Color Grading Tips to Create Mood in Your Photos
Color grading is an essential tool for creating mood and atmosphere in your photos. Whether you’re
aiming for a warm, nostalgic feel or a cool, dramatic look, color grading gives you the freedom to
enhance your images in a way that aligns with your creative vision. The key to color grading is
that there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to do it—the look you choose is personal, and it’s all about
conveying the emotion or story you want to tell through color.
The best part is that these steps can be recorded as an action in Photoshop, allowing you to apply
consistent color grading across multiple images with a single click.
Here’s a guide to help you get started with color grading and tips on how to use it to create
different moods in your photography.
1. What is Color Grading?
Color grading is the process of adjusting the colors in an image to create a specific look or mood.
Unlike color correction, which is about making colors appear natural and balanced, color grading
allows you to push the colors toward a creative, stylized vision. This can involve adjusting the
highlights, shadows, and midtones, as well as selectively enhancing or muting certain colors.
Remember: There’s no “one-size-fits-all” method for color grading. Your personal
preferences and the story you’re trying to tell should guide your choices. And if you find a look
you love, you can save it as an action in Photoshop for easy reuse.
2. Choosing the Mood: Warm vs. Cool Tones
One of the most straightforward ways to create mood in your photos is by manipulating the color
temperature—warm vs. cool tones.
Warm Tones: Adding warm tones (yellows, oranges, reds) can create a sense of warmth, happiness, or
nostalgia. These tones work well in sunsets, autumn scenes, or
portrait photography where you want to evoke feelings of coziness and comfort.

Cool Tones: On the other hand, cool tones (blues, greens, purples) can evoke a sense of calm,
serenity, or even mystery. Cool color grading is often used for landscapes, urban scenes, or moody
portraits to give a more dramatic or introspective feel.
Tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment. Sometimes adding a cool tint to an image traditionally graded
with warm tones can create a unique and striking effect. The beauty of color grading lies in your
personal approach to mood creation.
3. Split Toning for Highlights and Shadows
Split toning is a popular color grading technique that allows you to assign different colors to the
highlights and shadows, helping you create contrast in mood within a single image.
Warm Highlights and Cool Shadows: This combination often gives an image a nostalgic or cinematic
feel. Warm highlights can make the light feel inviting, while cool shadows add depth and balance.
Cool Highlights and Warm Shadows: This less conventional approach can add a surreal or artistic
touch to your image, creating a dynamic contrast between areas of light and dark.
Split toning is a fantastic way to subtly enhance the atmosphere of your photo without overwhelming
the entire image with one color cast. You can record this process as an action if you frequently
use this technique for a particular mood or theme.
4. Using the Color Wheel to Create Contrast
When color grading, using a color wheel is helpful to understand how colors interact. Complementary
colors—those opposite each other on the color wheel—create contrast and tension, while analogous
colors—those next to each other—create harmony.
Complementary Colors: Colors like orange and teal (blue), or red and green, are popular
choices in cinematic color grading because they create striking contrasts. For example, applying a
teal tint to the shadows and orange to the highlights can create a dynamic, attention-grabbing
mood.
Analogous Colors: These colors (like orange and yellow, or blue and green) are great for creating a
more harmonious, unified look. They’re useful when you want the image to have a softer, more subtle
mood.
No right or wrong here: Whether you choose contrast or harmony, both approaches can evoke strong
emotions and moods depending on how you apply them.
5. Adjusting Saturation to Set the Tone
The level of saturation in your image has a significant effect on its overall mood:
High Saturation: Bright, vivid colors can make a scene feel lively, energetic, and bold. This is
great for travel photos, festival shots, or any scene where you want to convey excitement and joy.
Low Saturation/Desaturation: Muted or desaturated colors can create a more melancholic, timeless,
or somber feel. This technique is often used in fine art or portrait photography to shift the focus
to emotion rather than vibrant color.

You can selectively desaturate certain colors while keeping others vibrant to guide the viewer’s
attention and control the emotional impact. If you often apply specific saturation levels for your
style, recording it as an action can speed up your workflow.
6. Creating Drama with Shadow and Highlight Tints
Toning the shadows and highlights is a powerful way to add mood without altering the entire image.
By selectively adding color to the dark and light areas, you can drastically change the emotion the
image conveys.
Cool Shadows: Adding a cool blue or green tint to shadows can evoke feelings of mystery, isolation,
or calm. This is often used in night photography, urban environments, or dramatic landscapes.
Warm Shadows: Warm-toned shadows (reds, oranges) can make the image feel more inviting and
comforting, especially in portraits or autumn landscapes.
7. Color Grading with Intent
Color grading should always serve the story you’re telling. Before starting, ask yourself what mood
or emotion you want to convey:
Bright and Cheerful: Use warm tones, high saturation, and lighter highlights.
Dark and Moody: Lean on cool shadows, desaturated colors, and heavy contrast. Romantic and Soft:
Add a subtle warmth to highlights and slightly desaturate the shadows for a dreamy, gentle look.
There’s no wrong way to do this—your vision is what matters. Whether you prefer a natural look or a
bold, highly stylized grade, the end result should reflect your creative intent. Once you develop
your signature style, consider recording it as an action for future use.
8. Fine-Tuning in Post-Processing Tools
You can use tools like Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, or DaVinci Resolve for color grading. Here are a
few tips for working in these programs:
HSL (Hue, Saturation, and Luminance) Adjustments: Control specific color ranges to adjust how vivid
or muted individual colors appear.
Curves: Use RGB curves to subtly change the color balance in different tonal ranges (shadows,
midtones, and highlights). This is a great way to add tint to specific areas without affecting the
entire image.
Color Wheels: Many software options offer color wheels where you can adjust the shadows, midtones,
and highlights separately to control the overall mood of the image.
Recording the process as an action can save time, especially when working on a large batch of
photos that require a consistent look.
9. Experiment and Be Personal
The most important aspect of color grading is that it’s personal. Your choices should reflect your
creative vision, not someone else’s standards. There’s no formula that you must follow
—experimentation is key.
Try adding unexpected colors to shadows or highlights.

Mix warm and cool tones in unconventional ways.
Play with saturation levels to evoke different emotions.
Color grading is a deeply subjective and creative process, so feel free to push boundaries and
discover what resonates with your own style. The goal is to create a mood that enhances the story
you want to tell, and the only rule is that it should feel right to you.
10. Record Color Grading as a Photoshop Action
If you frequently apply specific color grading techniques to your images, it’s a good idea to
record them as an action in Photoshop. This way, you can easily apply your favorite look to
multiple images at once, ensuring consistency across a series.
Steps to Record a Photoshop Action:
1. Open an image in Photoshop and begin your color grading process.
2. Go to Window > Actions to open the Actions panel.
3. Click on the Create New Action button (the + icon).
4. Name your action, choose a function key if desired, and click Record.
5. Perform all your color grading steps (adjusting curves, HSL, split toning, etc.).
6. Once finished, click Stop Recording in the Actions panel.
You can now apply this action to other images with a single click, saving time and maintaining your
creative style.
Final Thoughts
Color grading is an incredibly versatile tool for creating mood in your photography, whether you’re
aiming for a bright, lively feel or a more subdued, introspective atmosphere. There’s no wrong way
to approach color grading, as it’s all about finding the look that matches your creative vision. By
experimenting with color balance, saturation, contrast, and tones, you can transform a simple image
into something truly evocative and memorable.
Let your intuition and personal style guide you, and don’t be afraid to push creative
boundaries! And remember, if you find a look