Color Correction vs Color Grading Explained

Chances are you're already heard about color correction or color grading. Both come down to the same thing; you change the digital colors of your video. But then why the two different names? Do we talk about a correction or grading now? Well, in fact they aren't completely the same.

Color Correction

We talk about color correction when we are going to fix color issues. This usually means fixing the exposure, white balance and other global colors in post. The idea is to create a natural look on your video clip.

Color Grading

And then there's color grading. In this process we don't really care how natural the colors are. We want to create a specific emotion. So in this phase we could make everything look pretty green. This doesn't look natural anymore, but it does set a different mood to the shot.

Combination

Ideal you want to have a combination of both. You don't pick one technique over the other. Usually you want to start with color correction, making a natural look on your video. Then you have a good basis to start you color grading on. In a final stage you want to take your correction skills again to fix the issues after the grading. A common example is when you add a blue/cold look, you're entire scene will get affected by that. The skin tones will start to look dead and grey. With a color correction you can alter the skin tones, without touching the rest. This keeps that cold look.

Lumetri Course

This video is a free preview from a complete online course training with Lumetri in Adobe Premiere Pro. To learn the ins and outs of color techniques and color philosophy, you can follow this link: Premiere Pro Lumetri: Color Correct like a Pro