9
independent sliders
1.000
weights sum, exactly
0
files uploaded
3
tonal ranges
ZIP
batch download
Free
no account needed
FlipMyFormat vs other colour balance tools
| Capability | FlipMyFormat | Typical free tool |
|---|---|---|
| Files stay in your browser | ||
| Tonal weights that sum to exactly one | ||
| Shadows cannot affect pure highlights | ||
| Per-pixel luminosity preservation | ||
| All nine values kept when switching range | ||
| Batch ZIP download without paying | ||
| No watermark on the output |
How to use nine sliders without making a mess
Colour balance is the tool people reach for when a photo is nearly right, and the reason it goes wrong is almost always that they treat it as nine independent problems rather than one. Work in order. Start with the midtones, because that is where most of a photograph actually lives and because a midtone change moves the overall impression more than the other two combined. Move a single slider until it is obviously too far, then bring it back to about half of that; it is far easier to find the right amount by overshooting deliberately than by creeping up on it. Only once the midtones look right should you touch the other two ranges, and when you do, the most useful thing you can do with them is push them in opposite directions. Cool shadows with warm highlights is the split tone that most film stocks and most colour grades are built on, and it works because it mimics how daylight and shade actually differ. The reverse, warm shadows with cool highlights, reads as unsettling and is worth knowing for exactly that reason. Keep preserve luminosity switched on unless you have a specific reason not to, because otherwise every colour change is also quietly a brightness change and you will find yourself fighting your own adjustments. And finally, do this after white balance, not before. Correcting a global cast with nine range-specific sliders is possible but tedious, and the dedicated tool does it in one step.
- 1
Add your photos
Drag them in, click to browse, or paste with Ctrl+V. Fix the overall white balance first if the photo has an obvious cast.
- 2
Start with midtones
Most of a photograph lives there. Move one slider at a time and watch the comparison, then move to shadows and highlights.
- 3
Export
Leave preserve luminosity on so you are shifting colour rather than exposure. Save individually or take the batch as one ZIP.
Why the tonal ranges are exact
Weights that add to one
Every colour balance tool has to decide how much a given pixel counts as a shadow, a midtone or a highlight, and most use hand-tuned overlapping curves that add up to roughly one. Roughly is the problem: it means the three ranges together do not quite cover the picture, so moving all three sliders by the same amount is not the same as a global shift, and a shadow adjustment leaks slightly into the highlights. The weights here are the square of the darkness, the square of the brightness, and exactly whatever is left over, which by construction sums to one at every brightness. We check it at all 256 levels: the largest deviation from 1.000 was 0. That has two consequences you can rely on. A shadow slider has zero weight at pure white, so it cannot touch a blown highlight no matter how far you push it, and we verify that a pure white pixel comes back unchanged with the shadow sliders at maximum. And moving all three ranges together is mathematically identical to one uniform shift, which we also verify.
Shifting colour without shifting exposure
Adding to a colour channel makes the pixel brighter as well as more coloured, so a colour balance tool without a luminosity guard is also an exposure tool you did not ask for. With preserve luminosity on, each pixel is scaled after the shift by whatever single factor returns it to its original luminance, which changes the colour balance not at all and removes the brightness side effect entirely. On a test image with strong shifts on all three ranges, the mean luminance changed by 0.00 levels with the option on, against 6.5 with it off. The one place it cannot hold perfectly is where a channel would have to exceed 255 to keep the brightness; that is a limit of eight bit output rather than of the method, and it only appears at extreme settings.
What people use it for
Cinematic colour grading
Teal shadows with orange highlights is the dominant look in modern film, and it is built entirely from these nine values.
Film stock emulation
Most film looks come down to how a stock rendered shadows against highlights, which is exactly what split toning reproduces.
Fixing mixed lighting
When a photo has warm indoor light in the shadows and cool daylight in the highlights, a global correction cannot fix both. This can.
Matching photos to each other
Applying one set of values across a shoot pulls frames taken under slightly different conditions into agreement.
Brand and campaign consistency
A saved set of values applied as a batch gives a whole campaign one colour identity.
Portraits and skin tones
Small midtone moves on the cyan to red axis are the most direct control over how skin reads.
Faded and vintage looks
Lifting warmth into the shadows while cooling the highlights is the core of a faded print look.
Correcting a cast in one range
When only the shadows have gone green, the midtone and highlight sliders can be left completely alone.
Six tips worth knowing
Start with the midtones. That is where most of a photograph lives, and it moves the overall impression more than the other two ranges combined.
Overshoot a slider deliberately, then come back to about half. It is much easier than creeping up on the right value.
Push shadows and highlights in opposite directions. Cool shadows with warm highlights is the basis of most film looks and colour grades.
Leave preserve luminosity on unless you have a specific reason not to, or every colour change is also a brightness change.
Fix white balance first. Correcting a global cast with nine range-specific sliders is possible but far more work than it needs to be.
Apply one set of values across a whole shoot as a batch. Consistency between frames is most of what makes a set look graded.
Troubleshooting
My highlights changed when I moved the shadow slider
They should not. The shadow weight is exactly zero at pure white. What you are probably seeing is a bright midtone rather than a true highlight.
The photo got brighter as I added colour
Preserve luminosity is switched off. Turn it back on and each pixel keeps the brightness it had while its colour shifts.
Everything looks muddy
Too many sliders are pushed at once in the same direction. Reset, then move one slider on the midtones and build from there.
I cannot get rid of a cast
A cast that affects the whole picture equally is a white balance problem, not a colour balance one. Correct it with the white balance tool first.
Frequently asked questions
What does colour balance do?
It shifts colour separately in the dark, middle and bright parts of a photograph, using three sliders that each move between a pair of opposite colours.
How is it different from white balance?
White balance removes a single cast from the whole picture. Colour balance lets you put different colour into shadows, midtones and highlights, which is how colour grading works.
Why do the tonal weights matter?
Most tools use overlapping curves that add up to roughly one, which means a shadow adjustment leaks into the highlights. Here they sum to exactly one at every brightness; checked at all 256 levels, the largest deviation was 0.
Can a shadow slider affect a highlight?
No. The shadow weight is exactly zero at pure white, so a pure white pixel comes back unchanged with the shadow sliders at maximum. That is a mathematical guarantee, not a tendency.
What does preserve luminosity do?
It rescales each pixel after the colour shift so it keeps the brightness it had. Without it, adding colour also adds brightness. On a test image with strong shifts, mean luminance moved 0.00 levels with it on and 6.5 with it off.
Should I ever turn it off?
Rarely. It is useful when you deliberately want a lifted, washed out look, since letting the shadows brighten as they warm is part of that effect.
What is split toning?
Pushing shadows and highlights toward opposite colours, usually cool shadows and warm highlights. It is the basis of most film looks and of the teal and orange grade used throughout modern cinema.
Which range should I adjust first?
Midtones. Most of a photograph lives there, and a midtone change affects the overall impression more than shadows and highlights combined.
Do the sliders reset when I switch range?
No. All nine values are kept independently, so you can move between tabs freely while building a grade.
Why does everything look muddy?
Usually because several sliders are pushed the same way at once, which is a global cast rather than a grade. Reset and build from a single midtone adjustment.
Can I use this to fix a colour cast?
You can, but white balance is the right tool for a cast that affects the whole image. Use this when only one tonal range is wrong, such as green shadows under mixed lighting.
Are the sliders in CMY or RGB?
Both, and they are the same thing. Cyan is the opposite of red, magenta of green and yellow of blue, so each slider is one axis with a colour at each end.
Can I save my settings?
Not as a named preset yet, but the six built-in presets cover the common grades, and a batch applies whatever you have set to every image at once.
Are my photos uploaded to a server?
No. The tonal weighting and the correction both run in your browser using the canvas API. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Which format should I export?
Keep the original format for photographs. If the input was already JPEG, one more pass at quality 90 or above is fine.
Is transparency preserved?
Yes for PNG and WebP output. The alpha channel is untouched. JPG has no alpha, so transparent areas are filled with the background colour first.
Does luminosity preservation always hold exactly?
Almost. It cannot hold where a channel would need to exceed 255 to keep the brightness, which is a limit of eight bit output rather than of the method, and only appears at extreme settings.
Does it add a watermark or need an account?
No to both. No sign-up, no email wall, no daily limit and no watermark on the output.