Color grading and color correction are two different steps in editing photos and videos. Even though they are separate processes, people often mix up the terms because they usually happen one after the other. To truly understand what they mean and why they matter, we need to look at what sets them apart.
And, when you take a digital photo, the colors might not always look the way you want. But, you can easily change and adjust the colors in photos. In this article, we'll explore the difference between color correction and color grading in photo editing.
What's Color Correction?
Color correction is the process of adjusting an image's colors to make them look more natural and realistic to the eye. Photo editors fix the colors in images by adjusting white and black levels, exposure, contrast, and saturation.
Color correction also makes sure that the lighting and skin tone look the same throughout the scene. It's the first step before diving into the creative world.
What's Color Grading?
Color grading is a step beyond color correction. Color correction makes sure the subject looks as it should, while color grading is used to create a certain style or mood. It gives you the power to tell a visual story with colors. You can manipulate the colors here to match the mood that you want to portray.
Imagine you want to give a warm, nostalgic vibe to your photos. You can adjust the colors, tones, and contrasts of your photo. You can achieve that exact artistic vision you are thinking of. It pushes the creative boundaries and transforms the image's overall feel.
What's The Difference?
The difference between Color Correction and Color Grading comes down to their purpose and processes. Here we break it down more clearly.
- Color Correction is about making sure your photo or video looks the same as reality, whereas Color grading is about setting the overall feel or atmosphere of your image.
- Color correction is used to fix color problems in photos or videos so that they look more like real life. For example, a red dress looks more like orange than red, and the white dress has a weird bluish tint.
Here, Color Correction fixes all those issues. You can adjust the white balance to ensure the red dress is the exact shade of red it should be. You can correct the colors so the dress looks bright and clean with a crisp look. The goal here is to make sure all photos come out with accurate colors.
- Color Grading gives that cohesive look to your high-end online clothing brand so that it perfectly aligns with the brand's aesthetic.
Suppose you want a warm tone for all of your images. It will create a luxurious feel for your e-commerce product images. Here, you can desaturate the colors and add a slight golden hue to evoke that sense of exclusivity.
After Color Grading, all your images will have that luxurious identity. It gives your product photos that subtle richness that makes all your products feel high-end at a glance. All are cohesive and enticing for your customers. And that you can achieve from Color Grading.
Why Color Correct Your Photos?
In the creative world of e-commerce business, Color Correction is a necessity. It can make or break a product's sales.
- When your target customers buy online they entirely rely on the photos you share on the online platform. Color correction matters for product images because customers need to clearly see what they're buying.
- A well color-corrected photo always gives the impression of a polished and professional outlook. Having consistent product photos is important for gaining your customers' trust and making your brand stand out.
- Clean and polished photos are more likely to turn potential customers into real ones. If the color of your photos is not accurate, it can undermine all your marketing efforts. You need color correction to make and look your product images more lively and true to real life.
- Color-corrected images help you to minimize the gap between the online experience and real life.
Why Color Grade Your Photos?
Color grading goes beyond just looking aesthetic, it can make the photos look amazing. It can create a specific mood for your brand.
- You must believe that your brand is more than what you sell. It's the experience you are giving to your customers. Color grading allows you to be consistent with that image.
- If the image you took doesn't convey the look you're aiming for, you can adjust the colors to match your preference. This process is called color grading.
- Colors always have a way of resonating with feelings and emotions. It can influence how a customer feels and sees your brand. The warm tone gives them a cozy vibe and the blue tone gives a sense of calmness. It's your choice which tone you select for your brand, and the rest will be done by Color Grading. But for ecommerce products to look like reality is the most important. Color grading is mostly used for film making and portrait image.
- In this crowded online marketplace, you need to stand out from the competitors. Color grading can help you achieve that by giving you that distinctive set of tones. Whether you want a vintage, retro, or modern look, Color Grading can instantly make your brand recognizable with its unique color palette.
Different Types of Color Correction Software
Well, you can use several powerful software options for doing Color Correction of your photos. From newbie to professional-grade, these software options are suitable for different needs.
1. Adobe Lightroom
This photo-editing software is best for photographers and e-commerce businesses. This is the straightforward and most efficient software you can get.
This software is best known for its user-friendly interface and powerful color correction tools.
2. Adobe Photoshop
For those who need to do high-quality, professional-level color correction, Photoshop is for them.
This one is best for advanced users so they can have detailed control over color correction. It also offers extensive color correction functionalities, such as levels, curves, hue/saturation, and selective color adjustment, etc.
3. Luminar AI
This is the best AI-assisted Color Correction tool. This software uses artificial intelligence to simplify the whole color correction process for you. It can easily make quick adjustments to your photo with AI-powered enhancements besides the traditional color correction functionalities.
How to Color Grade in Photoshop
There are several ways you can do color grading for your photos. Here's a simple step-by-step guide for you.
1. Start with a Vision
Before jumping into color grading, you must have a clear vision of what you exactly want. Do you want a warm, vintage feel or a cool, modern look? You can research some inspiration as well to get your vision straight.
2. Balance the Tones
Start with the basic adjustments. Open the levels or curves to fine-tune the image's tonal range. Adjust the shadows, midtones, and highlights of the photo to get a good color balance.
3. Understand Your Tools
There is a range of tools specifically designed for color grading. Understanding hue, saturation,shadow, highlights is necessary to color grade.
4. Experiment and Enjoy the Process
Don't be afraid to try out different settings and adjustments. Always experiment to see what works best for your image. Don't be afraid to mess up along the way; that's how you will learn.
Remember, once you find the perfect color grade you love, save it as a preset to use in the future. This will help you maintain consistency and save you a lot of time.
Using LUTs for Color Grading
A LUT, or Look-up Table, is like a mathematical formula. It helps to map input colors to output. In color grading, such methods apply to do color adjustments to an image or perhaps a video. It can help alter the color balance, brightness, contrast, and more.
Photoshop comes with several built-in LUTs. But you can also load your own.
You can achieve an aesthetic look for your product photo by using LUT.
- In your Photoshop, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Color Lookup. Here you can add a color lookup adjustment layer to the layer panel.
- From the properties panel, you can choose 3DLUT File to check out the available list of LUTs.
- Now choose a LUT from the list, or select Load 3D LUT to navigate to your own LUT file from the computer.
- Adjust the LUT intensity by changing the opacity. This will allow you to fine-tune your image effect.
- You can also use a Layer mask to apply LUT selectively to certain areas of the image.
Where to Outsource Color Correction and Grading Services?
There are many sources to outsource color correction and color grading work. For example, Professional photo editing companies, freelancers etc.
BZM Graphics is a professional photo and video editing company. We have been doing this since 2015. We specialize in color correction and grading for ecommerce products and editorial.
Conclusion
So in this difference guide, we saw that both Color Correction and Color Grading are two sides of the coin. You need both to achieve that distinctive look for your images. Correction fixes colors to make them look natural, while grading changes colors to give a special specific style.
We hope this article helped you understand color grading better.
