If you've ever tried to make your photos or videos pop in color, you've probably come across color-grading. It's the secret sauce that can make even poor-looking footage look cinematic if done right. You don't see it if it's there, but you certainly will miss it if it isn't.
The thing is, most tools for good color-grading can be complicated and often come with steep price tags. But the best color-grading tool I've come across is completely free, and you can start using it today. You may think that the photo or video is ruined, but there's afree tool that can perfectly restore it.
One-stop color grading powerhouse
This free tool handles everything from quick tweaks to full cinematic looks in one place
So, how does someone with zero interest in spending a month's rent unlock color wizardry without spending a dime? You downloadDaVinci Resolve.
If you shoot and edit video in any capacity, DaVinci will work wonders. It's available for free, can run on modest hardware, and any OS—Windows, macOS, and even Linux. It's also non-destructive, so you can play around with your original footage all you want without ruining it. Honestly, there are plenty ofreasons why you should use DaVinci Resolve for video editing.
DaVinci Resolve's free version is as close to magic as it gets in the software world. I stumbled into it while looking for alternatives to Premiere Pro. I assumed the free version would be limited in functionality, have watermarks, or force upgrades after a while. What I got instead was an industry-standard program that's used for anything from YouTube videos to Marvel movies and Netflix originals. The free edition covers everything you'd need, whether you're making YouTube videos, home movies, short films, or polishing photos for social media.
You get advanced color wheels, curves, tracking, masks, and scopes. There's support for everything from RAW camera footage to smartphone videos. The exports are also clean with support for 4K UHD video up to 60FPS. And if you're wondering what the catch is, there is none.DaVinci Resolve really is free.
DaVinci Resolve
- OS
- Windows, Linux, macOS, iPadOS
- Developer
- BlackMagic
- Price model
- Free. Paid version available.
A free video editor for Windows, Linux, macOS, and iPad from BlackMagic.
Surprisingly easy to learn, even for beginners
You'll be up and running in no time
DaVinci Resolve isn't Instagram, and color grading isn't as easy as slapping a filter on your photo or video. The interface has depth, and the color grading page will look intimidating at first.
That said, if you can stick with it for a week or so, you'll start seeing how it all fits together. There are tons of YouTube videos and even dedicated channels dedicated to teaching newbies. Color grading can be quite subjective as well, so you only need to understand how each control affects the picture, and you can take it from there. In fact, half the fun is discovering the tiny tricks from creators who use DaVinci for everything from vlogs to short films.
When you open DaVinci Resolve and head to theColor page, you'll see a bunch of intimidating-looking wheels and graphs. Don't panic, most of what you need to know fits into three core concepts.
Log Wheels are your primary tool. You've got three of them, one for shadows, midtones, and highlights each. Each wheel lets you shift the colors in that tonal range. Rotating these wheels changes the hue and saturation, and the distance from the center controls intensity.
Want your shadows more blue? Drag the shadow wheel toward blue. Want warm, golden highlights? Push the highlight wheel towards orange. It sounds simple, and it really is. Start by exaggerating changes. Really crank one of the wheels to see what's happening. Then dial it back to a more subtle value.
Curves are the next layer. These further fine-tune what the wheels did. You can adjust individual red, green, or blue color channels or the overall brightness curve to get the look you want. Grab a point on the line and drag it up to brighten that tonal range or down to darken it. Curves also let you do things like brighten only the midtones while keeping shadows dark, or punch up a specific color.
Last but not least, you've gotScopes. These include a waveform monitor and a vectorscope that show your brightness map and color distribution, respectively. These aren't just pretty visualizations; they help you spot things like crushed blacks, blown out highlights, or if you've gone too wild with color.
You don't have to use all the bells and whistles for small edits, either. Begin with the log wheels, curves, and scopes. You'll quickly realize how easily flat images can become vibrant and cinematic with subtle changes to just three or four sliders.
Smarter options for photo color grading
DaVinci is great with video, but photos require a different approach
DaVinci Resolve is designed as a video editor and hence, works best with videos. You can still use it for stills, but there will be extra friction. There are also better alternatives likeLightroom,GIMP, orDarkTable if you're working with photos.
This Free Lightroom Alternative Changed How I Develop Photos
Pro-level photo editing without the price tag.
Both GIMP and DarkTable are fully featured and open source, with cross-platform support. They won't give you node-based workflows like DaVinci, but that's because they're focused on stills and don't really require the same editing workflow.
Creativity doesn't need a price tag
You can color grade like pros without spending a dime
In the world of expensive tools and endless "free trial" apps, DaVinci Resolve is the king of the free hill. Whether you're just leveling up your home videos or chasing the perfect Instagram feed, it puts powerful color grading in reach, without opening your wallet.
You don't have to settle for good enough or hand-me-down apps when a tool used by the pros is in reach. Download DaVinci Resolve, read up on color grading, watch a few videos to figure out what the controls do, and you might just surprise yourself.
