THE GRADE

Step-by-step guide to colour grading.

DaVinci Resolve node graph
Simple, adaptable node tree.

01

Colour management

Set this up first. You need two Colour Space Transform nodes that bookend the grade:

CST IN (first node): camera → working space. I use Sony S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine into DaVinci Wide Gamut Intermediate. Match Input Colour Space and Input Gamma to whatever you shot.

CST OUT (near the end, before the look LUT): DWG → display. Usually Rec.709 / Gamma 2.2 (or 2.4 depending on your monitor).

Everything between those two nodes is graded in DWG. The film LUT sits after CST out, in display space.

Colour Space Transform settings in DaVinci Resolve
Example CST. Same OFX, different input/output pairs for in vs out.

02

White balance

Use the linear gamma trick. Right-click the node → Gamma → Linear. Set Lum Mix to 0. Balance with the Gain wheel. The intention is not to push the image towards a neutral grey, but to start to push the look towards the desired colour palette.

Lum Mix at 0 means you only change colour, not brightness. Colour correction stays separate from exposure correction.

Setting node Gamma to Linear in DaVinci Resolve for white balance
Node Gamma → Linear, Lum Mix 0, then Gain wheel.

03

Exposure

HDR tab → Global Exposure. Set midtones where you want them. Contrast here too if needed.

Right-click the node → set Colour Space and Gamma to match your current colour space. This is the same as the CST IN node. Without this, HDR tools cannot correctly calculate the exposure adjustment.

Setting node Gamma to Linear in DaVinci Resolve for white balance
Adjust the exposure of the image.

04

Harmony

Colour palette, saturation, and density all live here. You want to choose a colour palette that works with the image, and then adjust saturation and density to achieve the desired look. Emphasise the colours you want to see. Density is synonymous with the richness of the colour, and is often used to achieve a more film-like look. Film becomes denser and darker when it receives more exposure to light, that's why saturated colours are darker in film.

Use my Subtractive Saturation LUT to achieve a more film-like look. It's free.

Download Colour Boost Free

05

The Finishing Look

That last node is the whole reason people ask me for LUTs. Now that we've corrected the image, we can add a creative look.

I built a pack of five LUTs, based on grades I have created for client work, that you can use to add a creative look to your images. You can download the pack below.

See the Film Look pack

Useful? Follow @ke5hh for more of this.

EXAMPLES