Color wheels

Color wheels are round dials that let you pick a color per tonal region: shadows, midtones and highlights. You drag a point out from the center toward the color you want to add, and the further you drag, the stronger the effect. It's the visual way to color grade.

In the Lightroom color grading panel you'll find three wheels plus a global one. Drag the shadow wheel toward blue and the highlight wheel toward orange for a classic cinematic look. The slider under each wheel controls the brightness of that tonal region. Work subtly and move between the wheels until the colors play off each other nicely.

Related terms

Color grading 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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