Best Color Grading Presets for Premiere Pro Introduction

Good color grading has the power to completely transform the video look and feel. Even when you shoot video using an ordinary camera, good color grading techniques will help to get better-looking and more harmonious images. In this case, color grading presets for Premiere Pro can be really helpful.

Presets and LUTs provide an automatic way of adding creative look to video and applying some technical LUTs. The name of the color correction software on Adobe Premiere Pro is "Lumetri Color panel."

But the presets are not a magic wand. The very same LUT will work great on one video clip but will be inappropriate for another one. It is necessary to choose the right preset and make some additional manual adjustments.

What Is a Color Grading Preset?

Color grading presets include all color adjustments that you can use in various projects. The most popular way to create the certain look is using LUTs (usually it is a .cube file).

For example, you can find presets designed for:

• Cinematic movie looks
• Warm travel videos
• Moody scenes
• Vintage film styles
• Teal and orange grades
• Bright lifestyle videos
• Documentary footage
• Night scenes

You can also use creative looks in Premiere Pro by applying them via Lumetri Color > Creative > Look. There is also an option to adjust the intensity of the look with the help of the Intensity slider.

The Best Presets for Premiere Pro

Cinematic LUTs

Cinematic looks are some of the most used presets in YouTube videos, short movies, travel videos, etc.

Cinematic looks normally provide you with increased contrast and richer colors. Some cinematic collections include Hollywood-inspired looks and different film emulations.

Do not apply them at 100% intensity automatically. Reducing the strength can produce a much more natural result.

Film Emulation Presets

Film-like presets help make your digital video appear to have the feel of the analogue film.

Some examples include warm skin tone, low contrast, muted colors, and slightly vintage vibe. Collections of film emulation LUT presets may contain various looks similar to traditional film stocks.

They suit perfectly for travel videos, documentaries, weddings, and cinematic storytelling.

Teal and Orange Presets

Another famous cinematic look is teal and orange. It creates contrast between cool backgrounds and warm skin tone.

It can be a good choice for action videos, travel videos, music videos, and dramatic scenes. Nevertheless, too intensive teal and orange looks will make your footage seem unrealistic quickly.

Apply preset and then adjust intensity if it is required.

Moody Presets

Moody presets are helpful in storytelling that involves drama. It usually contains darker shadows, less saturated colors, and colder or warmer colors.

They can be suitable for:

• Night videos
• Dramatic scenes
• Short films
• Urban filmmaking
• Dramatic YouTube content

Be sure to double-check skin tones after applying the preset. While it is okay to have dramatic background, you should not forget about people's natural look.

How to Use a Color Preset in Premiere Pro

Using a LUT in Premiere Pro is relatively simple.

First, import your video and open the Lumetri Color panel. Select your clip and open the Creative section. Under Look, choose Browse and select your .cube LUT file. You can then adjust its Intensity to control how strongly it affects the footage.

For multiple clips, an adjustment layer can be useful. You can place the adjustment layer above several clips and apply your creative grade there. This makes it easier to change or remove the look later.

Important: Correct Before You Grade

If you are using Log footage, do not immediately apply a creative LUT without considering the camera's colour workflow.

A technical conversion LUT can be used to transform Log footage into a normal viewing space such as Rec.709. A creative LUT is then used to create the desired style.

A simple workflow is:

Correct → Convert → Creative Look → Fine-Tune

It provides you with more control than simply applying a preset on an incorrect clip.

Tips for Successful Preset Application

The best color grading presets are those which work for your clip and don’t mask the issues.

Always do the exposure and white balance correction before applying the preset.

After that, use the desired effect and dial back the strength of it to achieve a natural image.

Moreover, compare various clips within the same sequence, because a preset that looks great in one clip will generate a different outcome in another due to light settings or white balance.

For example, you can find many free LUTs in the collections of PremiumBeat, Lutify.me, and others.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

An easy mistake is the usage of high saturation. Even if bold colors look appealing on a monitor, they can be distracting after export.

Also, there are cases when creative LUTs are applied to every footage without taking into account the nature of footage and camera. Every type of footage is different and needs its own adjustments.

It is also crucial not to layer too many LUTs. Instead of stacking a few effects, it is more efficient to use one LUT and apply manual corrections.

At last, one should never rely on their memory when checking the color. It is vital to use the Lumetri scopes and make a comparison of your footage.

Conclusion

When it comes to choosing the best color grading presets for Premiere Pro, one should remember that the best presets are not the most intense ones. The perfect preset will provide the base color correction, but the final touch should be made by yourself.

There are a few types of color grading presets that include cinematic, film emulation, teal-orange, moody, etc.

Begin by using a discreet preset, fix your exposure and white balance, change the intensity and then work on your colors manually. With time, presets can be an important tool in achieving professional results using Premiere Pro color grading.