What is Color Grading?

Sometimes Photos & videos captured by the camera show different colors compared to real life. The movie director’s view after filming is very different from what the audience sees in theaters. It requires Professional editing to fix these color issues. This is where Color Grading comes in for editing and recreating the actual colors similar to real life.

This article explains color grading, its significance, and how it differs from color correction.

What is Color Grading?

Color grading involves adjusting the colors, contrast, and saturation in images or videos. This process enhances their style. It also makes them more visually appealing and striking. The color grading process includes colors, contrast, saturation, hue, details, etc., to enhance the quality of the image/video. You can edit images and videos to make them look more realistic and appealing. 

You can edit images or videos by changing light, darkness, color, brightness, and shadows for a cinematic look. Color grading enhances films by adding cinematic effects, making visuals more appealing and engaging for viewers.

Why do you need Color Grading?

There are two main reasons to use color grading. First, you need to understand that the camera can’t capture the image/video with cinematic effects as per requirement. The camera’s main job is to capture the scene well, offering flexibility. However, it also creates issues like color differences, dust, and lighting problems that need to be fixed during editing. Color grading lets people change how images or videos look. It helps match their style and improves quality. It also adds realistic, cinematic effects. Color grading is important for improving the appearance of your image or video. It helps fix issues like bad lighting, dust, and color differences.

Difference between Color Grading & Color Correction

There’s a difference between both, and many people are confused about the difference. Let’s find out!

Color Correction

Color correction changes photos or videos to make their colors look like real life. This helps them appear accurate and true to what we see. It’s about changing the colors of the photo or video to make it look more appealing and attractive. Color correction is required to get back actual colors in photos/videos.

Color Grading

Color grading is used after color correction. Color grading improves photos and videos. It adjusts colors, contrast, saturation, and other details. This makes the images more attractive and eye-catching. It’s mainly used to enhance the visual appearance of the image/video in the most eye-catching way.

What software’s can be useful for color grading?

There are so many tools available for color grading, but we’ve handpicked some topmost color grading software’s. 

If you need a color grading tool for beginners, Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro are great options. They offer important features that help with color grading for both photos and videos. DaVinci Resolve is a good option for experienced editors. It offers advanced color grading and detailed editing features. It also includes visual effects (VFX). Professional photographers usually choose Adobe Photoshop because it has all the important tools needed for great color grading.

If you are new to photo editing, consider using Adobe Lightroom. It is great for making simple adjustments. You can easily change saturation, contrast, exposure, hue, and color balance. The Color Grading Central tool is highly recommended. It is great for anyone who needs a professional color grading tool. This tool is useful for film editing and photography. It is the most advanced software available, complete with tutorials and workshops to help you master professional editing techniques.

How to do Color Grading? 

Pick any software for editing your images. Keep important factors in mind when you adjust colors. Let’s see!

• White Balance: You need to focus on photo/video white balance because it handles the overall look. So adjust the white balance according to look and feel.

• Fix color differences to make them match and look brighter and more appealing.

• Brightness & Contrast: These two are essential factors to enhance the quality of photos/videos. Adjust the brightness and contrast as per the image of lightning and darkness. 

• Curves: Curves help to control shadow, tones, highlights, colors, and other adjustments that require better quality.

Final Verdict

Color grading improves the quality of images and videos, making them look better and more visually appealing. 

You can edit your photos yourself. Alternatively, you can hire a professional service like Photo Editing Company. They can improve the quality of your photos and videos, making them more appealing and flawless. Contact us today to use our professional photo editing services at affordable prices.
Read Next ; The Beginners Guide in Product Photo Editing