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Dan Rodney/2 min read

Applying Basic Color Corrections

Color Grading Steps

1

White Balance First

Get neutral colors right before any creative grading.

2

HSL Panel

Shift, lighten, or darken individual color ranges.

3

Color Grading

Set highlight, midtone, shadow color tints for mood.

4

Match Across the Set

Sync settings across selected images for consistency.

Master Adobe Tools at Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Graphic Design Certificate covers Photoshop alongside the broader Adobe toolkit that complements Lightroom in any photography workflow.

Learn the art of color correction in images with our comprehensive Lightroom tutorial covering topics like adjusting temp & tint, white balance presets and the use of white balance eyedropper tool.

Topics Covered in This Lightroom Tutorial:

Adjusting Temp & Tint, White Balance Presets, the White Balance Eyedropper Tool

Exercise Preview

lightroom preview3B

Exercise Overview

In this exercise, you’ll learn how to quickly color correct an image using White Balance presets, the White Balance sliders, and the White Balance selector tool.

Adjusting Color Balance

  1. If you have not imported the photos that were imported in Exercise 2E:
    • Go into the Library module.
    • At the bottom left of the screen, click Import.
    • In the dialog box that appears, on the left under Source, navigate to Desktop > Class Files > Lightroom Class and select the Develop folder.
    • At the top, above the photos, make sure Add is selected (highlighted).
    • On the bottom right, click Import.

  2. In the Library module, press G to enter Grid View if you are not already in it.

  3. Click on the first swan photo (_CAS4925).

  4. On the right, expand the Quick Develop panel if it is not already expanded.

  5. From the White Balance menu, select Tungsten.

  6. Press D to go into the Develop module.

  7. There are different ways to correct the color balance. Let’s explore a few of them.

    In the Basic panel on the right, experiment with the White Balance (WB) presets (e.g., change Tungsten to Auto, Cloudy, etc.).

  8. Change White Balance back to Tungsten for now.

  9. Experiment with the Temp and Tint sliders, noting how each affects the photo’s color balance.

  10. Double–click on Temp to reset it.

  11. Double–click on Tint to reset it.

  12. The White Balance Selector white balance eyedropper tool is another white balance correction tool. In the Basic panel, click the White Balance Selector white balance eyedropper tool.

  13. We want to click on an area that’s a little darker than pure white. Click on the swan’s neck.

    Voilà! We’ve just attained the correct white balance for this photo.