Lightroom Classic · Lesson 16 Color Grading
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Lightroom Classic — Lesson 16
Color is Emotion.
Color grading goes beyond fixing — it's the deliberate choice of how your image feels. Cool shadows that feel isolated. Warm highlights that feel inviting. This lesson is about making those choices intentionally.
🎨 Today's tool: the Color Grading panel — three independent color wheels for shadows, midtones, and highlights.
Core Concept
Correction vs. Grading
🎯
Color Correction
Fix white balance, neutralize casts, make skin look natural. Goal: accuracy. Do this first in the Basic panel.
🎨
Color Grading
Push tonal color shifts for emotion or style. Goal: intent. Do this after correction — it builds on a solid foundation.
💡 Always correct before you grade. Grading on an uncorrected image leads to unpredictable results that look accidental, not intentional.
Panel Overview
The Color Grading Panel
Shadows
Midtones
Highlights
Each wheel controls the color of one tonal zone. Drag the dot toward any hue to tint that zone. Distance from center = saturation. The outer ring adjusts Luminance for that zone.
🎛️ Below the wheels: Blending (how much zones overlap) and Balance (which zone has more influence). Both default to 0/50 — a good starting point.
How It Works
Reading the Color Wheel
The angle of your drag = hue. The distance from center = saturation. Use opposite colors for shadows and highlights.
→
Drag toward a color to add that tint to the zone
Blue = cool. Orange/gold = warm. Teal = cyan. The wheel spans the full spectrum — any direction you can imagine is available.
↔
Distance from center controls saturation
A tiny nudge = subtle tint. A large drag = strong, visible cast. Start small — most great grades are understated.
⊕
Double-click the dot to reset to neutral
If a wheel's tint is too strong or you want to start over, double-click the center dot to snap it back to center.
🎯 Opposite colors create depth. Cool shadows + warm highlights feel cinematic. Same color in both zones just looks like a color cast.
Panel Control
Blending Slider
Controls how much the three tonal zones overlap. Default is 50 — a smooth, natural transition.
📐
Low Blending (0)
Crisp, defined boundary between zones. Shadow color stays in shadows. Highlight color stays in highlights. Good for bold, graphic looks.
🌊
High Blending (100)
Colors blend gradually through midtones. Smooth, organic, elegant transitions. Good for subtle, refined grades.
💡 Most images look great at the default (50). Only adjust if your grade feels too harsh (lower it) or too muddy (raise it).
Panel Control
Balance Slider
Shifts which tonal zone has more influence. Think of it as a seesaw between shadow and highlight wheels.
↙️
Negative values
Shadow wheel gains influence — affects a larger tonal range. Image feels moodier, darker overall.
↗️
Positive values
Highlight wheel gains influence — affects a larger tonal range. Grade feels brighter, airier overall.
⚖️ Leave at 0 and fine-tune last. Small moves (–20 to +20) are usually all you need.
Classic Looks
Three Grades to Know
Cinematic Split
Shadows → cool blue. Highlights → warm gold.
Teal & Orange
Shadows → teal. Highlights → orange. Blockbuster.
Matte Fade
Lift Shadow Luminance. Cool cast. Film-print.
1
Cinematic Split — Shadows wheel → blue (210°), Highlights → gold (40°)
Keep saturation light — 15–25%. Subtle is timeless.
2
Teal & Orange — Shadows → cyan (180°), Highlights → orange (30°)
Push a little stronger than the cinematic split. Lower Midtone Luminance –10 to ground the midtones.
3
Matte Fade — Shadow Luminance ring → +20 to +35. Slight cool cast.
Blacks output as dark gray. Film-print aesthetic. Great on portraits.
Bonus Tool
Calibration Panel
Found at the very bottom of the Develop right panel. Shifts primary R, G, B channels at the sensor level — before all other adjustments.
🔴
Red Primary
Shift hue toward orange for a warmer base. Every red in the image responds.
🔵
Blue Primary
Shift hue toward cyan for a cooler, unique base character before other panels run.
🔬 Calibration affects the entire image uniformly — it's a creative base, not zone-specific. Different from Color Grading's tonal targeting. Try: Red Primary hue +15, Blue Primary hue +10 for a signature color feel.
Panel Relationships
Color Grading vs. HSL
Color Grading HSL Panel
Targets tonal zones (shadows, mids, highs) Targets specific hues (all reds, all blues…)
Adds a color cast to a brightness range Changes existing colors in the image
"Make the shadows feel cooler" "Make the sky a deeper blue"
Works on any image regardless of color content Requires that hue to already exist
Mood-driven, creative Selective, corrective or stylistic
🏆 Use both together. HSL for selective hue control ("make the ocean more teal"). Color Grading for overall mood ("make the whole image feel cinematic").
Workflow
Checking Your Grade
The most common mistake is going too far. Here's how to catch it.
1
Press \ (backslash) — toggle before/after
In Develop, this flips between your edit and the original. Use it constantly while grading.
2
Try your grade at half saturation
Pull all three dots halfway toward center. If it still looks good at 50%, your grade has merit. If it collapses, the grade may be doing too much heavy lifting.
3
Check skin tones — they should look like skin
Zoom to 100% on any face. Cool shadow grades can push skin toward gray or green. Dial back Midtone saturation if needed.
⏸️ Walk away for 10 minutes, then come back. Fresh eyes catch over-grading instantly — "grade creep" is real and happens to everyone.
Efficiency
Saving Grades as Presets
Build once, apply across an entire shoot in seconds.
1
Perfect your grade on one representative image
Choose a well-exposed photo with a good range of shadows, midtones, and highlights from the shoot.
2
Presets panel → "+" → Create Preset — check only "Color Grading"
Uncheck everything else so the preset applies only the color grade — not your sharpening, lens corrections, or exposure.
3
Library module → select all → Right-click → Develop Settings → Apply Preset
Every selected image gets the grade in one step. Spot-check and tweak per image afterward.
Your Challenge
Color Grading Challenge
Pick three photos from one shoot. Apply a consistent grade to all three. Click each item as you complete it.
Open the Color Grading panel in Develop (below HSL, above Detail)
Drag the Shadows wheel toward blue and the Highlights wheel toward warm gold
Adjust Blending and Balance — note the visible difference each makes
Press \ (backslash) to compare before/after on each of your three images
Save the grade as a named preset (Color Grading checkbox only)
Apply the preset to all three images — check that they feel like a cohesive series
Share a before/after in the club gallery or comments
Series Complete
🏆
You've Completed the Lightroom Classic Series!
16 lessons. Import to color grade. Here's the full journey you've completed.
01–04Library — Import, Organization, Collections, Export
05–07Develop Foundation — Exposure, White Balance, Basic Panel
08–10Detail — Noise, Sharpening, Lens Corrections
11–12Local Adjustments — Masking, Radial, Brush
13HSL — Selective Color Control
14Tone Curve — Contrast and Channel Grading
15Split Toning & Color Refinement
16Color Grading — Mood, Cinematic Looks, Presets ✓
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