How to Use Color Grading/Correction in Photoshop: Image and Video Guide

Color grading in Photoshop is a fantastic tool for improving visual appeal. Properly adjusting the color and tone of an image makes it impressive. This guide will explain in detail how to use Photoshop and CapCut for color grading and color correction. Let's start!

Adobe Photoshop: Powerful color grading and correction software

Adobe Photoshop is a versatile and popular software for color grading and color correction. Its range of features includes precise selection tools, advanced layer management, and a variety of filters and effects. Moreover, the color grading features allow users to adjust the brightness and contrast and test with different colors.



How to perform color grading in Photoshop for images

Step
1. Open your image
2. You must import the image to start Adobe Photoshop color correction and grading. To do this, open Adobe Photoshop, click "File," and select "Open" from the drop-down menu. Then, go to the location of your image and click "Open."
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Step
4. Apply color grading for images
5. Use curve adjustment
6. To use curve adjustments, go to "Layer," then select "New Adjustment Layer," and then select "Curves." You can adjust the curve by changing the contrast and brightness of the image.
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8. Use hue/saturation adjustments
9. To access this feature, go to "Adjustments" and click on "Hue/Saturation." Then, the sliders adjust the hue, saturation, and lightness.
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11. Use photo filters
12. Select "Adjustments" and then "Photo Filter." Now, you can choose any filter from the available options or create your own custom color.
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Step
14. Save your work
15. Once satisfied with your image, go to "File," then "Export," and then click "Export As." Now, choose the desired image quality and resolution. After that, click "Export" to save the file on your PC.
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How to use color correction in Photoshop for videos

Step
1. Open your video
2. The first step in color correction is to import your video. Open Photoshop, click "File," and select your desired video. The video will appear on your Timeline panel. To convert the video into segments, click "Convert Video to Layers."
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Step
4. Apply and adjust layers
5. Adjusting the levels, curves, and color balance is vital to correcting the video's brightness and contrast. To change these three, go to "Layers" and then select "New Adjustment Layer." After that, you can either choose "Levels" to enhance the brightness, "Curves" to improve the depth of color, or "Color balance" to adjust the overall shadows and highlights.
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Step
7. Export the video
8. To export the video, go to "File," then "Export," and then click "Render." Choose your desired format and quality, then click "Render" to save the video on your PC.
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Pros and cons of Photoshop

Photoshop is a great tool for auto-color correction and color grading. However, the major problem with color grading in Photoshop is that it requires a high system to run smoothly. Moreover, it requires a high level of editing skills from users and is not suitable for novices. So, if you want to eliminate these two problems, consider CapCut as an alternative, which has been discussed in the next section.

CapCut: Make color grading and color correction for videos easier

If you want the perfect color grading and color correction software, try CapCut. Its key features include skin tone protection, video filters and effects, and hue and saturation (HSL) adjustment. Moreover, it offers professional look-up tables (LUTs) for color grading. It is a great video editing tool that provides all the key features of color grading and correction without high system requirements.

Try CapCut and transform your videos through color grading and correction:

Steps to use CapCut for video color grading

Step
1. Import the video file
2. Start CapCut and click "Import" to add videos from your computer. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the files in the software.
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Step
4. Apply color grading
5. Using CapCut, you can apply color grading using basic adjustments, HSL, and a color wheel. To use them, click on the timeline and select "Adjustment." To apply basic adjustments, click "Basic" to modify the brightness and contrast. Now, you can choose the "HSL" tab to change individual colors' hue, brightness, and lightness. You can also choose "Color wheels" to adjust the shadows and highlights to give your video a more dynamic look.
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Step
7. Export and share
8. Once you are satisfied with the video, click "Export" in the top right corner of the screen. Adjust the format and quality of the video, then click "Export" to save it on your PC.
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Features

• Skin tone protection: CapCut ensures that the overall skin tones are natural when color adjustment. Moreover, it also preserves the facial features.
• LUT: CapCut's LUT feature utilizes the pre-designed color grading presets to give videos a consistent look.
• Adjustment: CapCut features basic adjustment tools, like brightness and contrast adjustment, improving the video's overall appearance.
• HSL: CapCut controls individual colors by adjusting the hue, saturation, and lightness. HSL helps you to achieve color balance.
• Curves: CapCut provides control over the color tones through the RGB curves. This feature also enhances video quality by changing the brightness and contrast.
• Color wheel: CapCut's color wheel feature allows you to adjust the shadows and highlights in the video. This helps you to get your desired visual effects and enhances the visual appeal.

After learning the above methods for color grading and correction, let us continue to explore the benefits of color grading in vision.

Benefits of color grading in visual media

• Improves the mood and atmosphere: Color grading sets your videos' overall mood and tone, allowing you to align the tone with the video's intended purpose.
• Corrects color imbalances: Color grading helps to balance all the colors and ensures no imbalances. This enhances the visual appeal of the video and makes it attractive.
• Highlights the important elements: Color grading adjusts the video's color, contrast, and brightness. It draws attention to important details, helping viewers focus on the video.

Conclusion

Color grading and color correction are essential because they improve the video's atmosphere, color balance, and other visual imperfections. Color grading and correction in Photoshop have several advantages for images and videos, like detailed color adjustments, control over color balance, and several tools to ensure efficient color grading and correction. However, the main limitation of Photoshop is that it requires high system requirements. To counter this problem, consider using its alternative, CapCut, for color grading or color correction. It offers all the key features of color grading and correction in Photoshop at lower system requirements. So, try CapCut and transform your video colors with ease!

FAQs

1. How to adjust only specific colors to an image in Photoshop?
2. When doing color grading in Photoshop, you need to use the "Hue/Saturation" adjustment layer to adjust specific colors. Go to "Adjustments," then to "New Adjustment layer," and then click "Hue/Saturation." Use the HSL properties to change specific colors while keeping the others unaffected. This helps with precise color balancing and color correction.
3. What tones can color balance adjust in Photoshop?
4. When color grading in Photoshop, the color balance adjusts colors in shadows, mid-tones, and highlights. You can shift the color scheme to specific colors by manipulating each slider. This feature is essential to achieving color balance and enhancing visual harmony.
5. What are the popular color correction plugins for Photoshop?

There are several popular color grading and color correction plugins for Photoshop. The following are some popular Photoshop color grading and color correction plugins:

• Color Finale: This plugin offers advanced color grading features, such as support for LUT and detailed color adjustment features.
• Nik Collection by DxO: This plugin offers several fantastic color correction tools and filters for accurate adjustments.
• ON1 Effects: ON1 Effects offers customizable presets for great results. Moreover, it provides various color correction and enhancement features to give your videos a professional look.