Colour Grading: Bringing Different Frames Into One Series

Individually each frame may be good; together they fall apart — one warmer, one more contrasty, a third slightly green. A series holds together on its overall tone rather than on its individual pictures.

Where the divergence comes from

Light changes even in a studio: lamps warm up, a reflector gets moved, the model turns and catches a different cast from a wall. The camera's automatic white balance reacts to changes in composition and adjusts differently from frame to frame.

The working order

• Pick a reference frame — the one whose tone you like most
• Finish it: white balance, exposure, contrast, colour
• Transfer the settings to the whole series
• Only then correct individual frames — and sparingly

The reverse order, where each frame is processed from scratch, guarantees inconsistency: nobody can repeat the same decision twenty times running.

Skin as the reference

Skin tone is the most sensitive element. The eye forgives a colour shift in a background and never forgives one on a face. Check the series by skin: open the frames in sequence and look only at that, ignoring everything else.

Consistent does not mean identical

The aim is not to make every frame the same but to make them feel shot in one place at one time. Differences in brightness and mood are permissible and even necessary — what is not permissible is inconsistency of cast.

The check

Assemble the series into a contact sheet and look at it whole from a distance. Frames that fall out are obvious there — on a single screen you will never catch them.

This material is intended for adults over 18 and is informational in nature.