Why is this important?
As we already know, color grading isn’t just applying a colored tint to the highlights and shadows of an image. In most cases, in order to create an effective color scheme, you’ll have to manipulate several elements inside the frame. It may be necessary to change the color of the subject’s shirt from red to blue or to shift the green of the grass towards a colder shade for instance.
Color grading cannot be defined as an exact science; the final result depends on the image you’re working on and your sensibility.
For this reason, knowing the theory is certainly useful, but without a practical understanding of the tools available, it can be really difficult to achieve good results.
If you can’t execute what you envision, the only thing you’ll ever experience will be frustration and disappointment.
How can you improve?
As with everything in life, repetition is the only way to get better at something. No secrets or unexpected revelations can match the power of endless repetition. No magic shortcut will ever give you what you can learn from dozens or hundreds of hours of work.
“Experience comes from good judgement, and good judgement often comes from bad judgement.” - Will Rogers
Now, you have to choose. You can wait and only try to implement what you learn when the opportunity arises, or you can be proactive about it, and decide by yourself when to exercise and improve.
Find some time and try to match the color harmony of a specific image. If you can’t reproduce the same color scheme due to the different elements inside the shots, just try to replicate just the mood. Change the color of the subject’s clothing using a “Curve,” modify the tint of a seamless using a “Selective Color” adjustment level, or try to shift the skin tone of the model to better fit the colors of their clothing.
You just need to experiment, but remember. and you must allow yourself to fail.
Practical exercise
DOWNLOAD: Color Matching Exercise + Video
One of the many things that I learned from Natalia Taffarel is this color-matching exercise. Just choose a random color as a source and then try to match it three times, first using a “Curve,” then a “Selective Color” adjustment layer, and finally, a “Hue/Saturation” adjustment level. Try to match five colors every day for three weeks as an exercise; you’ll notice a huge improvement in terms of speed and sensibility.
After you get the hang of it, try to match the source, starting from a color instead of white.
If you have any questions, just send me a mail or a DM on Instagram!
Credits:
Natalia Taffarel - Website