Color Grading
Picture Control recipes — Holiday lights at night
A cool-shadow, warm-light recipe for December streets, the Capitol tree and storefront lights.
The look
Warm windows and string lights against cool, blue-gray shadows. The trick is to set white balance between the two light sources, not on either one.
Settings
Neutral Picture Control, contrast +1, saturation −1, clarity 0. White balance 3800K, fine-tuned B2 toward blue. Active D-Lighting Low to hold the lamps. Exposure −0.3 to keep the night feeling like night.
Where it works
The holiday tree on the Capitol grounds, the Fayetteville Street storefronts, and the Five Points shop windows. It fails under the newer white LED streetlights, which turn sickly green; switch to Flat Monochrome on those blocks.