So, why cyberpunk?
Honestly, I wanted to create something that was visually striking and artistically compelling, but it couldn't just be flashy for the sake of it. It had to be rooted in a real, established aesthetic. That’s when I landed on cyberpunk—specifically that Blade Runner vibe. It's all about those sharp contrasts: the "gritty" darkness on one side and the high-tech neon glow on the other.
Looking at these photos, some might think I’ve gone too far—that I’ve finally crossed that imaginary line between photography and digital art. But does that line even exist? And if it does, how much can it actually stretch? We won't really know until we push it to the limit.
The thing is, standard filters and basic edits just don't cut it here. Cyberpunk is about more than just slapping a purple tint over a photo. It’s about the interplay of light, texture, and deep shadows..
Concept: Five faces of the future
The result of this project is a series of five cyberpunk-style images. My goal wasn't just to release five variations of the same look; instead, each photo was produced with its own distinct approach. While they share a common aesthetic framework, the execution of each one is entirely different.
Neon Dreams
At the heart of cyberpunk is the iconic mix of pinkish-purple (magenta) and blue-cyan. In the digital art world, this combo is often called "Bi-color" or "Neon Night." I pushed the magenta into the highlights and kept the blues in the shadows and across the wet pavement, which is pretty much the textbook way to nail this look.
Night City Ember
While the previous look was a dreamy, synthwave classic (all purples and blues), this one is raw, high-contrast, and "dirty"—in the best way possible. I went for a gold and amber contrast in the storefronts and neon signs, paired with deep, almost black-blue shadows. It creates that classic cinematic "Orange & Teal" vibe, but pushed nearly to the extreme. The reflections on the ground work even better here than in the last shot; they look like liquid gold on black asphalt. In digital art circles, this is what people call the "Ray Tracing look."
By the way, it feels like a city in the middle of the night, but it was actually shot on a gray, rainy afternoon.
Totalitalian Noir
Cyberpunk isn’t just about the colors. You can capture the vibe without them, working strictly in black and white. Even then, you can turn a standard photo into pure dystopian noir.
The original shot had these strong, bold lines, which gave me a huge head start—stripping away the color made those shapes stand out even more. It almost looks like the interior of a starship, or at least a futuristic subway station. That figure in the distance feels like a lone dot in an impersonal, high-tech world.
The edit pulled out all the gritty details on the ground and the posters. It feels harsh, metallic, and very tactile, creating this sense that the advertisements are the "only source of life" in the entire space. As for the colors? You don't miss them at all.
Acid Rain
I'll be honest—I went back and forth on whether to even post this one. Even for me, this edit is a bit much. In some spots, the highlights are blown out, the details are lost, the shadows are completely crushed, and that yellow-green tint is incredibly aggressive. It doesn't even look like a photo anymore; it looks more like a digital illustration or a poster for a video game.
But in the end, I kept it. Want to know why? Because I wanted to include an extreme. Something that doesn't just tweak the photo but totally transforms it—something that takes a dull, gray shot and gives it an intense, unapologetic character. In this case, the goal isn't reality; it's style. I decided to take the risk. After all, in the art world, "over the top" is often just another way of saying "interesting."
Zero Kelvin
The final shot of the series. While the others were all about mood, rain, and city "grit," this one focuses on sterility, technology, and a cold future. I completely stripped out the warm tones—the yellows and oranges—which immediately shifted the scene from a typical "afternoon in the city" to "early morning in a hi-tech district." I wanted it to feel like a world run by AI, where everything is controlled and perfectly in order.
The blue tones emphasize the glass, concrete, and metal—the core materials of cyberpunk. But it’s not strictly monochromatic; the red sign and the green jacket on the person in the middle provide just the right amount of contrast to make the image pop.
A Quick Technical Note
These photos were edited in Luminar Neo by skylum.com. Why did I choose this specific software? Mostly for its efficiency and overall philosophy. In other editors, I often have to focus on how to achieve a certain look, but Luminar’s tools are designed so I can focus on what I want to achieve.
If you’re into this style, you can head over to my Etsy shop and download a set of presets to help you get a similar look for your own shots. So, what kind of photos work best for this? Look for street photography or urban architecture with strong, bold lines. It’s also ideal to shoot after it rains—reflections on wet pavement are a total game-changer. Finally, shooting in late afternoon light or during the "blue hour" will definitely help you get the best results.
https://silverpixellab.etsy.com/listing/4452858746
If you like this aesthetic and want to use it on your own photos without rebuilding the whole process from scratch, I’ve turned this project into a ready‑to‑use preset collection for Luminar Neo.
As a thank‑you for reading, you can get it with a small discount here: you can use the code HIVE25 to get 25% off everything in my shop.
