Soft and Dreamy Maternity Video Color Grading

This Maternity Video Color Correction project required a highly refined approach to post-production to achieve a timeless, nostalgic aesthetic. Unlike high-contrast commercial work that demands bold saturation, maternity films rely on softness, warmth, and emotional resonance. The primary objective was to create a "dreamy" visual language while ensuring the subjects looked radiant and natural throughout the sequence.

Technical Workflow in DaVinci Resolve The grading process began with a proper Color Space Transform (CST) to normalize the log footage into a workable Rec.709 space. Since the video was shot in natural light with varying exposure levels, the first step was shot-matching. I utilized the scopes to balance the RGB parade, ensuring a consistent baseline across all clips despite the changing position of the sun.

Skin Tone Protection & Refinement The most critical aspect of this grade was Skin Tone Management. Using DaVinci Resolve’s qualifiers and power windows, I isolated the skin tones to separate them from the background environment. This allowed me to push the background towards a cooler, teal-biased shadow to create separation, while keeping the skin in the "healthy" peach-orange range of the vector scope. I applied a subtle mid-tone detail reduction specifically to the faces to soften textures and create a flattering, "beauty-filter" effect naturally within the grade.

Creating the Mood To achieve the final cinematic polish, I lifted the shadows slightly to create a matte finish, emulating the characteristics of analogue film stock. I also rolled off the highlights to prevent any digital clipping in the bright sky. A warm, golden vignette was applied to the edges of the frame to draw the viewer's eye toward the couple. This intricate layering of nodes resulted in a cohesive, emotional visual narrative that feels intimate and professionally polished.