Creative Color Grading for a Lifestyle Shoot
Featuring: Aliana Glory
In every photoshoot I do, there’s usually one image—or sometimes a whole set—that just sticks with me. And sometimes, it’s not that the photos are missing anything technically... they just haven’t found their mood yet.
That’s exactly what happened with this 2023 lifestyle shoot featuring the effortlessly radiant Aliana Glory. If her name sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve written about this session before in a blog titled The Oak Forest Lifestyle Project: A Behind-the-Scenes Journey of Creativity and Collaboration. But here’s the thing—I never felt like I truly finished this series. Not creatively, at least.
The Archive Trap
Like many photographers, I have a habit: I archive my favorite images when I’m not fully sure how I want them to feel. I wait for inspiration to strike—whether that’s through music, film, or in this case, a late-night doom-scroll through Instagram. That’s when I stumbled across an image that had the exact color gradient I was chasing for Aliana’s shoot. It hit me instantly: this was the vibe. That’s the power of color grading.
Why Color Grading Matters
Color grading isn’t just about tweaking saturation or contrast. It’s storytelling. It’s emotion. It’s the difference between a photo looking nice and a photo making someone feel something. Too often, photographers obsess over perfect white balance (and yes, it’s important), but they forget that grading is where the cinematic soul of an image lives. Watch any film, and you’ll notice how mood is built from color—the cool blues of a drama, the warm ambers of a nostalgic memory, the muted tones of a suspense thriller. Your photos deserve the same treatment.
My Process
When I approach editing, I ask myself one question:
What’s the emotional tone of this photo?
From there, I begin with a clean, basic edit. I check the lighting. Did I already achieve the intended mood in-camera? If not, I don’t panic—this is where color grading comes in.
Lightroom vs. Photoshop
Although Lightroom is excellent for color correction and batch editing, I find that Photoshop gives me deeper control over the final grade. With Photoshop, I can paint with color—adding shadows, lifting highlights, or creating cinematic palettes using Color Lookup Tables (LUTs) or Gradient Maps. It's more work, yes—but the results are richer, moodier, and more personal.
In Aliana’s shoot, I leaned into muted tones with warm highlights and deep, cool shadows. This combination gave the set a timeless, editorial feel—something that perfectly matched her soft expressions and the textured backdrops of our Chicago location.
Final Thoughts
Color grading isn't an afterthought. It's part of the creative language. Whether you're shooting lifestyle, fashion, or portrait work, the way you color your images can breathe new life into your archives—and even change the story your photos tell.
So the next time you’re stuck, waiting for inspiration, don’t be afraid to hold off until you find the right grade. Sometimes your best photos are just one color layer away from greatness.
🎨 Color Grading Tips for Lightroom & Photoshop
In Lightroom:
Use the Color Grading Panel: Work with Midtones, Shadows, and Highlights separately.
Adjust the Color Balance First: Fix white balance before getting creative.
Split Toning = Mood: Even subtle changes in hue can drastically shift the vibe.
Use Calibration Panel: Play with Primary Red, Green, and Blue to influence overall tonality.
In Photoshop:
Gradient Maps: Use a custom gradient to remap tones for stylized effects.
Selective Color: Add cinematic depth by pushing specific color channels.
Curves with Masking: Fine-tune contrast and mood in isolated areas.
Color Lookup Tables (LUTs): Import film-like presets or build your own for consistent grading.
If you're inspired by this shoot or curious about how I approach post-production on lifestyle projects, check out more stories
