Simple Color/Lighting Editing Tutorial

Color and lighting editing is something I am still working to improve on but below is simple tutorial of how i edit color and lighting.

Here is an example of a typical edit I do on pictures. This image isn't cropped and I could probably do some more tweaking but I wanted to keep this tutorial simple.

I first add a curve layer and brighten the image.

The second curve layer that has two points making it a basic S curve. This brings out some of the blacks and highlights to add contrast. I have black hair so when adjusting the curves I have to make sure I dont lose the highlights while with someone with blonde hair i dont have to worry about that. 

I add a Levels layer next to bring out the blacks even more. I dragged the left point over to the right and the middle point to the left. 

Once I am done fixing the lighting I edit the colors. I add another curve layer. I switch the mode from RGB to blues. Then, I bring the blues curve down to add some warmth. Now the image is warmer but a little yellow.

To fix the yellow, on the same curve layer, I switch to the Red mode and bring that curve up just a little bit.

Usually I stop here on a basic color edit. This image ended up having a red tint so I added a selective color layer. Under the reds on this layer I brought down the magentas to get rid of some of the red tint. 

I also use color balance layers and multiple selective color layers to fine tune colors. I never batch edit pictures. I adjust lighting and color for each individual image.