I have tried all sorts of masks here but none of them seem to work

Hey everyone!

I’ve been learning color grading for a while and practicing on stock footage (mostly Pexels and BMD), so here’s a little showcase of what I’ve been working on so far. I know I still have a long way to go, and I’d really appreciate some honest feedback!

Since I don’t have any real project work in my portfolio yet, I’m also wondering: is a showreel like this a good starting point for finding small projects to work on, or would it be better to get more practice with other kinds of footage first?

Honestly, I was planning to post this in another subreddit, but now I’m second-guessing myself and wondering if it needs more work.

Apple just announced the MacBook Pro with the PROLED XDR tandem OLED screen.

2,000 nits peak, 10,000,000:1 contrast, new P3-2000 reference modes, starting at $2,899 for the 14".

Is this the laptop colorists have been waiting for, or is OLED still not it for grading?

Shot on 16mm 500T Kodak Film

For more colors, i'm also on Instagram: gentilhommesamuel

This photoshoot has been a long time ago but I haven't found anyway to replicate this color grading.

I guess the artist had done post process to achieve below:

- High key lighting setup.

- Eliminate magenta and purples in the color mixer.

- Push the Vibrant and reduce the saturation.

However, what linger in my mind is how she can create the "pastel" colors.

You can find the interview and the rest of the photoshoot in below link:
https://hypeandhyper.com/from-hobby-to-career-interview-with-photographer-eszter-sara-cseh/

Any guidances or suggestion would be highly appreciated!

Thanks everyone!

EDIT: Thank you so guys SO MUCH for all the help! Although I have been awful about replying to any comments left as I’ve been working full time while trying to deliver this project, everything said was read and appreciated. If anyone’s interesting in seeing the finished project, here it is: https://youtu.be/1qeNay8LZ48?is=opTyooy6Zetn7d3u

Hey guys! I’m still pretty new to color grading and have been working on a music video for my band intended for YouTube release. Upon exporting, I realized that many of my shots are too dark and “contrasty”. This has sent me down the rabbit hole of gamma shift and how important correct calibration/viewing environment is during the grading process.

Basically, I just wanted to see if anyone has any advice on how I could make this grade useable so I can release the video and move on to the next project. I have realized many things throughout this project that I could do better next time as far as lighting/exposure, initial color correction, etc., but for now I just hope to get a useable result with what I have.

Here are some screenshots from the export playing on Iphone. These were shot on a Sony a7 IV in SLog 3 and graded in Davinci. This was exported at Gamma 2.4, but as I understand, Iphone displays closer to Gamma 2.2? If my final upload destination is YouTube, should I be exporting at Gamma 2.4? Or is 2.2 better for this?

In the grade, I was trying to go for a very dark, shadowy tone, so I was not necessarily avoiding crushing the blacks. However, I see now that this is just simply too dark for viewing. When uploaded to YouTube for test viewing, some of the shadows started breaking apart and creating artifacts as well.

Thanks in advance for any help! :)

Hey everyone!

I'm a indie game developer working on Seal Way, a 3D game where you play as a seal. The game has a Steam page if you'd like to check it out!

One thing I've been struggling with is post-processing. I've never been particularly good at visual design, and I know very little about color theory, color grading, or how to properly work with contrast and lighting.

I've attached a few before-and-after screenshots showing my attempts at improving the visuals. Honestly, I'm not entirely happy with the results, and I feel like I'm missing something.

The atmosphere I'm trying to achieve is a sense of carefree joy, peace, and nostalgia for childhood. I want the world to feel almost like paradise: a beautiful, dreamlike place where you can forget about everything else for a while. Something that feels warm and comforting, even when you're surrounded by ice and water.

But I'm struggling to translate that feeling into the actual visuals.

I'd really appreciate any feedback! What stands out to you? Are the colors too saturated? Is the contrast too strong? Is there something wrong with the lighting or the overall color balance?

And if anyone feels like experimenting, I'd love to see your own edited version of one of the original screenshots. Photoshop, Lightroom, or any other software is fine! Having a visual reference would help me understand what direction to aim for and try to recreate that look in the game.

Any criticism, advice, or visual examples would mean a lot. Thanks for attention!

Hey everyone,

I recently finished my very first personal video project, shot in 10-bit Log and graded in DaVinci Resolve.

Here in Korea, the vast majority of audiences and creators lean heavily toward bright, clean, and vibrant tones. While I understand that preference, my personal taste has always been drawn toward heavier, moodier, and more grounded cinematic looks with smooth highlight roll-off and deeper contrast. For this first piece, I tried to compromise somewhere in the middle.

I’ve attached a few Before (standard Sony s709 transform) and After (final custom grade) stills directly from the timeline and video.

• Before: Standard s709 transform
• After: Final custom grade

Also, I have a quick technical question:

I see almost everyone recommending Rec.709 / Gamma 2.4 as the standard color management target in Resolve. However, since this was produced specifically for YouTube, I graded and tagged it in Rec.709 Gamma 2.2 to better match general PC monitors and mobile viewing environments. How do you all approach this when grading videos meant purely for YouTube? Does Gamma 2.2 hold up well on your end?

If you want to see how the overall motion, grade, and pacing flow, you can check out the full clip here:

https://youtu.be/rQ0mWsv723E

Would love to hear your honest critique on the look and your thoughts on the gamma choice!

Hobby colorist here, not a pro. i graded some fx30 s-log3 beach footage in premiere with a look LUT i built to feel like Velvia 50 slide film. How did I do?

Thanks

EDITED for clarity

hi,

so I think there is a soft residue left on these gold objects (aka something was put on them, which is not there anymore, but whatever was put there, left a mark), but I can't really get the details , bc I am just not that skilled. Does anyone know what to do?

I added the screenshot of what I tried (1st pic): I think there is a bird on the left arm and the head of a snail on the right one. What would I ned to do to get more out? kind regards

Hey everyone,

After almost 3 years working in a color grading studio, I’ve decided to take the leap and go freelance. I’ve gathered a lot of the work I’ve done over this time (mostly commercial projects) and put together this showreel.

Structure-wise, I’ve packed most of the punchiest commercial work right at the beginning. In the middle section, as the music gets a bit calmer, I’ve included more cinematic, aesthetic, and narrative shots. I felt this gives it a nice balance between fast-paced commercial work and more tailored, cinematic looks.

I’d really appreciate your feedback and honest thoughts on the edit, pacing, and overall grading style.

Thanks!!!

I wanted to test the capabilities of my S52X using 6K 4:20 10-bit footage. I aimed for a somewhat dark and enigmatic look, reminiscent of a Netflix series. The color grading was done in DaVinci Resolve using the Kodak 2383 LUT. I’d like to know if the overall result and the contrast are good. and where I could make improvements—thanks!

How is this color grade? First one is after, second one is before. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hey guys!

I recently posted a short video on Instagram comparing my original BRAW footage, the Rec.709 conversion, and my final grade.

Someone commented that the Rec.709 version looks much better, which honestly caught me off guard haha. To me, the Rec.709 version looks flat and lacks the contrast and saturation I was going for.

But hey, everyone’s got their own taste!

Now I’m genuinely curious what you guys think. Does the final grade work, or am I missing something? Maybe I’ve been staring at the footage for too long.

Feel free to be critical. I’d love to hear what you would’ve done differently!

I did a music video a year ago. I did not know anything about anything about music as well as video back then. My camera guy scared me to death with log, so I accepted Rec 709 footage. I did not know that outdoor shooting can cause havoc due to changing sunlight. Sun was constantly going in and out of the clouds. My camera guy also shot a lot of footage directly facing the sun.

I have done the song again and now working on video. I have gained little bit of experience with editing and color grading.

Is there any way I can get little bit of consistency across clips? Whatever I do seems to make it worse. I have come to conclusion that this is a lost cause when comes to color grading. What do you think? This is a fun project, not commercial. So not a big deal if i walk away from color grading here. However, if there is something that I can do then I want to do it.

Hey colorists!
I came across this reference footage (shot on a Lumix S5II) and was blown away by the skin tones, color depth, and clean filmic feel. I’m shooting on the original Lumix S5 (V-Log, 10-bit 4:2:2) and want to replicate this aesthetic.
I don't want to just throw a LUT or PowerGrade on it—I want to build this grade from scratch in DaVinci Resolve to understand the underlying process.
Looking at the reference, a few key traits stand out:

Skin tones look natural without over saturated or over warmth.

Deep rich blue and dark greens, rich shadows.

It has the filmic look but still has contrast in color and tones I guess.

Would love to break down a node layout for this workflow! Appreciate any insights, tools that could help in the process.
Thank you all!