Photoshop 2021: Color Grading in Camera Raw
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- 0:00 Introduction
- 0:13 Converting the layer into a Smart Object
- 0:38 Apply the Camera Raw filter
- 0:51 3-Way Color Grading in Camera Raw
- 1:00 Apply a color tint to the shadows, midtones, and highlights
- 1:47 The Blending and Balance slider
- 2:25 Individual Color Wheels
- 3:25 The Global Color Grade adjustment
- 4:00 Final Thoughts
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Color grading in Camera Raw lets you tint the shadows, midtones, and highlights of a photo using three color wheels.
Photoshop has finally updated the same feature you might already enjoy in Adobe Lightroom, bringing color grading to Camera Raw.
Learn to use the new Color Grading panel in Photoshop 2021’s Camera Raw.
This amazing new color grading tool allows you to target the shadows, midtones, and highlights with easy to use controls.
Key Takeaways
- The Color Grading panel replaced the old Dual Toning tab in Camera Raw.
- Each color wheel controls its own Hue, Saturation, and Luminance.
- Holding Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) locks the Hue on a wheel so you only adjust Saturation.
- Holding Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) locks the Saturation on a wheel so you only adjust Hue.
- The Global wheel adds one more tint on top of the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights wheels.
- Double-clicking any wheel or slider resets it to its default value.
Table of contents
- What You Will Learn
- Requirements
- Keyboard Shortcuts
- Download the Tutorial Practice File
- Converting the layer into a Smart Object
- Apply the Camera Raw filter
- 3-Way Color Grading in Camera Raw
- Apply a color tint to the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights
- The Blending and Balance slider
- Individual Color Wheels
- The Global Color Grade adjustment
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
- Related Links
What You Will Learn
- How to convert a layer into a Smart Object before color grading it.
- How to open the Color Grading panel from the Camera Raw Filter.
- How to tint the shadows, midtones, and highlights with the 3-way wheels.
- How to use the Blending and Balance sliders to control the overlap.
- How to lock the Hue or Saturation on an individual color wheel.
- How to apply an overall tint with the Global Color Grade wheel.
Requirements
Before you start
- Photoshop 2021 (version 22.0 or later) or the current version, with Camera Raw 13.0 or later.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action | Windows | macOS |
|---|---|---|
| Lock the Hue on a color wheel (drag adjusts Saturation only) | Ctrl | Command |
| Lock the Saturation on a color wheel (drag adjusts Hue only) | Shift | Shift |
Download the Tutorial Practice File
You can download the tutorial image here.
Converting the layer into a Smart Object
The working document has a gradient going from black to white underneath the portrait to help you visualize how this tool works.
Start the process by converting the layer into a Smart Object. This lets you work non-destructively, so you can always adjust the filters, effects, and layers applied to it.
Apply the Camera Raw filter
Choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter to access the filter that allows you to enhance your image’s colors and details.
Click here to learn how you can fix perspective distortions in Photoshop!
3-Way Color Grading in Camera Raw
Camera Raw no longer has a Dual Toning tab. It is now the Color Grading tab, where you will find three color grading wheels for the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights.
Apply a color tint to the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights
Adjust the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights color wheels to change the color of the portrait.
Note: As you do, the Gradient Bar below the portrait allows you to see which colors you have as your Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights.
Tip: You can reset a color wheel just by double-clicking on it.
The Blending and Balance slider
The Blending slider allows you to see the amount of overlap between the Shadows and Highlights.
The value set to 0 minimizes the amount of overlap, and the value set to 100 maximizes the overlap.
The Balance slider balances the effect between the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights.
The Balance Slider:
- A value below 0 increases the effect of the Shadows.
- A value above 0 increases the effect of the Highlights.
Individual Color Wheels
The three icons above represent the color wheels: the darkest being the Shadows, the middle icon as the Midtones, and the lightest being the Highlights.
Whichever icon you click, you’ll see the same set of sliders: the Hue, Saturation, and Luminance.
If you hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS), you lock the Hue so dragging only adjusts the Saturation. You can do the same thing with the Hue slider, which lets you adjust one setting at a time.
If you hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS), you can drag the pointer around to adjust the Saturation in the color wheel.
Meanwhile, the Luminance slider helps you adjust the brightness and the darkness of the color.
Tip: Camera Raw’s Range Mask tool works the same way to target a color or luminance range instead of the whole Shadows, Midtones, or Highlights group. See Range Masks in Photoshop’s Camera Raw and Lightroom to learn how.
The Global Color Grade adjustment
The Global Color Grade applies a global color grading, including any Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights adjustments you may have made.
When you’re satisfied with your adjustments, press OK to save.
Your Camera Raw Filter adjustments will then be applied to the Smart Object and you can easily return to the workspace by clicking on the Camera Raw Filter label.
Frequently Asked Questions
Color grading in Camera Raw is a panel that tints the shadows, midtones, and highlights of a photo with three color wheels. A fourth Global wheel applies one more tint over the whole image. It replaced the old Dual Toning tab in Camera Raw 13.0.
Convert your layer to a Smart Object, then choose Filter > Camera Raw Filter. Click the Color Grading tab inside the Camera Raw Filter to see the three wheels.
The Blending slider controls how much the shadow and highlight tints overlap each other. The Balance slider shifts the overall emphasis toward the shadows or the highlights.
Double-click any of the color wheels or sliders in the Color Grading panel to reset it to its default value. This works the same way for every wheel and every slider in the panel.
Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) while you drag to lock the Hue and adjust only the Saturation. Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) while you drag to lock the Saturation and adjust only the Hue.
The Global wheel applies one more color tint over your Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights adjustments. Use it for an overall color cast across the whole photo.
Yes. Converting to a Smart Object lets you reopen the Camera Raw Filter later and change your color grade at any time.
Yes. Lightroom has the same three-wheel Color Grading panel, so the skills in this tutorial carry over directly.
Conclusion
Color grading in Camera Raw gives you shadow, midtone, and highlight color wheels, plus a Global wheel for the whole image.
Once you are comfortable with all three, you can shape the mood of a photo the same way you would in Lightroom.
Watch the video above for the full walkthrough, and comment on the video if you have a question.
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Related Links
Final Image
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