editorial-photo-treatment

name	editorial-photo-treatment
description	Use when treating photography for editorial brand aesthetic. Treatment includes color grading, contrast, and subtle effects.

Editorial Photo Treatment

Editorial photos: muted saturation, controlled contrast, warm-cream cast or cool-steel cast. NEVER over-saturated or HDR-look.

Standard editorial treatment

1. Saturation: 85-95% of original (slight desaturation)
2. Contrast: 105-115% of original (slight punch)
3. Color cast: warm cream tint (10-15% on highlights) OR cool steel tint
4. Grain: 5-10% film grain overlay
5. Vignette: subtle 5-10% at edges
6. Sharpening: -5 to 0 (no extra sharpening, can soften slightly)

CSS filter for consistent treatment

.editorial-photo {
  filter: saturate(0.92) contrast(1.05) brightness(0.98);
  /* optional sepia hint: sepia(0.08) */
}

Apply globally for consistency. Combine with image-source treatment (color grading in image editor) for stronger effect.

What to avoid

1. Over-saturation (signals casual photography)
2. HDR / clarity boost (signals smartphone editing)
3. Blue-tone shift on people (cold, clinical, off-brand)
4. Smoothing/skin retouching (plastic look)
5. Heavy contrast/punchy filters (Instagram aesthetic)

Where this fits in the X3 empire

Photo treatment system for CardPrepAI brand photography.