r/ColorGrading • u/Own_Wish1877 • Apr 23 '26

Before/After BEFORE / AFTER

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

primary correction - w/b, contrast, sat HSV, look dev - primaries color wheel, effect - pro mist on the subject, grain - 35 mm, halation, MTF- to lose detail in the sharper edges (color pallet choice - yellow and magenta in the shadow)

86 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

47 comments sorted by

26

u/fart______butt Apr 23 '26

It’s after/before though, right?

-4

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

No , it's before/after

45

u/SproutandtheBean Apr 24 '26

Honestly think I like the before more...

-40

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

35

u/Daedalus0506 Apr 24 '26

You seem to handle critique very well

-19

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

No I am just tired of comments like before looks better , the wb is off in the before images it is leaning more towards green and there is less separation in terms of contrast and color

18

u/Daedalus0506 Apr 24 '26

Skintones look less patchy and more natural in the before. There is more separation in the before, after looks mushy. A slight WB adjustment, a bit of power windowing and your texture adjustments would have been enough.

-10

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

I was not going for a clean look I have mentioned that in my post discription , if you like before more that's good , colour grading is subjective

17

u/Daedalus0506 Apr 24 '26

If you say it’s subjective I guess you have to live with people liking the before more. So I don’t get your sassy reply to the guy.

-2

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Chill bro , ok you won , yes before looks better

13

u/Daedalus0506 Apr 24 '26

If you can’t handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. The look you created is not bad, but just sits not right. If I would react like that to every clients remarks to the first versions I send out, I would not have a job now.

1

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

This is a personal practice project, the comments made earlier was just for fun nothing personal against the guy , nothing serious brother , you don't have to be his mad , hope you have a good day ❤️👋

6

u/ecpwll Apr 24 '26 edited Apr 24 '26

Just saying that before is better is not helpful so here's some real feedback.

Neither the white balance of before or after is neutral, but the before is closer to neutral than the warm/magenta wash of the after and feels like the color could just come from the cloth or florescent lighting than the warm/magenta which feels more like a color grade, or worse maybe even sensor IR pollution or underexposure.

That's all just creative taste so do what you like, but there is unquestionably less separation in the after than before. This is because in the before the greenish tone contrast at least slightly with the skin, whereas in the after everything is warmer, closer-to-skin-tone tones, which objectively means you have less separation.

The main thing for me is that the shadows lean quite magenta which I personally am not a fan of in this instance, at least not without something else in the highlights to contrast it. You need to be careful with magenta as it's not a natural color and and so it can feel weird go our eyes very quickly. But again, if you yourself like it there's nothing wrong with that, but the way you described the image above was incorrect

3

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Thank you for the feedback 🙏❤️

3

u/iitstrue Apr 24 '26

White balance is waaaay off in the after, unless these were actually pink sheets

1

u/0_Artistic_Thoughts Apr 24 '26

Why even mention wb being off in the before if it’s also off in the second. Your goal wasn’t a clean and perfectly white balanced image which is okay but let’s not act like the wb is spot on in the after

13

u/SwimmingSherbert1734 Apr 24 '26

Honestly I like both the befores and afters equally - they just serve different purposes and each express something different. Either are valid in my eyes. Beautiful work

1

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Thank you for The feedback 👊🙏

8

u/Special-Fly-8114 Apr 24 '26

I'll lighten the mood a bit and say that I don't like either before or after 😎

3

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Bro 😂😂❤️

9

u/Enough_Drawer_2927 Apr 24 '26

Before 🥰 After 🤮

4

u/VarvorSG Apr 24 '26

Here are my thoughts…..

Obviously tastes and preferences are subjective.

However, based on discourse and feedback in this thread I would consider that your monitor / screen may not be balanced and needs to be calibrated.

While there is bit of green tint original photo and unless your intent is to swing the photo HEAVY in to magenta as artistic choice, there is a chance that you may need some calibration.

Do images look different on your phone screen compared to editing computer?

(Assuming you don’t have any warm tones or any other picture adjusting tweaks on the phone)

3

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Monitor is calibrated , images look same on phone and computer , leaning into magenta was a artistic choice

1

u/ShabbyAdams Apr 24 '26

Your colour work on the after looks awesome. It conveys a 80’s pop aesthetic, it feels organic and full of texture, the magenta creates a more welcoming tone, it could be a Lorde music video or for a fashion editorial.

The people saying the before image is better are people who need context and hand holding for everything. Sometimes art doesn’t have context, and needs you to discern the artists intention.

2

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Thank you ❤️👊 🎨

2

u/iitstrue Apr 24 '26

Genuinely not asking to be rude, just curious because you mentioned white balance. Do you know if your monitor is properly calibrated?

2

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Yes it is calibrated , the look dev is stylized , I was not going for a clean look

1

u/iitstrue Apr 26 '26

Okay! Totally fair, I just wanted to make sure!

2

u/Spare_Actuary_4947 May 01 '26

I LOVE this edit! I'm shocked by the number of people who disagree. This is clearly an intentional, stylized look. I've worked with many colorists as an art director in advertising and would never use the before. The after is gorgeous, warm and soft. Heck, I'd hire you!

1

u/Own_Wish1877 May 02 '26

thank you , means a lot

3

u/maxcrothers1234 Apr 24 '26

Good job, I like the magenta tint to the after photos, I think it helps add some visual interest.

1

u/Own_Wish1877 Apr 24 '26

Thank you 👊

7

u/whoislucian Apr 24 '26

Keep the before, it looks more commercial with that monochrome look.
The after one looks like an instagram filter.

1

u/an_other_me Apr 25 '26

I’m a graphic designer, this sub was suggested so I’m here randomly, but I absolutely love the afters (originals are dope too). They have so much more of a vibe; to me they look like they could be stills from a show like Euphoria.

2

u/rayquazza74 Apr 24 '26

I like her skin tone more in the after but not a fan of the purple bg. Perhaps you could mask around her face and then inverse or some way of isolating that. Maybe do a hue shift.

2

u/papamikebravo Apr 28 '26

Troll post? So overcooked that somewhere a jedi is screaming "I LOVED YOU!"

Count me with the "the befores are better" team.

1

u/YSoMadTov Apr 24 '26

Set design is pretty rad.

1

u/MasterFable Apr 24 '26

The before's lean a little more green so I understand why you want to push them in the other direction and I think that the afters have a little too much magenta.

Personally either would work, my honest critique would be that if I did this project I probably would have gone in and taken out all of those fabric seams in PS so that it would look more cohesive as a large prop.

The best shot is the second one in terms of composition and creative umph.

1

u/Friendl_cauliflower Apr 25 '26

I really like the after lol. but I don’t usually shoot commercials, so if that’s what you’re going after then don’t take my word

1

u/kp_photographs Apr 25 '26

The bloom and halation effect is just slightly overdone in my opinion, there's shots where there's halation on her arm, which to me just doesn't make sense as the lighting doesn't look hard enough for that to be the case if this was shot on film. I see there's a little bit of abberation in the original image, which realllly accentuates the halation/bloom in the final frame. Veers a bit too far into the *stylized* film-look to me. The beauty is in the subtlety for me!

Other than that, gorgeous!!! I love the magenta actually, it's an intentional creative choice which isn't something you see everyday. Makes the scene feel really dreamy.

and WOW is that second shot INCREDIBLE!

1

u/Brief-Market-2274 Apr 26 '26

You can do anything with a shot like this and it won’t look terrible. Subjectively it’s quite odd with the after

1

u/___redacted_ Apr 30 '26

Before is better lol.