A repeatable editing workflow for color grading

This page suggests one order for working through a grade and links to the detailed guide for each step. It is a recommendation, not a fixed rule — skip or reorder steps as a photo needs.

Correcting the scene before styling it is a good default. In Tone Caliper, tone and white balance apply before your color pins, so shaping contrast does not shift your hues underneath. Because of that order, it usually pays to get exposure and neutral color right first, then grade on top.

The sequence

1. Evaluate, and keep comparing. Open the photo in the Editor (Ctrl+2) and hold B at any time to swap between your edit and the original. Note the one or two things that need fixing before you touch a control. See Make your first color grade.

2. Set the tone. In the Tone tab, adjust brightness with Exposure, neutralize a color cast with the White balance pad (use Pick neutral on something that should be gray), and shape contrast with the Tone curve. Full detail in Tone and contrast.

3. Read the color relationships. Switch to the Color tab. Your photo's colors appear as a cloud on the wheel, so you can see where the skin tones, foliage and sky sit relative to each other before you move anything. See The color wheel.

4. Make broad color moves. Sample a region with Ctrl+drag on the photo to drop a pin, then push that color toward where you want it. Hold H to see which pixels the pin is selecting. Make the one or two decisive moves first. See Editing colors.

5. Refine with lightness ranges. To limit a move to the shadows or highlights, right-click a pin and set its Lightness range, or pick a Working range chip so new pins are banded to a tonal zone. See Lightness ranges.

6. Optionally check the B&W tab. Press M to view the frame in the B&W tab and see whether tonal separation holds without color. Switching back to Color keeps your grade intact.

7. Check the scopes. Open the Scopes rail on the right edge. The Histogram shows the output this photo would export right now; the Clipping overlay marks pixels crushed to pure black or blown to pure white. Address what they reveal.

8. Export, or save a recipe. In the Export persona (Ctrl+3), render a full-resolution copy to a name_export folder; your originals are never touched. To reuse the look, save it as a recipe. See Exporting and Recipes.