Color grading

Color grading is the deliberate adding of color tints to your photo's shadows, midtones and highlights to create a certain mood. Unlike color correction, which makes colors neutral and accurate, grading is about look and feel. Think warm highlights and cool shadows.

In Lightroom you do this in the color grading panel with three color wheels for shadows, midtones and highlights. Start with a subtle color in the shadows, then add a complementary color in the highlights and watch the photo come to life. The famous cinematic look is teal in the shadows and orange in the skin tones. Many of the presets on this site are, at heart, thoughtful color grades you get in one click.

Read also the in-depth explanation: Color grading explained.

Related terms

Color wheels Color balance Split toning RGB curves LUT

Prefer a look in one click?

The presets on this site set these adjustments up for you as a starting point, which you then fine-tune to taste.

Cinematische looks (Cinemascope)

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