Grade toward a reference image

Your photo's colors appear as filled dots, and the reference's colors appear as outlined squares. Adding a reference does not change your edit or automatically match the images.

Add a reference

With a photo open on the Color tab (2), drag a JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, or HEIF file onto the wheel.

The wheel adjusts its view to show both sets of colors, and the reference opens beside your photo.

Read the two color layers

• Filled dots show your photo's colors.
• Outlined squares show the reference's colors. These stay fixed and cannot be selected or dragged.

To see your dots move as you grade, click the gear icon at the bottom right of the wheel and set Color points to Live. A + marks each moved color's starting position, and its dot shows the current position.

In the default Fixed mode, your dots stay at their original positions. See The color wheel.

Use the reference to guide your grade

1. Find a reference color. Hover over an area in the reference image. A crosshair shows that color's position on the wheel.

2. Select a color in your photo. Place a pin on the color you want to adjust.

3. Move it toward the reference color. Adjust the pin while checking the result in your photo. The two images may have different subjects and lighting, so use the reference as a guide rather than trying to align every point.

For pin controls, see Editing colors.

The Working range controls apply to both color layers. Select Highlights, for example, to compare the bright colors in both images. See Luminance masks.

Compare the images

With a reference loaded, use Compare at the right end of the bar above the photo to open the reference beside it.

Hover over either image to locate its colors on the wheel. Drag the divider to resize the two views, or double-click it to reset their sizes.

Show, hide, or remove the reference

The reference chip above the wheel includes two color-layer toggles:

• 1 shows or hides your photo's colors.
• 2 shows or hides the reference's colors.

These controls only change what appears on the wheel. They do not affect your edit.

Click ✕ to remove the reference.

The reference stays loaded as you move between photos, so you can use it across a set. It remains available for the current session.