After years of commercial and editorial work, I've refined a set of color grading presets that I reach for on almost every project. Today I'm making them available — and more importantly, explaining how they work so you can adapt them to your own vision.
Color grading is one of those skills that separates a technically competent photographer from a visually distinctive one. It's not about slapping a filter on an image — it's about building a coherent visual language that carries across an entire body of work.
1. What makes a great preset?
The best presets are invisible. They're not the star of the image — they serve it. What I look for is a slight desaturation in the midtones, lifted blacks that give a cinematic quality, and a very subtle warm push in the shadows. These three things together create that filmic look without looking over-processed.
“A preset should feel like the light was always that way — not like something was done in post.”
— James Shell
2. How to use these presets effectively
Start by setting exposure and white balance correctly in-camera. Presets can't rescue a badly exposed image. Once you have your base, apply the preset and then locally adjust. Every scene has different light, and a global preset is just a starting point.
I also recommend creating variants of each preset — a stronger version for overcast days, a lighter one for bright midday sun. Over time you'll develop an intuition for which variant to reach for first.
