HDR Color Grading: Mastering High Dynamic Range Workflows
High Dynamic Range imaging represents the most significant evolution in display technology and color grading workflows since the transition from standard definition to high definition. HDR isn’t simply about brighter highlights or deeper blacks—it fundamentally changes how we capture, grade, and display moving images, offering an expanded color gamut and luminance range that more closely approximates what the human eye can perceive in the real world. For colorists, mastering HDR workflows means understanding new technical standards, developing different aesthetic approaches, and navigating the complexities of creating grades that work across multiple delivery formats. As HDR becomes the expected standard for premium content on streaming platforms, theatrical releases, and high-end broadcast, proficiency in HDR grading has shifted from a nice-to-have specialty skill to an essential competency.
The technical foundation of HDR grading begins with understanding the various HDR standards and how they differ from traditional Standard Dynamic Range (SDR) workflows. HDR10, the most widely adopted standard, offers a static metadata approach with peak brightness up to 1000 nits (or higher on capable displays) and the Rec. 2020 color space. Dolby Vision provides dynamic metadata that can adjust parameters scene-by-scene or even frame-by-frame, offering more precise control over how content appears on different displays. HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma) was designed for broadcast applications and offers backward compatibility with SDR displays. Each standard has specific technical requirements, and professional colorists must understand how to grade for each format while maintaining creative intent across all deliverables.
What makes HDR grading particularly challenging—and exciting—is that it requires rethinking many assumptions about color and exposure that have governed SDR workflows for decades. In SDR, colorists often deliberately clip highlights or crush shadows to create specific looks, knowing these extremes would be lost anyway. HDR’s expanded range means you can now preserve detail in bright windows while simultaneously maintaining shadow information in dark interiors—something previously impossible. This extended latitude requires different compositional thinking during production and more nuanced grading approaches in post. Highlights that would have been blown out in SDR can now contain meaningful detail and color information that enhances the storytelling.
The workflow for HDR grading typically involves creating a primary HDR grade (often in Dolby Vision or HDR10) and then generating SDR deliverables through a trim pass rather than grading SDR first and then creating HDR versions. This ‘grade down’ approach preserves the creative potential of the expanded HDR space while ensuring your SDR deliverable maintains the intended look. Modern color grading software like DaVinci Resolve provides sophisticated tools for managing these parallel grades, with color space transforms and trim controls that allow colorists to maintain creative consistency across formats while accommodating the technical differences between HDR and SDR display capabilities.