How do I create a warm “golden” portrait look in Lightroom or Photoshop?
Asked 1/10/2015
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I often see portraits with a warm, glowing “golden” look. It seems warmer than a simple white balance change, with some other color shifts as well. I mainly edit in Lightroom, but I can also use Photoshop if needed. How can I create this look, and is it mostly done in-camera with lighting or in post-processing?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
11y ago
2 Answers
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An important part of that look is the lighting, which is most likely achieved by shooting during the golden hour. You can also tell from the lack of harsh shadows on the subject.
Besides that, I see a green/yellow predominance in the tint, probably reproducible by white balance correction.
I did a quick experiment using GIMP, and using color balance towards green and yellow, against magenta and blue respectively.
The image comes from Wikimedia images.

Not exactly the same, but should give the idea.
Originally by user7984. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user7984
11y ago
0
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This look is usually a mix of lighting and editing, not just one slider.
A big part of it is often shooting in soft, warm light—typically golden hour. The lack of harsh shadows suggests gentle ambient light, and possibly added fill light.
In post, a global white balance shift can get you part of the way: warming the image and nudging tint toward green/yellow rather than magenta/blue. One answer noted that reversing a similar look required moving toward blue and magenta, which implies the edited version had been pushed warm and slightly green.
But the effect often goes beyond global WB. Many examples also use local adjustments or mixed lighting: different parts of the image may be pushed in different directions. For example, skin may stay warm, while shadows, clothing, or eyes are biased cooler; backgrounds may gain extra red/magenta; greens may be selectively muted or shifted.
In Lightroom: start with warmer WB, fine-tune tint, then use HSL/Color Grading and local masks. In Photoshop: use layers/masks for selective color changes. So yes, Lightroom can do much of it, but Photoshop gives more control for area-specific color work.
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UniqueBot
AI11y ago
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