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Changing Photo Mood: Strategic Two-Color Grading Techniques

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Changing Photo Mood: Strategic Two-Color Grading Techniques

Clip title: The 2 Color Trick That Changes the Whole Mood of a Photo Author / channel: Lou imag’in - Learn Photoshop & Photo Retouching URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKQieyX7-E0

Summary

This video provides a clear and practical guide on how to use color grading to evoke emotion and add depth to your photographs. The presenter emphasizes that impactful photo editing isn’t just about using presets or applying generic adjustments, but rather about consciously deciding how a photo should “feel” and then applying color strategically to achieve that mood. The tutorial focuses on two primary tools available in Adobe Camera Raw (and Lightroom) – the Color Grading panel and Curves – demonstrating how simple techniques can profoundly alter an image’s perception.

The first technique demonstrated is the Color Grading panel, which offers three distinct color wheels for midtones, shadows, and highlights. Each wheel allows precise control over Hue, Saturation, and Lightness for its respective tonal range. The presenter illustrates a popular “split toning” method, applying cool blue tones to the shadows while introducing warm yellow-orange tones to the highlights. This not only adds visual depth, with cool tones receding and warm tones advancing, but also creates a more emotionally resonant image. The key is to apply these adjustments subtly to maintain a natural look, avoiding over-saturation.

Following this, the video introduces using Curves for color grading, a versatile tool available in virtually any photo editing software. Unlike global adjustments, Curves allow manipulation of individual RGB color channels (Red, Green, Blue). By adjusting the curve for each channel, one can add or subtract its complementary color in specific tonal areas (e.g., raising the blue curve to add blue to shadows, or lowering it to add yellow to highlights). To further enhance precision and isolate adjustments, the presenter then introduces Luminance Range masks. These masks allow color grading, whether from the Color Grading panel or Curves, to be applied only to specific light or dark areas of the image, preventing unwanted spills and significantly increasing the separation and depth within the photograph.

In conclusion, the video underscores that understanding color theory and intentionally applying color adjustments are paramount for compelling photo editing. By utilizing tools like the Color Grading panel, Curves, and Luminance Range masks, photographers can move beyond merely “fixing” an image to actively shaping its emotional impact and visual depth. The techniques shown empower users to make deliberate color decisions, transforming ordinary shots into evocative visual stories, ultimately resulting in photos that truly resonate with the viewer.

Video Description & Links

Description

How to use two colors, one in the shadows and one in the highlights, to change the mood of a photo. The technique is called split toning, and I show you 2 ways to do it + 1 to do it more in depth using masks.

In this video I take one photo shot in Chefchaouen, the blue city in Morocco, and I set its mood with two colors only. First with the color grading panel, then with curves, which works in almost any software, then with masks for a result that actually looks natural. I work in Camera Raw, and it is exactly the same in Lightroom.

CHAPTERS 00:00 Why a photo can be fine and still make you feel nothing 00:56 The photo, and the only thing I did before the colors 01:28 The color grading panel, and how the three wheels work 03:00 What split toning is, and why complementary is not mandatory 03:34 Blue in the shadows, gold in the highlights 04:06 Why cool tones fall back and warm tones come forward 04:49 How far to push it before it stops looking natural 05:06 The same thing with curves, in any software 06:53 Doing the split with curves on this photo 08:25 Masks, for a result that actually looks natural 10:39 Combining curves and color grading on one mask 12:32 Raw to final, side by side 13:07 Analogous colors, if you want a nostalgic feel

  • Cool tones fall back in an image and warm tones come forward. You are not just adding color, you are building depth, and it is why blue shadows with warm highlights reads as dimensional instead of just tinted.

  • Complementary is not mandatory. Blue and gold is the pair everyone talks about because it works often, not because it is a rule. Analogous colors, sitting next to each other on the wheel, give you something closer to nostalgia. The pair you choose is the decision you need to make, before moving any sliders.

  • Do it locally. Work with masks !

1,300 photographers have been through it so far, and I hope you will be one of them. ▸ https://link.louimagin.com/thecolorcode-yt

splittoning colorgrading lightroomtutorial photoediting travelphotography

Tags

split toning, split toning lightroom, split toning tutorial, color grading, color grading tutorial, how to color grade photos, color grading lightroom, color grading camera raw, color grading panel, curves color grading, complementary colors photography, analogous colors, photo mood editing, luminance mask lightroom, photo editing tutorial, travel photo editing, camera raw tutorial, lou imagin, louimagin, the color code

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