Adobe Photoshop: Outdoor Portrait Colour Grading Tutorial,
Therefore, that’s a great topic! Color grading outdoor photos in Photoshop is essential for creating a specific mood or style.
Therefore, while the exact steps depend on the specific photo and the look you want to achieve (e.g., moody, cinematic, vibrant, or soft/hazy), here is a general workflow and some key Adjustment Layers often used for outdoor color grading in Photoshop:
Adobe Photoshop: Outdoor Portrait Colour Grading Tutorial,
🎨 Outdoor Color Grading Workflow in Photoshop:
1. Initial Adjustments (Basic Correction)
In other words, start in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) or use Brightness/Contrast and Levels/Curves adjustment layers to fix exposure, white balance, and initial contrast.
- White Balance: In other words, Crucial for outdoor shots. Adjust Temperature (warm/cool) and Tint (green/magenta) to set the base mood.
- Contrast/Curves: Use the Curves adjustment layer (RGB channel) to create an ‘S’ curve (for more contrast) or an ‘S’ curve in the specific Red, Green, or Blue channels to subtly shift the color of shadows and highlights (split toning effect).
Adobe Photoshop: Outdoor Portrait Colour Grading Tutorial,
2. Targeted Color Adjustments:
However, these tools allow you to manipulate specific colors in the image, which is vital for outdoor elements like the sky, grass, and skin tones.
- Hue/Saturation:
- However, Target Greens and Yellows are used to make foliage pop, or desaturate and create a moody effect. For example, shift the hue of greens towards yellow for a summery feel or towards cyan for a cooler, more cinematic look.
- For instance, Target Blues to enhance the sky and water (often shifting the hue towards cyan and increasing saturation).
- Tip: Use the Eyedropper tool to select the color you want to adjust precisely.
- Selective Color: However, use this to adjust the amount of Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black in specific color ranges (Reds, Yellows, Greens, Cyans, Blues, Magentas, Whites, Neutrals, and Blacks).
- For instance, often used on Neutrals or Blacks to subtly introduce color casts into the shadows.
Adobe Photoshop: Outdoor Portrait Colour Grading Tutorial,
3. Thematic Color Grading (Adding Mood)
- Color Balance: For instance, use this to add color to the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights separately.
- Cinematic Look: Often involves adding blues/cyans to the shadows and yellows/oranges to the highlights.
- Color Lookup (LUTs): If you have a specific style in mind (like a film look), you can use a LUT (Look-Up Table). This is a quick way to apply complex color grades.
- Gradient Map (Advanced): This can be a powerful tool for dramatic color grading by mapping specific colors to the luminosity values of your image.
4. Finishing Touches:
- Vibrance/Saturation: Final small tweaks to overall color intensity. Vibrance is generally preferred as it protects skin tones and boosts less-saturated colors more gently.
- Vignette: Add a Vignette (often in ACR or using a Radial Filter and the Lens Correction filter) to draw the viewer’s eye to the center.
- Sharpening: A final touch to enhance detail.
Adobe Photoshop: Outdoor Portrait Colour Grading Tutorial,
💡 Pro Tip: Work Non-Destructively:
Above all, always use Adjustment Layers (like Curves, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance) instead of applying adjustments directly to the image layer. This allows you to go back and change your settings at any time without damaging the original photo.
In conclusion, what kind of look are you hoping to achieve with your outdoor photo? Knowing the desired style (e.g., warm sunset, cool forest, or dark and moody) can help focus the advice!
