The general photography audience and practitioners are more sophisticated now than they were 5 years ago. There’s a desire for deeper understanding and deeper appreciation that exists now, even whilst at the same time we are amidst a phone-camera era.

One of the ways we see this is through the use of color. There’s a high focus on color theory today that was missing for a number of years, and I’d wager that this just continues to deepen. The thing about color theory though, is that to apply it well (unless you’re painstakingly plotting out your shoots) you must understand color grading and be able to implement it. Truly, this is a must, and Michael Woloszynowicz is one to help you with it.

We’ve featured Michael and his channel, vibrant Shot, many times over the years, and this latest video is a good look into color grading in Photoshop, and a great video to learn from.

Something colorful for your Monday with @taylor_howard #beauty by @breecollinsxo #model #portrait #photographer #losangeles #lamodels

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Over about 20 minutes and with two images you’ll go over color grading and correction using the Color Balance Tool in Photoshop, learning not only the ins-and-outs of its behavior, but why it’s important. You’ll see how, when, and why the Blend-If tool can be used within Color Balance for a level of precision you are likely unaware of, and get an appreciation for how important that is when Michael goes over how Photoshop treats highlights and darks in relation to color – essentially, that it doesn’t always separate it as cleanly as you’d expect.

I’d be remiss, however, not to mention that this is not entirely a foundational piece, in that Michael is assuming you know some rudimentary operations and workflow within Photoshop. That’s not to say you can’t pick up what he’s saying, but it helps to be familiar. If however, you are familiar, there’s likely information here that can be implemented immediately.

I’d recommend consuming this video with notepad in-hand, because there’s no faffing about, and the 20 minutes is packed with bits to remember. Of course, should you want more depth (you will), there’s always his entire course on color grading, which is brilliant and can be found here.

Check out more from Michael on Retouching Academy and Vibrant Shot.

[REWIND: HOW TO MASTERFULLY FIX SKIN & HAIR ISSUES WITH PHOTOSHOP]