Color Grading & Enhancement Using Camera Raw Filters

Light and Color Adjustments

Light adjustments adjust exposure, contrast, highlights, and shadows. Color Adjustments adjust white balance, tint, vibrance, and saturation to achieve desired color effects.

Effects

• Add texture and clarity to enhance image details;
• Dehaze to add or remove atmospheric haze;
• Apply vignetting to focus attention on the image center;
• Add grain for a vintage look.

Curves and Color Mixer

• Use curves for detailed control over color and brightness;
• Adjust individual color channels (red, green, blue) for precise color grading;
• Use the color mixer to change the hue, saturation, and luminance of specific colors.

Color Grading

• Adjust shadows, midtones, and highlights separately for nuanced color grading;
• Use sliders to control the strength and exposure of each section of the histogram.

Additional Adjustments

• Sharpening and noise reduction;
• Correct lens distortion using the Optics settings;
• Use tools like shadow and highlight clipping alerts to ensure balanced exposure.

Remember, turning images into Smart Objects lets you use filters without messing up the original image, so you can tweak things as much as you want. This is key for keeping your editing flexible and non-destructive.