Thread 4479395

Please help me improve my color grading. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing.

>>4479395 (OP)
Is your monitor calibrated? Pic looks a lil flat to my eyes.

>>4479395 (OP)
What do you want? We can't help you if you don't at least tell what kind of feel/result you try to get

>>4479398
I didn't even realize that was a thing. Thank you anon, I'm on that immediately. I do have a higher end monitor but it's never been calibrated.

>>4479402
I thought color grading was more of a science? What I'd really like to be able to get is much darker photos. Like totally washed out blacks but without looking cheap, and I'm pretty sure the only way to do that is with studio lights and an ND filter. This photo is maybe half the way there.

you got a gold/blue color contrast going on there, could build on it if you want. Make her skin look more alive, pump some blood into it. She has a nice face, that's what'll bring the views, focus on her face, more contrast sharper a lot, add a vindow lift it a little, add a vgnette to guide the eye

>>4479395 (OP)
>I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing
It’s ok opie, looking at your work, no one else has any idea what you’re doing either lololol

jk,you’re off to a fine start. Just remember the eye sees stills differently than moving images. What looks one way in a still frame is usually too saturated & contrasty once it’s moving. Also, more importantly than splitting hairs to achieve some kind of “perfection” in tone, is deciding what kind of display your ideal viewer will be viewing your work on. A theatre screen, a iPad, random ass tv screens, etc. This is where color grading falls apart.

>>4479395 (OP)

If you are shooting within 1 hour of sunset the light is extremely yellow.
If you are shooting models buy one of these, then you just click the white balance clicker on the like 10 different shades of white thing to get 10 different natural color grades.
Trying to fix digital camera colors is incredibly tedius, the color checker is how anyone professional does it quickly and accurately every time.
Also you have to get your lighting bang on when doing that half shadow, half light face, your model is looking too much to the shadow side messing up her face shadow.

Your shadows are soo boosted to try and save getting the shadow placement on her face wrong it looks really washed out.

this image takes me back with so many problems, hair blowing over the mouth which you had to photoshop out, having to try and naturally brighten the teeth, Models squinting from that really low bright sun, the clouds suggest maybe one of those days the sun only breaks through clouds every now and then, really difficult to shoot in that.
Wind blowing quite strong from the side so if the model wants hair on both sides of her head, she has tons of hair blowing over her face.

>>4479411
When you say washed out blacks are you talking about lifted blacks or crushed? Raising the black level is a common "cinematic" technique. I would play with curves to get the overall contrast and brightness where you want it. Even better would be posting an image or video that has the look you are going for and we can tell you what adjustments you would need.

>>4479426
I don't even know where to start...how did you get here?!

>>4479459

This is what I would like to be able to recreate reliably, particularly indoors.

>>4479432
Ah - I set the white white balance before the shoot but the light shifted a lot during it and I didn't recalibrate.

>>4479551
fairly high contrast subject so maybe one light panel in a rembrandt type setup. I see what you mean about ND but you shouldn't need that if you have any control over background lighting.

>>4479551
as for getting that look in the OP photo situation, you would do the same but use a high power flash while dialing ambient exposure down. You can do this with a lower power flash if you have high flash sync speed (not HSS) as well.

>>4479550
>temperature down
>bump contrast
>lower highlights contrast
Have you spent *any* time playing around with sliders in your photo editing software and trying to understand them?

>>4479566
Yeah - like quite a lot of time trying to get each stage right lol.

I recreated your inputs and they really make such a big improvement. I had pushed the highlights to 1023, but now they're at the 900 level.

Maybe I'm an 85iq then, because for me trying to balance 10-20 variables in a field I'm not formally educated is not super intuitive haha

>>4479395 (OP)
is this that skank from Red Scare podcast?

>>4479432
color chart KING

>>4479651
No, I don't think so.

>>4479426
this looks great
you should do this op

good job anon

>>4480716
too much density

>>4479550
I followed my analysis, don't think I nailed the skin tho. The original is very soft, so lots of contrast manipulation and sharpening is needed.
I added 3 ovals: torso, face and eyes, and adjusted exposure, contrast and sharpening.
After that the image was so degraded that I had to drain it in grain slider in LR. Also added some dodge and burn in her hair.
Colors are easy in Lightroom, just use hsl and move it with your mouse.

>>4480716
>>4480781
yeah I desaturated the background also

>>4479566
why don't you copy me then? Do it, I'd love to see your shit edit Haha

You can't, simple as

>>4479395 (OP)
took a pass
OP you need to dial in a neutral color balance and then decide on how you want the colors to look and tweak things to get there.