Color grading basics: creating a mood with color
Color grading gives photos a consistent look and emotional tone. Learn split toning, the color grading wheels and popular palettes.
Color correction makes colors accurate. Color grading makes them expressive. Grading defines the mood of an image and the style of a photographer.
Correct first, then grade
Fix white balance and exposure before grading. A creative look built on a bad base looks muddy.
The color grading wheels
Lightroom’s Color Grading panel has wheels for shadows, midtones and highlights:
- Warm highlights and cool shadows create the classic cinematic teal and orange.
- Warm shadows and neutral highlights give a vintage feel.
- Desaturated cool tones feel calm or melancholic.
Balance and blending
The Balance slider shifts the effect toward shadows or highlights; Blending controls how smoothly they mix.
HSL for skin and skies
Use the HSL panel to keep skin tones natural while shifting other colors, such as turning greens toward yellow for a golden look.
Stay subtle
A light grade looks professional; a heavy one dates quickly.
Build a consistent look
Save your grade as a preset, then apply it across a series so a gallery or Instagram feed feels cohesive.
