Dial-In Your Contrast and Color Grading
Experiment to familiarize yourself with Photoshop’s various adjustment layers (Brightness/Contrast, Levels, Curves, Hue/Saturation, Color Balance, etc.). Adjustment layers are non-destructive, so you should never be afraid to push things as far as possible. One of our favorite color-grading solutions is the gradient tool, which is an excellent way to add warm/cool color contrast and harmonize your color palette.
How to Add a Light Bloom Effect
The light bloom effect adds dramatic impact to a scene. It works well for interior shots with big windows, but the technique can really be extended to any scene where you really want little patches of light to jump off the screen.
Add Chromatic Abberation and Vignetting
Chromatic aberration and vignetting are forms of lens distortion that are produced by imperfections in real-world cameras and lenses. Because CG cameras have no imperfections, chromatic aberration and vignetting will not be present in a render unless you add them yourself. It’s a common mistake to go overboard on vignetting and chromatic aberration, but they can work wonders when used subtly. To create these effects in Photoshop, go to Filter > Lens Correction and play with the sliders until you achieve an effect you’re happy with.
Add Noise and Film Grain
Grain can give your image a very cinematic look and help sell your image as photorealistic. There are certain shots where noise or grain might be out of place, so if you’re going for a super-clean look, this is something you may want to leave out.
