Color Correction for Beginners
Fix white balance, exposure, and tone — the 5 adjustments every photo needs.
The 5-Step Color Correction Workflow
Every photo benefits from these 5 adjustments, in this order:
White Balance (Warmth)
Is the photo too blue (cold) or too orange (warm)? Use the Warmth slider to neutralize. Indoor photos are usually too warm; shaded outdoor photos too cool.
Warmth: adjust until skin looks natural
Exposure (Brightness)
Is the overall image too dark or too bright? The Brightness slider shifts everything up or down. Aim for detail visible in both shadows and highlights.
Brightness: ±10-20% typically
Contrast
Low contrast = flat, washed out. High contrast = punchy, dramatic. Most photos benefit from a slight boost.
Contrast: +10-20%
Shadows & Highlights
Fine-tune the dark and light areas independently. Lift shadows to recover detail in dark areas. Pull highlights to recover blown-out skies.
Shadows: +10-30%, Highlights: -10-20%
Saturation
The final touch. Boost slightly for vibrant colors or reduce for a muted look. Be subtle — +10-15% is usually enough.
Saturation: +10-15%
Use an Assisted Starting Point Carefully
If you use the local auto-edit experiment, it applies deterministic pixel heuristics. Treat its result as a starting point and review every adjustment before export.
Common Color Correction Mistakes
- Over-saturating: +30% saturation looks unnatural. Keep it subtle.
- Crushing blacks: Don't push contrast so high that shadow detail disappears.
- Wrong order: Always fix white balance first, saturation last.
- Ignoring context: A sunset should be warm. A snowy scene should be cool. Don't "correct" what's intentional.
Fix colors in your photos now
Use the browser controls available in this release and review the output before export.
Open Editor →