Four Color Grading Mistakes Amateurs Often Make

A lot goes into making a video look professional, and one of the final and most important steps is the color grade. It's easy to make a mistake here, and this great video will highlight four such missteps that new videographers often make when it comes time to color grade.

Coming to you from Chrystopher Rhodes with YC Imaging, this helpful video will show you four mistakes new videographers commonly make when they color grade their work. Color grading is an important step, as it's both rather technical and a chance to add your artistic signature and to further solidify your signature style. As such, it's especially important to give it lots of careful attention. Of the mistakes, perhaps the most common one I see is simply going over the top with the grade. It can be quite easy to go from stylized to garish, even for more seasoned editors. It's a great idea to step away from your computer after you finish your grade for an hour or even a night, then rewatch your footage with fresh eyes. Less is often more in this case. Check out the video above for more helpful tips! 

If you're new to video editing and really want to learn more, be sure to check out "Introduction to Adobe Premiere: A Video Editing Tutorial!"

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Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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First thing you want to start off with is a way to make sure you're recording the image as you see it in the real world.
Get your self a chart like the X-Rite ColorChecker Passport Video. It gets much easier to get the colors correct if you have a proper reference.
Second, make sure you're as close to the right color temperature as possible. The chart can help you with that too.
Third, get proper exposure. Use Zebras and the Waveform monitor in your camera and spend the money on a light meter. Take the time to learn how to use it before hand because there are various ways to measure the light in your scene.