Color correction and color grading are two of the most important processes used in both photography and videography for visualizing a designer’s creative vision.

It’s through these creative processes that world-renowned photographers and Hollywood movie directors create art that conveys different moods and stories. Needless to say, every designer and editor must have a proper understanding of these concepts in order to create designs, photos, and videos that shape the viewer’s experience.

In this post, we take an in-depth look at color correction and color grading to help you understand what these processes are really about. And how to use them effectively in your workflow with tips and examples.

Let’s get started.

What is Color Correction?

(Credit: FXHome)

When capturing photos and shooting videos, you often have to work under different weather and lighting conditions. This affects the consistency of your footage. You can capture one photo and take another ten minutes later and they will look completely different. This is where color correction comes into play.

Color correction is all about fixing the lighting and colors of your photos and videos to create a standardized look and feel. This creates a consistent look across all your photos or video footage and allows you to achieve the look that you originally wanted to create.

Why Is Color Correction Important?

There are many layers in color correction that come together to help create that perfect look for photos and videos. It not only fixes the imbalances of color and lighting, but it also makes sure skin tones look natural and realistic as well.

This is especially important in video editing as you combine clips from multiple footage and scenes to create a consistent look. And it has a strong impact on wedding photography, fashion photoshoots, and more as well.

Examples of Color Correction

Some of the best examples of color correction can be seen in popular magazine photoshoots.

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You’ll notice how every one of those photos has a consistent look all across, despite having shot in different backdrops and sceneries.

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In photography, color correction is more about fixing the imperfections of lighting, contrast, and exposure. Of course, adjusting and enhancing colors is also part of the process.

When Should You Use Color Correction?

Whether you’re editing photos from a photoshoot or making a YouTube video, color correction should be a part of your workflow whenever you’re working with raw footage. It will help create a unified look all across your photos and video footage by fixing all the color imperfections, over and underexposure, lighting conditions, and more.

Tools Used for Color Correction

You can use tools like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Affinity Photo, and Capture One for color-correcting photos. For videos, Adobe Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Filmora, HitFilm, and various other video editing software have tools for color-correcting your footage.

What is Color Grading?

(Credit: Sony, Warner Bros. Pictures / Blade Runner 2049)

If you’ve watched movies like Blade Runner, Mad Max, Interstellar, or any Wes Anderson film, you’ll know the power of color grading and what it can truly achieve.

Unlike color correction, color grading is not limited to a few technical aspects nor restricted to creating a natural look. With color grading, you get to be more creative and create your own unique looks and feels for your creations.

Artists, photographers, and filmmakers use color grading to evoke emotions as well as to create moody, cinematic, and atmospheric vibes.

What is Color Grading in Photography?

Similar to color grading in movies, color grading in photography is also used to bring the photographer’s vision to life. It allows the artist to create bold looks that are otherwise impossible to create just with the camera and lighting.

Color grading not only enhances the visual appeal of photos but also aids in storytelling and creating each and every artist’s distinctive look.

Color Grading Examples

You’ll find many clear examples of color grading in popular movies. Film directors like Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, Denis Villeneuve, and Martin Scorsese are masters of creating cinematic masterpieces with the help of color grading.

(Credit: Color Palette Cinema/ Grand Budapest Hotel)

(Credit: Color Palette Cinema / Peaky Blinders)

In films, color grading is used to create a consistent feel but the color tones and schemes will differ based on the type of mood and look the director wants to achieve in different scenes.

(Credit: Unsplash)

In photography, color grading is part of creating art. In this example, you can see how color grading is used to transform an ordinary photo into a horror-themed artwork.

When Should You Use Color Grading?

If you want to make your videos and photos look more creative, artistic, and visually vibrant, color grading is a process you should learn to master.

Color grading is also useful when creating different looks, whether it’s an imaginative cyberpunk future or a classic vintage feel.

Tools Used for Color Grading

Color grading can be achieved using the same tools you use for color correction. All popular graphics editing and video editing software provides you with the necessary tools for color grading.

With pre-made color lookup tables, also known as LUTs, you can make your color grading process much simpler. Color grading LUTs come with pre-defined color scenes that instantly color grade your photos and videos. They also allow you to easily copy color looks from popular artists and movies as well.

Color Correction vs Color Grading: Key Differences

Color correction is a standard process in video and photo editing workflow. And it’s also the first step in the color grading process.

Color grading is all about bringing your creative vision to life. It allows you to create moody and cinematic looks for your photos and videos. Different cinematographers, photographers, designers, and artists have their own unique styles of color grading. For example, popular Hollywood director Wes Anderson is known for his iconic and intense color grading looks used in his movies.

However, it’s important to remember that you shouldn’t attempt to color grade a photo or video footage without color correcting first. Otherwise, your color grading will not look consistent.

In Conclusion

In general, color correction and color grading look similar but they are very different processes. One is a technical process for creating a standard look while the other is all about letting your creativity run wild.

As a professional, you should also learn to develop your own distinctive style of color grading. It’s one of the ways brilliant film directors, photographers, and designers build authority and set themselves apart from the rest.