In the realm of photography, post-processing color grading is like a magical brush that endows works with a unique soul. Photoshop (Ps), a powerful post-processing software, offers 16 stunning color grading styles, presenting infinite possibilities for your photographic works.
Vintage Style
The vintage color grading style can instantly transport photos back to bygone days. Among them, the warm-toned vintage style features predominantly brownish, orange-yellow hues, much like the colors of old photos after the passage of time. The vignetting and graininess of the image are enhanced, as if telling ancient stories. On the other hand, the cold-toned vintage style has a bluish tint, creating a cold and mysterious atmosphere, which is suitable for depicting vintage architecture or quiet night scenes.
Japanese Fresh Style
This style is characterized by light and delicate colors with high brightness and low saturation. The image often presents faint pink, blue, and green hues, just like spring when cherry blossoms are in full bloom or a quiet seaside town. When adjusting, increase the exposure and reduce the contrast to make the color transition softer, creating a healing and fresh feeling. It is especially suitable for shooting natural landscapes, young girls, and daily small objects.
European and American Style
The European and American color grading style emphasizes high contrast and rich colors. It can be strong warm tones such as golden yellow and reddish-brown, showing a luxurious and grand texture, often used in fashion photography and urban landscapes. There is also a cool and glamorous European and American style, dominated by dark colors and highly saturated cool colors such as dark blue and deep purple, highlighting mystery and individuality, which performs excellently in portrait photography and art photography.
Cyberpunk Style
Cyberpunk color grading is a combination of modern technological and futuristic feelings. Highly saturated neon colors are its hallmark, with cyan-blue, magenta, yellow-green, and other colors intertwined. The image shows a strong contrast between light and shadow, with a dark background and bright color lines in sharp contrast, suitable for presenting urban night scenes, technological elements, and science fiction-themed photographic works.
Cinematic Style
Imitating cinematic color tones can make photos more story-telling. For example, the classic Hollywood cinematic color tone is rich in colors and has a sense of hierarchy, with skin tones tending towards warm yellow, and the overall image carrying a retro-romantic feel. Meanwhile, the modern artistic cinematic color tone may focus more on the rendering of ambient colors, with colors slightly dim but rich in texture, conveying emotions through subtle changes in color tones.
Monet Style
Inspired by the Impressionist master Monet, this style focuses on the mixture of colors and the expression of light and shadow. The colors are soft and the boundaries are blurred, as if naturally diffusing on the canvas. It is mainly in light purple, pink, and green hues, presenting a dreamy and poetic atmosphere, especially suitable for shooting flower and water scene subjects.
Chinese Style
Chinese style color grading comes in various forms. The classical Chinese style can be light ink-wash tones, mainly black, white, and gray, supplemented by faint colors such as cyan and ochre, embodying the charm of traditional Chinese painting. The traditional red and gold color combination highlights festivity and magnificence, often used for depicting ancient architecture, traditional festivals, and other themes.
Regardless of which color grading style it is, there are unique adjustment methods in Ps. Through the skillful use of tools such as Color Balance, Curves, Hue/Saturation, combined with different filters and layer blending modes, you can easily transform your photos into the ideal color tones you envision, making each photographic work a unique artistic masterpiece. Try out different color grading styles, unleash your creativity, and showcase the infinite charm of your photographic works.
