What's the difference between color correction and color grading?
Color correction fixes problems: white balance so whites are white, exposure so faces aren't too dark, matching shots from different cameras so they cut together cleanly. Color grading is the creative step after: pushing the corrected footage toward a look — warm and golden, cold and moody, high-contrast punchy. Correction is accuracy; grading is intention.
Order matters: correct first, grade second — grading uncorrected footage bakes the problems in. For social content, light correction (exposure, warmth) plus one consistent grade across all clips covers 95% of needs; heavy cinematic grading only pays off when the footage and lighting support it.
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