NEW HANDS-ON Color Grading for Photographers: From Perception to Practice
Instructor: Marianna Santoni, photographer
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 4 hours
Prerequisites: The course is aimed at professional photographers and retouchers, as well as students with an intermediate level in the use of Photoshop (including mask creation) and on RAW development software (Lightroom or Camera RAW). Participants should bring a laptop computer with Adobe Photoshop® + RAW development software (Adobe Lightroom® or Adobe Camera RAW®) installed.
Course Time: 8:30 - 12:45
Benefits
This course enables the attendee to:
- Understand how the psychology of color influences visual storytelling and audience response.
- Perform objective color correction for grading using numerical values.
- Create targeted color palettes by selecting a dominant hue and complementary harmonies, also with tools assisted by artificial intelligence.
- Apply color grading non-destructively in RAW development or Photoshop.
- Understand the approach and method of applying the same style to multiple images.
- Diagnose and correct inconsistencies to maintain color uniformity of the entire project.
- How to use artificial intelligence to support these creative processes.
Course Description
Color shouldn’t be an afterthought—it’s the narrative. This course links perception and art practice to a clear, repeatable color‑grading workflow for photography. We review how color guides emotion and meaning, then establish a correction‑for‑grading baseline using numeric evaluation to avoid bias. Participants learn to build project‑level palettes—choosing a dominant hue, combining harmonies, and validating choices—before comparing RAW‑stage and Photoshop approaches for non‑destructive grading. Live demos and guided exercises move from single‑image treatment to consistent styling across a series, with practical take‑home files and checklists. Designed for imaging professionals and artists seeking a bridge between intent and execution, the course favors clarity, control, and repeatability.
Intended Audience: photographers, colorists, post‑production artists, and imaging professionals who want to design coherent, repeatable color styles for single images and series.
Marianna Santoni is an Italy-based photographer, author, and consultant recognized internationally as a leading authority on Photoshop® and Lightroom®. Working at the crossroads of art and technology, she blends a humanities background with high-level technical skills. Named by Adobe® ‘Best Adobe Guru’ (2006) and voted ‘No. 1 Teacher in Italy’ for photographic post-production (Tau Visual, 2021), she has spent 20+ years helping professionals, companies, and institutions master the full image workflow for maximum technical quality and communicative impact. Consultant and speaker for major imaging brands — Adobe®, Canon®, EIZO®, Epson®, Nikon®, Sony®, Wacom®, Calibrite®, X-Rite Pantone® — and has delivered 1,500+ talks and courses. Clients include Gucci, Sony Music, Ryanair, RAI, Treccani, and UNESCO. Invited as an artist to exhibit at the Venice Biennale’s official collateral events (2011), in 2022 she signed the first NFT acquired by the Milan Cathedral’s Historical Archive. A lecturer at ISIA Urbino and visiting professors at 10+ universities, she runs a photography and post-production school in Milan attended by professionals from 20+ countries, and has authored 70+ publications, including the first Lightroom guide commissioned by Adobe (2006). Official website: https://mariannasantoni.com/en.