One-Stop Solution to Tackle Color Grading Photos

Color grading is the process of changing and enhancing colors in a picture. Fixing color grades on photos is an integral part of photo editing, as it can often be used to change the mood or feeling that people get when viewing your pictures. When you think about how much work goes into making digital images look like they are taken with film, it's easy to see why this technique has become so popular amongst photographers.

Part 1: What Is Color Grading?

To fix color grading photos, you need to know what color grading is. Color grading can be used to emphasize a specific mood or feeling in your photo, and it is often necessary when the natural light source doesn't adequately capture the desired effect. Fixing color grades on photos requires taking into account many different aspects of an image. Sometimes, just one single element needs to be adjusted so that others will fall into place around it.

In other words, color grading is a technique that can be used to stylize an image by adjusting the settings. Typically, this means making adjustments such as 'crushing' black tones or lightening one specific face in order for it to stand out more.

For this reason, fixing color grades on photos may take some time before you get the results you are looking for. Still, with practice, patience, and perseverance, you'll soon find yourself getting better at applying fixes quicker than ever.

What's the Difference Between Color Correction and Color Grading?

Even though they may sound similar, color correcting and grading are two very different things.

Color correction is the process of fixing an image to remove any unwanted colors or effects for it to look more natural. Fixing color grades on photos usually requires a lot of editing because there are many aspects that need adjusting to complement one another well. However, if all you're looking to do is fix some pesky red-eye, then this can be done relatively quickly.

In addition, fixing and retouching your images doesn't have to look super polished as long as it's clean constantly. Specifics such as skin smoothing or removing blemishes might not be necessary for everyone. Still, we find these two things beneficial when working with clients who want their portraits perfected before making the final print product.

Meanwhile, color grading is a totally different beast and is more intensive. Fixing your color grading photos can be tricky to get the right look.

So, what does this mean in terms of process?

What sets the mood of a scene more than anything else? Color grading. The way colors are used can affect how viewers perceive what they see on screen, and this is where color graders come into play. They're creative minds who make artistic decisions about how best to represent your story through colorful visuals that live up to their name: "color." DOPs and directors rely heavily on these artists for guidance; it's critical work because, after all, everything seen by audiences should be imbued with meaning, whether intentional or not.

Overall, Color grading is a creative process that can change the mood of your footage. For example, if you wanted to convey excitement or happiness in your film and it's not coming across well through dialogue or performance - color grade some shots with warmer colors like oranges and yellows so audiences will be reminded about those emotions too.

Part 2: How to Use It for Better Photos?

1) Adobe Photoshop

In Adobe Photoshop, there is a feature called Adobe Camera Raw that allows you to adjust the color of an image and see how it will look in different scenarios. Many professionals use Adobe Camera Raw for color grading. Basically, what happens here is that: We'll take a high-contrast photo with too much saturation and make adjustments so that the image has more natural colors. This works great if you're trying to create moods or emphasize certain things in your photos.

The Adobe Camera Raw is a free photo processing software.

It comes bundled with Adobe Photoshop, and you can find it by going to "File > Open." Find your Image in Adobe Camera Raw and click the desired adjustments tab (exposure, white balance, highlights). Change any of the settings. Choose "Save Images and Close" from Adobe Camera Raw's dropdown menu to save the image.

Besides, the Adobe Photoshop can also be used to repair grainy photos.

2) GIMP

If you're looking to create professional-looking color grading for your videos, GIMP is a great tool. GIMP can be used to tweak the colors of an image or video to match the desired mood. GIMP's tools are versatile and easy enough that even not too experienced users should be able to use them without difficulty.

GIMP has all of the essential tools needed to create a good color grade, such as curves and filters, but it also offers some more advanced features like layers and plug-ins that are perfect if you want something more customized than what GIMP offers default. GIMP can be used for many types of image editing and color grading, not just video. GIMP is a great way to improve your videos without adding too much time to the process.

GIMP is an open-source, free software package that runs on Linux or Windows operating systems (via emulation). It has been in development for more than 20 years, so GIMP has been refined as a compelling and easy-to-use software.

In GIMP, you can use various tools for adjusting colors, such as curves or filters. Curves are best if you want to adjust the brightness of an image without changing its contrast, while a filter is good if what you need is something like a sepia tone effect (although GIMP also offers presets). You'll find plug-ins helpful, too, because these allow GIMP to edit formats GIMP doesn't natively support.

3) Skylum Luminar

Skylum Luminar has tools that allow you to use different types of color grading for your footage, including cinematic and vintage styles. Skylum Luminar also lets you adjust the contrast, saturation, and brightness levels to get just the right look for your video or photo.

In Skylum Luminar, you can adjust the contrast and saturation levels to get just the right look for your video or photo. Skylum Luminar also lets you choose from various filters that add unique looks to your footage, including cinematic and vintage styles.

Skylum Luminar is available in both Mac and PC versions with powerful features like non-destructive editing, batch processing capabilities, proxy files support (for slower computers), RAW image formats (.NEF, DNG) compatibility as well as Photoshop plug-ins.

4) Adobe Lightroom

Colors can be a potent tool in photography. They can change the mood, set the tone, and even make or break an image. The color grading feature in Adobe Lightroom is one of those tools that allows you to control color temperature and saturation with just a few clicks.

Adjusting the color temperature and tinting

To color grade an image, you first need to select the color temperature. The color temperature will control how cool or warm your photo is and can create a dramatic feeling in specific scenarios such as nighttime photography with streetlights. You'll want to experiment here until you find what works best for each image individually.

Tinting changes the color of whites without affecting other colors, so it's a fun way to add some more contrast or make an image look cooler (or warmer). Color temperature has two main options: neutral and warm. Neutral results in a yellowish-white light while warm makes everything appear less pale by adding orange tones.

The color tab on the right side of Lightroom is where all your basic editing happens. You can edit color levels with color sliders and make corrections to specific colors by adjusting their individual channels (red, green, blue). For example, if you want everything in an image to be more vibrant but blues are looking a little bit too bright, then you can find the Blue channel slider and lower it while boosting reds or greens - this will give everything else in the photo that extra oomph without making anything look unnatural.

Adjusting these sliders lets you create some cool effects like adding color overlay filters onto images for something stylized or warming things up before going live on social media.

Adjusting color saturation

Next, it's time for color saturation. This is where things start getting interesting because this affects not just colors but tones too. Color saturation changes the amount of color that appears on the screen depending on how much you increase or decrease it. So be careful if using images with lots of colors like flowers. On top of all that, there are also specific sliders dedicated specifically to greens and blues, which automatically pull those colors to whatever color you choose, which is great if you're making color edits with these colors.

For color grading images in Adobe Lightroom and how to use color grading features, like color overlays filters - here how you can do it:

1. The first thing you need to do is open up the Develop module of your photo library from within Lightroom by clicking on the + symbol at the bottom left of your screen or going through the File > Library menu then selecting “Develop Module.”

2. Next just select one image and open it up for editing with a click on image > Edit In > Open as.

3. Now that we have our raw color image opened, we can color grade by clicking on the Color tab at the top of your screen.

4. You will want to scroll down to “Hue/Saturation” and select that option from a dropdown menu containing various color adjustments.

5. The Hue slider adjusts color saturation for reds, blues, etc., while adjusting the Saturation slider changes how much color is applied throughout all colors in your photo (whites turn pink when too high).

By the way, if you want to fix overexposed photos, lightroom and photoshop also can help you.

Part 3: Additional Color Grading Tips

The Color Grade is an essential part of the Color Correction process. Color grading can be used to make a scene more emotional, or it can be used for stylistic purposes.

1. Be aware of your creative goals

When starting any project, make sure that you are aware of any creative goals beforehand and have a clear idea about what you want to accomplish with the color grade.

2. Balance exposure and color temperature

You may need to balance exposure and color temperature in order to achieve an effective color grade when working with footage from multiple sources. Color correction is primarily done in two different ways; using LUTs (Look Up Tables) or by adjusting individual colors on the screen manually until they are correct and balanced enough.

3. Pay attention to midtones

When correcting exposure, start by looking at midtones first, as this will provide better detail than just boosting shadows or highlights alone. The most important thing about adjusting color is understanding what each adjustment you’re making does to the color.

4. Understand color adjustments

Color is a complex medium and can be challenging to understand, so understanding how different adjustments interact with one another will help you create better results.

5. Emphasize color corrections

Color correction should never be an afterthought. Always make sure that any footage has been graded as much as possible before exporting it or uploading it online for distribution. Otherwise, your viewers may experience eye strain from the jarring contrast between colors on screen and what they are used to seeing in their natural environment.

6. Practice makes perfect

Color grading is an art and not a science, so don't get discouraged if your initial attempts at color grading aren't perfect. Color can be tricky to master, but the more you practice, the better it will become.

What’s More? What to Do to Fix Corrupt Photos?

One of the most reliable tools to repair corrupt or damaged photos is Wondershare Repairit. The tool has a nice, intuitive interface that quickly loads up many images at once for quick fixes, including removing red eyes in just seconds. Users have access to previewing their repaired work before saving it off anywhere they like on any device. It supports all types of JPEG or JPG files and works on every major version of Mac and Windows.

To use Wondershare Repairit, follow these steps to fix corrupt photos:

Step 1: Add Files

Launch Wondershare Repairit on your PC or Mac. Click the “Add File” button on the interface and navigate to folders where you stored the damaged JPEG files to load. You can also pull multiple files to the application if you want.

Step 2: Start the Repairing Process

After the images are loaded, you can add additional files or delete any JPEG files. Done that, click the “Repair” button. The repairing process will begin. Be patient and see as Wondershare Repairit repairs all the loaded photos and restores them. Don’t close the application at this step, as the photos will get corrupted.

Step 3: Save Repaired Files

When the process is completed, the interface will prompt you to preview the repaired files. Select the files that you wish to restore and hit the “Save Repaired Files” button to save the files to your desired location.

That’s it! Your precious memory has been regained.

Further Reading:

1. Fix JPEG Colour Change Export in Photoshop CC.

2. Fix Low-resolution Photos.

Conclusion:

Do you want to give your photos that perfect, polished look? Well, color grading is the answer. We know it can seem daunting at first glance because of all the different aspects of fixing a photo's grade - but don't worry! With some practice and patience (and perseverance!), we bet you'll be able to do this yourself with ease. And if you’re looking for the perfect tool to repair or restores your precious photos, don’t forget to give Wondershare Repairit a try. It is a great, and reliable tool with an easy-to-use, and user-friendly interface, and anybody can use without any technical experience.