When used correctly, the color grading wheels on Lightroom are a hidden gem for getting better colors in your images. However, it’s easy to overdo things if you’re unfamiliar with the tool.
So, what are the most common color grading mistakes in Adobe Lightroom? And how can you fix them? Let’s find out.
What Are the Biggest Lightroom Color Grading Mistakes?
Before we look at how you can fix the most common mistakes in Adobe Lightroom, it makes sense first to identify what they are. Below, we’ve listed five issues that most beginner editors will run into.
1. Overblowing the Color Grading Wheels
When you first try color grading in Adobe Lightroom, it’s all too easy to take things too far. Your first few edits will probably look hideous in hindsight, with colors and hues that are saturated way out of proportion.
Oversaturating your images from the color wheels will show people that you know what color grading is, but it will probably not impress them. It takes time to get this right, though, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you’re not perfect straight away.
One helpful exercise here might be to push things to the extreme before dialing the pointer back in a little. That way, you’ll get a cleaner edit.
2. Not Tweaking the Other Colors First
When you import your photo files in RAW format, they’ll often look a little washed out at first. As a result, you’ll probably need to alter the saturation and vibrance—along with the calibration—to get the look you’re going for.
In some cases, photographers will color grade before fixing the other areas of the image. This works for some, but it’ll hold you back from achieving your desired results in many instances. You won’t know what needs altering and what doesn’t until you sort the other bits out first.
3. Color Grading While Your Computer Is on Night Shift Mode
Turning Night Shift mode on is a good idea if you’re using your computer, smartphone, or iPad at night; it’s much friendlier on your eyes. However, using this when editing your photos on Lightroom can lead to less than desirable results.
When your device has Night Shift mode activated, it’ll have a yellow tint that’ll mess with how you view your image. Because of this, you risk not editing as much as needed. On the flip side, you might also overedit to compensate.
When editing photos, it’s best to keep Night Shift mode off. If this has a detrimental impact on your eyes, try to alter your pictures during the day instead.
4. Not Factoring in Color Theories
One of the most common frustrations for photographers is when you feel like you got an amazing shot in person, but you don’t like how it looks when uploading it to your computer. Another annoyance is when you show someone what you think is a cool shot, but they give you nothing more than indifference.
In both cases, thinking about color theories could have improved your results.
Color theory, in simple terms, looks at how different colors work together. These can sometimes be complete opposites, but complimenting ones can also make your pictures look better. To figure out the best fit for you, you’ll need to experiment a little.
5. Feeling Like Color Grading Is a Necessity
When we first discover a new feature on Lightroom, it’s tempting to feel like we need to use it all the time. However, like every tool, we should only touch it when it’s absolutely necessary.
If you feel like your photo doesn’t need color grading, it probably doesn’t. Few people, if any, will notice the changes. You can test with the different wheels to see if it makes a difference, but you’re better off leaving things as they are.
How Can You Fix These Lightroom Color Grading Mistakes?
Now that we’ve covered the biggest Lightroom color grading mistakes, we can look at what you can do to stop these from happening to you. Below are our three main recommendations.
1. Take Regular Breaks When Editing
When you’re passionate about photography, it’s easy to feel like you should spend every second of your day taking and editing photos. However, sitting in front of a screen for extended periods can damage your eyes—and if you’ve been looking at the same image for a while, how you actually see it might be a little skewed.
When editing photos, try to take breaks every 30 minutes or so. Get some fresh air, go to the toilet, have a glass of water; do pretty much anything that gets you away from the screen.
Before you export your pictures, it’s also worth waiting a day or two before doing so. That way, you’ll be able to fix any issues you notice with your color grading.
2. Fix the Rest of the Photo First
Just because you don’t do your color grading first doesn’t mean that you’ll never get around to doing it. In most cases, you’re better off waiting until you’ve fixed the rest of the picture before altering the color wheels.
In addition to vibrance and saturation, take the time to change calibration and white balance as you feel is necessary. That way, you’ll save yourself a lot of time needing to fix these issues later down the line.
3. Use Adobe Color as Part of Your Editing Process
If you don’t know how to adopt color theories, don’t worry—you’ll find plenty of free tools online. One of the best is Adobe Color, which allows you to look at various rules to see which colors do and don’t work together.
Adobe Color is free to use. Once you’ve found a group you like, you can export these; if you’ve already got pictures from the past that you like, you can upload these to see which colors you used in them.
Get Better Colors in Your Images With These Tips
Composition is crucial in getting a good image. But if you’re looking for the results you desire, thinking about how colors work together—and editing your photos accordingly—is also essential.
Color grading is one of the most powerful tools in Adobe Lightroom, but getting used to it can take a little time. Understanding where most people go wrong is a good starting point; all you need to do now is practice and finetune your results.
