Learning to Color Balance More Quickly With Fewer Adjustments

Flexing Fundamentals Part 5: Color Balancing Operations

In this final Insight of this Flexing Fundamentals series, we’ll look at the key principles and techniques I like to keep in mind when balancing images. This balance might be corrective in nature — e.g., neutralizing a green cast in the footage — or creative in nature — e.g., adding a push or wash of warm color.

Either way, one of the ideas I find most helpful for optimizing my process and my results is to confine myself to two dimensions rather than three. This idea can take different forms, and we’re going to explore two of them today.

Key takeaways from this Insight

By the end of this Insight, you should have a solid understanding of:

• Using the vectorscope “X” technique to more easily evaluate balance
• Thinking not only about red, green, and blue, but also cyan, magenta, and yellow — and the benefit of choosing and manipulating just two of these
• Why too much freedom in color grading can be paralyzing, and why limitations can set us free