Image Color Correction is an important part of Photo Editing. Have you ever looked at your photos and felt they looked dull? An easy way to make dull, boring photos look amazing is Photoshop color correction.
Read this photo color correction article to know more about what exactly image color correction is. You will get an understanding of the importance of Photoshop color correction, its benefits, types, history, trends, future, skills, and tools.
If you are interested in knowing more about the color correction process, you will get a step-by-step description. By the end of this color correction guide, I hope you will have an overall understanding of this topic.
What is Photo Color Correction?
Photo color correction improves an image by adjusting, tweaking, and balancing the colors in the photograph.
The goal of image color correction is to make the photo look as best as it can be.
Some people prefer photo color correction to make the image appear natural and unfiltered. Others prefer to enhance their colors for a dramatic effect. Photoshop color correction can adjust the images in any way the editor prefers.
The color correction process neutralizes and corrects the differences between the image and how the human eye sees things.
You can make the image look, feel, and appear like its natural form with a few easy adjustments.
Photo Color Correction is a method of adjusting the following in an image:
- Clarity
- Shadows
- Vibrance
- Exposure
- Contrast
- Saturation
- Highlights
- Temperature
- White Balance


Why is Photo Color Correction Important?
Wondering why you should color-correct your images? It may seem like a simple thing, but image color correction is an essential part of the photo editing process.
Color Correction is important because it helps you:
- Get the Most Out Of Your Image
- Increase The Production Value of Your Image
- Tell a Story With Color Grading
Get the Most Out Of Your Image
Photo color correction is the best way to get a high-quality image. Various elements of your photo may not be perfect during the photoshoot. For example, a photo shoot during a gloomy day will make the subjects look dull. In that case, instead of the photo being unusable, you can fix the colors using photo editing software.
Increase The Production Value of Your Image
Image color correction is an inexpensive way to increase the photoβs production value. Strong color correction helps your image stand out among less professional ones.
Tell a Story With Color Grading
Color grading helps portray your brandβs story. The colors you choose for your image will set the tone and mood. For example, emphasizing bright colors will portray a happy mood, while muted, dark tones will provide a serious tone.
Benefits of Color Correction
What are the benefits of color-correcting your photos? The most important advantage of image color correction is to make the photo look natural and accurate to what the human eye sees. There are other benefits of color correction for the following:
- Businesses
- Professionals
Benefits of Color Correction for Businesses
How do businesses benefit from Photoshop color correction? Businesses selling products (online and offline) need to make their items look attractive on their websites, magazines, and other material.
Businesses that benefit from color correction include the following:
- eCommerce store owners
- Jewelry businesses
- Fashion studio
- Toy shop owners
- Small businesses, and more!
By color correcting their photos, the business can focus on its brand messaging and impress customers with professional-looking images.
Benefits of Color Correction for Professionals
Professionals from all walks of life can benefit from color grading and correction.
A professional headshot needs to look natural and set an inviting tone. In that case, image color correction will make the headshot look professional for use on LinkedIn and other job platforms.
Professional photographers on the other hand benefit the most from color correction. For example, the photographer can stamp their own style of color that is instantly recognizable as their work.
Color Correction Service Types
What are the types of photos businesses and individuals typically color correct? There are many types of images that require professional color correction, including the following:
- Portrait Photo Color Correction
- Jewelry Photo Color Correction
- Fashion Photo Color Correction
- Wedding Photo Color Correction
- Newborn Photo Color Correction
- Black And White Photo Correction
- Real Estate Photo Color Correction
- Ecommerce Product Photo Color Correction
Portrait Photo Color Correction
Want your family, professional, or person portraits (headshots) to look amazing? There is a simple step you can take, photo color correction!
Fix your dull portraits by improving the brightness and contrast. Headshot image color correction will transform your photos! Portrait photo editing includes professional color grading and correction for flawless images!
Jewelry Photo Color Correction
Are you selling jewelry? In simple terms, your jewelry needs to shine, both in real-life and digitally!
Jewelry Photo Color Correction takes your dull or imperfect ornament images and transforms them into polished and shiny photos.
Fashion Photo Color Correction
Want the models in your fashion website or magazine to look perfect? You can go a long way to achieving that with top-grade color correction.
Fix your modelβs skin tone, clothing colors, and backgrounds with color correction. The final result? A highly professional fashion photograph that attracts users to your website and magazine. Fashion studios benefit from professional color correction.
Wedding Photo Color Correction


Worried about your wedding photos looking dull and uninspiring? There is a simple solution to that, image color correction! Wedding photo editing is a popular industry, with color correction at the forefront.
Make your wedding photos look bright and happy by balancing the color temperatures. Wedding photo color correction is essential for stunning marriage images.Β You can read the best wedding photography tips for more information on clicking color-accurate photos!
Newborn Photo Color Correction
Want to share your bundle of joy with your friends and family via social media? You can ensure your newborn looks extra adorable by adjusting the colors.
Newborn photo editing includes color correction to add color to your babyβs skin, remove redness (which is common in newborns), and make the background props complement the entire image.
Black And White Photo Color Correction
Are your black-and-white photos not showcasing the right mood? Did you know that even black and white photos can be toned to give a different look and mood?
For example, you can color-correct black-and-white images by adding:
- Sepia Tone
- Blue Tone
- Copper and Blue Tone
Real Estate Photo Color Correction
An easy way to attract customers to your real estate properties is by presenting images with bright and vibrant colors.
Real Estate Photo Color Correction helps homeowners, real estate agents, realtors, and photographers incite different reactions based on the color used.
Ecommerce Product Photo Color Correction
Online stores based on Amazon, eBay, or a self-hosted website all require product photos. How do you stand out from the millions of other products online? Photoshop color correction!
E-commerce photo editing uses color correction to help sellers make their items pop. Users are more likely to stop scrolling and click on a product with an attractive image.Β
History of Image Color Correction
The first images taken were in black and white, also known as monotone (one tone).Β
Thomas Sutton created the βfirst color image in 1861. The process to add color to images was tricky. Color images were not created by regular people, but by scientists and technicians.
All this changed in 1987 when two brothers Thomas and John Knoll created Adobe Photoshop. Modern digital cameras make it simple to capture the world in living color. Then, photo editing software like Photoshop helps correct the colors with a few simple adjustments.
What is the Future of Image Color Correction?
The future of image color correction can be described with one word: AI. Artificial intelligence tools already exist that help editors achieve simple color correction. However, current-day AI image editors cannot replicate a professional image editorβs intuition and understanding of people and their preferences.
Image color correction will be massively automated by AI tools in the near future. Professional photo editors will still be required to use artificial intelligence tools to their full potential. As a result, we can expect the photo color correction process to take a shorter time.
Image Color Correction Trends
Wondering what the latest Photoshop color correction trends are? You can follow trendy color styles to impress your users and grow your following.
The photo color correction trends include the following:
- Monochrome
- Natural Color
- Color Blocking
- Real Skin Tones
- Radiant Portraits
- Pastel Undertones
- Muted Vintage Color
- Subtle and Soft Color
Photo Color Correction Skills
Interested in becoming a photo editor? Then, you require image color correction skills to do your job well! The skills listed below are important in a photo editor. So, whether you want to learn color correction, or hire a professional editor, you will benefit from knowing the skills.
Image color correction skills of a good photo editor include the following:
- Knowledge of Appropriate Color Correction Software (For example Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom).
- Understanding of Color Theory (Color Wheel, Light, etc).
- Industry Specific Color Correction Skills (Jewelry, Portraits, Outdoors, etc).
- Ability to work harmoniously with photographers and other stakeholders.
Color Correction Tools
What are the best color correction tools and software? I have listed the most popular ones below, in no particular order.Β You will benefit from full-fledged photo editing software for the most accurate color correction. However, mobile photo editing apps and online photo editors help businesses and individuals quickly edit their color on smartphones and web browsers respectively.
The top photo color correction tools for photographers and photo editors include the following:
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Lightroom
- Affinity Photo
- Skylum Luminar
- PhotoScape
- Corel PaintShop Pro
- GIMP
How To Color Correct Images?
Do you want to learn how to color-correct your photos yourself? It may seem difficult now, but after reading this photo color correction article you understand the basics of color correction.
Color correction is an art practiced by masters. Getting a complete understanding of color grading and correction comes only with practice or talent. However, by applying the basic color correction steps described below, you will be able to enhance the image exponentially.
Color Correction Step-by-Step Process
Follow this simple 7-step process to color-correct your photos. The final result will be a beautiful-looking image that tells your story and impress viewers.
Step 1: Use The Right Image Editing Software.
Step 2: Choose A Specific Color Tone For Your Style.
Step 3: Adjust The Highlights And Mid-tones.
Step 4: Increase The Saturation On The Subject.
Step 5: Desaturate The Shadows.
Step 6: Use Waveform And Histogram Graphs.
Step 7: Use Masks And Vignettes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this guide has covered the major talking points of photo color correction. I hope you have learned something, regardless of why you clicked on this article!
The goal of this guide is to help budding photo editors and regular people both understand the importance of color correction. A few color correction steps will massively transform your image for the better.
I have covered what image color correction is, its history, benefits, types, future, skills, and step-by-step instructions. If you want any more information, please comment below. I will try my best to help you.
Finally, thanks for reading this photo color correction article! I would appreciate it if you shared this information and article with whoever will benefit from it!Β If you need help with color correcting your photos, you can get professional photo color correction services.
Image Color Correction FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Photo Color Correction. I have tried to answer some common questions asked regarding image color correction. Comment in the section below if you have further queries.
Image color correction is the digital editing process to neutralize and correct any differences in the photo and how the human eye sees it. The color correction process makes the image look and feel how we see it in its natural form.
Yes, you should! Digital photos appear differently on various screens like on cameras, phones, and computers. To fix this issue I recommend color-correcting the image in Photoshop!
Yes, you can! If you want to do basic recoloring, there are online tools to help you out! However, for more complex color corrections, I recommend using a dedicated photo editing tool like Lightroom or Photoshop.
Image color correction is the process of adjusting raw image data to make the picture look realistic. Photo editing like Lightroom and Photoshop is used to adjust the color digitally.
A quick method of Photoshop color correction is as follows:
Choose Levels or Curves
Select Auto Color Correction
Make this Process into a Photoshop Action for the Future