Color grading is where your personality as an artist really shows. It’s more than a preset—it’s a mood. A tone. A style that helps your images stand out from the hundreds of photos your clients scroll past every day.
Think about Hollywood films: almost every movie you’ve ever watched has a cinematic color grade. That look pulls you into the emotion of the scene. The same applies to photography.
Software like DxO FilmPack makes this part both fun and insanely powerful. Instead of basic one-click presets, you get hundreds of film-inspired looks that you can tweak endlessly. Warm, cool, contrasty, matte, nostalgic—there’s a look for every vibe.
The key hack here? Never treat presets as “one-click.”
Use them as a starting point, then customize:
This is how you turn a “preset” into your signature look.