Add a silver-retention grade
The effect builds a contrast-expanded luminance layer from the source and combines it with the color image through an overlay relationship. Shadows and highlights gain density while color separation drops, which is the tonal signature of a print where the silver was never bleached away.
Bypass strength sets how much of that monochrome layer reaches the final blend. Silver density controls the contrast curve inside the layer itself, Color retention restores channel differences after the blend, and Contrast changes the final tonal spread.
The film process behind the look
Bleach bypass comes from motion-picture labs. Skipping or weakening the bleach step leaves metallic silver in the emulsion next to the color dyes, which stacks a black-and-white image on top of the color one. Cinematographers used variants of the process on films such as Saving Private Ryan and Se7en to get pale, dense, grainy color.
Because the silver sits in the same frame as the dyes, the look is not a plain desaturation. Contrast rises exactly where color falls, and that coupling is what the strength and density controls recreate.
Example: flat overcast portrait
Starting from the defaults, raise Silver density to about 70 so midtone texture separates, then pull Color retention down toward 20 for a steel-gray result. If skin turns lifeless, raise Color retention rather than lowering Bypass strength, because strength also removes the density that carries the look.
For product shots where one brand color must survive, keep Bypass strength high and move Color retention up until only that hue reads clearly against the muted rest.
Preserve highlight and shadow detail
Set Silver density before the final Contrast pass because both controls push values toward clipping. Lower density when bright faces or windows lose gradation. Watch the darkest areas too: crushed shadows hide noise well but also swallow hair, fabric, and background separation. Compare against the source with the Show before toggle under the preview before exporting.