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  • Tara Purgaric

Basic Color Grading in DaVinci Resolve: A Beginner’s Guide


Back view of man color grading on computer

Color grading can transform the look and feel of your video, turning raw footage into a polished, professional product. DaVinci Resolve is one of the most powerful tools available for this purpose. Here’s a beginner-friendly guide to help you get started with basic color grading.


Understanding the Color Wheels

DaVinci Resolve’s color wheels are the primary tool for adjusting the colors in your footage. The three main wheels—Lift, Gamma, and Gain—allow you to adjust the shadows, midtones, and highlights, respectively. Learning how to balance these settings is the first step toward achieving a professional-grade look.


Close up of color wheels in Davinci Resolve

Using LUTs for a Quick Start

LUTs (Look-Up Tables) are pre-configured color settings that can be applied to your footage to achieve a specific look. DaVinci Resolve comes with several built-in LUTs that can serve as a starting point for your color grading. Simply apply a LUT to your clip and fine-tune the settings to match your vision.


Essential Tips for Color Grading in DaVinci Resolve

  • Start with primary corrections: Before diving into creative grading, ensure that your footage is properly exposed and white-balanced.

  • Use scopes: The waveform, vectorscope, and parade scopes in DaVinci Resolve provide visual feedback on your color grading, helping you achieve consistent results.

  • Don’t overdo it: Subtlety is key in color grading. Small adjustments can make a big difference without making your footage look unnatural.


By mastering these basic techniques, you’ll be well on your way to creating visually stunning videos with DaVinci Resolve.

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