Color Lookup Colour Grading in Adobe Photoshop 2025

Color Lookup Colour Grading in Adobe Photoshop 2025,

Therefore, Color Lookup is a powerful feature in Adobe Photoshop that allows you to quickly change the colors and tones of your outdoor photos by applying a Look-Up Table (LUT). LUTs are essentially color presets that remap the original colors in your image to new ones, giving your photo a specific stylistic or cinematic look.

Color Lookup Colour Grading in Adobe Photoshop 2025,

🎨 Applying Color Lookup for Outdoor Photos:

Therefore, the Color Lookup feature is applied using an Adjustment Layer for non-destructive editing.

1. Add the Adjustment Layer:

1. Therefore, open your outdoor image in Photoshop.
2. However, in the Layers panel, click the Adjustment Layer icon (the half-filled circle).
3. In other words, select Color Lookup from the menu.

Color Lookup Colour Grading in Adobe Photoshop 2025,

2. Choose a LUT Preset:

Therefore, in the Properties panel that appears, you will see three main options for applying a LUT:

• 3DLUT File: Therefore, this category contains the most presets, often mimicking film stocks or specific cinematic color grades. This is where you’ll find built-in options like Crisp_Winter.look, FallColors.look, or external LUTs you’ve downloaded.
  • In other words, for outdoor photography, popular looks include:
    • Teal and Orange grades (for cinematic contrast).
    • Warm/Crisp looks (like Crisp_Warm.look or Crisp_Winter.look) to enhance seasonal colors.
    • Film Emulations for vintage or moody effects.
• Abstract: In other words, it contains specialized, stylized color transformations.
• Device Link: Less common for standard photo editing, typically used for color management across devices.

Tip: If the 3DLUT File option is disabled, ensure your image is in RGB Color mode (Image > Mode > RGB Color).

Color Lookup Colour Grading in Adobe Photoshop 2025,

3. Fine-Tune the Effect:

In other words, A Color Lookup effect at 100% opacity can often be too intense. You can blend the effect for a more subtle, natural look:

• Opacity: However, go to the Layers panel and reduce the Opacity of the Color Lookup layer (e.g., to 30%–70%) to lessen the effect’s strength.
• Blend Mode: However, Experiment with the Blend Mode in the Layers panel. Modes like Soft Light or Color can dramatically change how the LUT interacts with your image’s original colors.
• Layer Mask: To apply the effect to specific areas (e.g., only the sky or greenery), use the Layer Mask that comes with the Color Lookup adjustment layer. You can paint with black on the mask to hide the effect or white to reveal it.