Blog
Color grading, film looks,
and photo editing
Practical guides for photographers who care about how their images look — not just how quickly they were edited.
How to Get the Fuji Film Look on Your Photos
Fuji film has a signature palette — warm highlights, green-leaning shadows, lifted blacks, and flattering skin tones. Here's how to get it without spending an hour in Lightroom.
What Is Color Grading? A Beginner's Guide for Photographers
Color grading is the creative step that gives a photo its mood. It's different from color correction, it doesn't require expensive software, and once you understand the basic levers, you'll see photos completely differently.
Orange and Teal Color Grade: How to Nail It Every Time
Orange and teal is the most recognizable color grade in modern cinema. There's a reason it works so well — it's not just a trend, it's physics. Here's the theory and how to apply it.
Why Instagram Filters Are Never Quite Right (And What to Do Instead)
Instagram filters give you 40 options and none of them are exactly right. The problem isn't the filters — it's the model. Here's why describing a look works better than picking from a list.
How to Copy a Color Grade from a Reference Photo
Reference-based grading is how professional colorists work: find a photo whose colors you love, extract the grade, apply it to your work. Here's how to do it — and what to look for in a good reference.
The Best VSCO Alternative for AI Color Grading in 2025
VSCO has a clean UI and good presets, but you're still choosing from a list. If you want a look that doesn't exist in any preset library, there's a better approach — describe it.