COLOURGRADING BRIEF 1 – POLINA
For this brief, I have been given pictures where the photographer has taken an alien/futuristic style
photograph, where the subject has makeup on reflecting alien like skin and the background is filled
with some colour in shades of dark blue. The photographer has asked me to colour grade the image
to continue on with the style but make it more impactful.
Image Review and Steps Forward
After looking at the images and referring back to the research I did in the masterclass, I know
straight away that the best route for me to go down will be to choose an analogous colour
scheme for these pictures, this is because it will allow me to implement stronger hues of
purple into the image – the main colour that is used to convey mystery/fantasy and present
sci-fi and pinks as it sustains the scheme. The pink will also settle well with the makeup on
the face. The deep blues in the background will allow the purple to settle in nicely. The
lighting scenario for the pictures doesn’t provide fullness nor submerge the viewer in a state
of mystery, so I will build on the same colours and make them far more vivid – especially on
the skin tones as they are a yellowy/brown colour that isn’t ideal for the style the
photographer was aiming for.
Editing Process/Workflow
SAMPLING COLOURS
Here I’m sampling the colours to see what I’m working with
Now that I have the sampled colours, I can move on
to seeing what schemes and colours I can
potentially implement. I already have an initial idea
on what I will settle on from reviewing the pictures,
but this is still a necessary step just to experiment
and see the possibilities
COLOUR SCHEMES
There are 3 main results I have ended up with, two of which are analogous complementary schemes
aside from the last, which is just an analogous scheme. The first two bring in the colours yellow and
green into the mix, whilst the final just has adjacent colours. As I know I will be making the colours a
lot more vivid and impactful, bringing in the extra complementary colour will overwhelm the viewer
– it will also result in the strong presence of a colour that doesn’t set the correct emotion/mood for
the image. For these reasons, the final analogous scheme will be the appropriate option for me to go
down as it will still be pleasant to look at despite being vibrant, and will uphold the mysterious
futuristic emotions.
EDITING PICTURE 1
Colour correction
Colour grading – adjusting hue, saturation and luminosity
Colour grading – adding split toning and camera calibration (makes the colour appear as though it
was done through real life lighting)
Colour grading – used selective colour with grey layer to adjust luminosity until the colour weight is
more balanced
Colour correction and blur – adjusted brightness and contrast several times at different points as
well as selective colour – to make the image less harsh to look at and the colours sit more naturally, I
added a slight haze, this was also to further add a mysterious atmosphere and feeling to the image.
This concludes the editing process or the first image.
EDITING PICTURE 2
I followed the same steps for the second too however adjusted the settings accordingly to better fit
the requirements of this picture.
To give the impression that the lighting colour was done in real life and not artificially added, I
decided to make the purple/pink far more vibrant in the second image than the first – giving the
illusion that the subject is closer to the light source compared to the first.
FINAL IMAGES
CLIENT RESPONSE AND BRIEF CONCLUSION
From the client’s response, I can tell that they were really pleased with the outcome that I have
created. The colour combination and intensity matched their expectations and created the required
impact they were after. I have made sure in the email to introduce the fact I do offer other services
as they mentioned they would be returning to have more images edited – this is really good for me
as building these client relationships is exactly what freelancing will bring, so hopefully I will be able
to have this client as a means to sustain myself in the future when doing paid work. This brief has
helped me learn how to manage intense colour changes and additions without causing damage to
the image and sustain balance, how to change grading to demonstrate lighting depth, and lastly how
to generate atmosphere from adjusting parameters such as softness and blur.
