Luxury 02 Refined Black and White | Editorial Black and White Preset for Lightroom Mobile & Desktop

LV2 is for fashion, architectural, and portrait photographers who want a refined editorial black and white that feels timeless and considered rather than dramatic and expressive.

For photographers who find B-series black and white too bold and want a more restrained monochrome quality within the luxury aesthetic.

The tonal quality is editorial, not dramatic. LV2's clean tonal range references the quality of editorial photography rather than documentary or artistic black and white.

It is the most distinctive preset in the Luxury Archive. The monochrome direction within a primarily colour collection makes LV2 immediately distinctive.

It pairs with LV1 and LV3 for complete coverage. Colour content gets LV1 or LV3. Monochrome editorial content gets LV2. The same collection handles both.

1 × LV2 Refined Black and White DNG file — for Lightroom Mobile
1 × LV2 Refined Black and White XMP file — for Lightroom Classic
Installation guide
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This preset captures the essence of classic high-speed black-and-white film stocks that were pushed in development to achieve a bright, ethereal glow. It is the professional answer for photographers who want a monochrome look that feels "breathable" rather than heavy or dark. By emulating the delicate grain and soft highlight compression of premium analog silver-halide emulsions characterized by their luminous mid-tones and "silvery" highlights LV2 ensures your photos feel like a timeless piece of art. It transforms modern digital files into elegant heirlooms, reminiscent of iconic fashion editorials and high-end gallery archives.

Step 1 — White balance is less critical for black and white. Any white balance setting converts to the same monochrome result. However, Tint correction (+4 to +6) before applying can affect the relative luminosity of different colour channels in the conversion — a slight magenta Tint lift can improve skin tone rendering.

Step 2 — Apply LV2 Refined Black and White. The editorial monochrome conversion and clean tonal structure apply simultaneously.

Step 3 — Adjust Exposure per photo. LV2's tonal structure reads correctly at the calibrated exposure — adjust Exposure ±0.2 as needed per photo.

For architectural photography: LV2 at 88-90% strength. The clean tonal quality suits architectural subjects directly — glass, concrete, and geometric forms all benefit from the refined black and white.

On phone photos: 85% strength.

Is LV2 the same as just removing colour in Lightroom? No — LV2 has calibrated black and white conversion values, tonal curve, and grain that produce the editorial quality. Simply desaturating in Lightroom produces a flat, unintentional result. LV2's conversion is specifically calibrated for the refined editorial direction.

Does LV2 work for portrait photography? Yes for editorial portrait photography where the monochrome quality suits the context. The clean tonal range maintains skin detail and tonal gradation well.