How to Colour Grade Any Photo with ChatGPT — 20 Free Copy-Paste Prompts (2026)
Professional colour grading used to require Adobe Lightroom, a preset library, and hours of slider-tweaking. In 2026, you can get the same result — teal-and-orange cinematic, golden hour warmth, moody editorial dark — by uploading a photo to ChatGPT and pasting a single sentence.
This guide shows you exactly how to do it, with 20 free copy-paste colour grading prompts for the most popular styles on Instagram and TikTok. No Lightroom. No CapCut. No presets. Just ChatGPT and a text prompt.
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What Is ChatGPT Colour Grading?
ChatGPT's GPT Image 2 model (available in ChatGPT Plus and Pro) can take a photo you upload and regrade the entire colour palette based on a text description. You tell it the colour split (warm highlights, cool shadows), the contrast level, the mood, and the aesthetic reference — and it renders a new version of your photo in that style.
The results aren't identical to Lightroom's pixel-precise RAW edits, but for portrait photos, lifestyle content, and social media posts, the quality is excellent — often indistinguishable from a preset edit.
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How to Use ChatGPT for Colour Grading (Step by Step)
Step 1: Open ChatGPT at chat.openai.com (you need a Plus or Pro subscription for GPT Image 2).
Step 2: Start a new chat and click the paperclip icon to upload your photo.
Step 3: Copy any colour grading prompt from the list below.
Step 4: Paste the prompt in the chat alongside your uploaded photo and hit send.
Step 5: ChatGPT will return a colour-graded version of your image. Click to expand and download.
Pro tip: Add "preserve accurate skin tones on the subject's face" to any prompt when portrait skin tone accuracy matters to you.
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20 Free ChatGPT Colour Grading Prompts — Copy & Paste
These are the most-requested colour grading styles. Copy the exact prompt into ChatGPT with your photo uploaded.
1. Teal & Orange Cinematic
> Apply a teal-and-orange cinematic colour grade — warm orange on skin and highlights, deep teal-green in the shadows and background. High contrast, crushed blacks, rich and bold. Looks like a Hollywood blockbuster grade.2. Golden Hour Warmth
> Colour grade this with golden hour warmth — amber-gold highlights, peach glow on skin, lifted shadows, soft and hazy. Like the last 20 minutes before sunset. Keep the whites clean, not yellow-orange.3. Moody Dark & Desaturated
> Apply a moody desaturated grade — pull saturation down 30%, lift the blacks for a faded cinematic look, slight cool-blue cast in the shadows, neutral-to-warm highlights. Quiet and editorial. No bright or vivid colours.4. Soft Pastel Dream
> Colour grade with a soft pastel aesthetic — milky faded base, lavender or blush highlights, warm skin tones, low contrast, airy shadows. Dreamy and feminine. Like a flower-shop or cafe editorial.5. Kodak Portra Film Emulation
> Apply a Kodak Portra 400 film emulation — warm slightly faded tones, lifted shadows (never fully black), gentle halation glow in highlights, green-gold cast in midtones. Organic and warm without being orange-yellow.6. Cold Blue Winter
> Cold winter colour grade — shadows and midtones pushed to steel blue or cool grey, desaturated warm tones, pale cool skin. Slight haze in the highlights. Cold, grey, and melancholic. No warmth anywhere.7. Dark Academia Muted Browns
> Dark academia colour grade — sepia-brown cast in midtones, rich deep shadows, desaturated greens and blues. Like old books, candlelight, wood-panelled rooms. Pull bright colours down and push shadows to warm brown-black.8. Luxury Editorial Dark
> Luxury editorial grade — deep nearly black shadows, slightly blue-tinted cool highlights, velvety smooth midtones, barely desaturated colours. Mysterious, expensive, dramatic. Like a high-end fashion cover.9. Vibrant Tropical Summer
> Vibrant tropical summer grade — electric cyan and cobalt blues, warm golden yellows, vivid lime and emerald greens, high brightness and contrast. Sun-kissed golden skin. Bold and saturated like a Caribbean beach campaign.10. Muted Sage Green
> Muted sage green grade — dusty olive-sage tone in greens and neutrals, desaturated warm tones, slightly lifted shadows, very subtle cool highlight cast. Earthy, natural, and calm. Botanical or slow-living Instagram aesthetic.11. Purple & Mauve Tones
> Colour grade with purple and mauve — deep violet-plum shadows, dusty mauve-rose midtones, clean or slightly warm highlights. Blues shifted toward purple, pinks toward mauve. Romantic, moody, and slightly surreal.12. Neon Night City
> Neon night city grade — intensify neon pinks, purples, and electric blues in background lights, deep nearly black shadows, reflective glow on wet surfaces, cyan or magenta pushed highlights. Cyberpunk Tokyo-alley at 2am vibe.13. Airy Bright Clean
> Airy bright lifestyle grade — lift exposure slightly, pure bright whites (not yellow), soft warm skin tones, reduced harsh shadows, low mid-tone contrast. Looks like a sunny white-wall lifestyle blog or Pinterest home-decor photo.14. Retro 70s Film
> 70s retro film grade — warm orange-yellow all tones, green-gold cast in shadows, hazy faded lifted blacks, slightly oversaturated warm tones, desaturated blues and greens. Kodachrome slide from 1975. Warm, punchy, faded.15. Documentary Natural
> Natural documentary grade — colours honest and close to real life, slightly cool neutral shadows, clean neutral highlights, accurate realistic skin tones, moderate contrast. Invisible grade. Photojournalist aesthetic.16. Soft Peach & Warm
> Soft peach and warm grade — highlights and skin pushed toward soft peach-orange, shadows lifted to warm tan rather than black, low contrast, gentle glowing quality. Flattering, sun-kissed, summery. Like a skincare brand campaign.17. High-Contrast Black & White
> Convert to high-contrast black and white — deep rich blacks, crisp bright whites, emphasised skin texture and facial detail, dramatic contrast. Classic portrait photography style — Herb Ritts or Avedon. Powerful and graphic, not soft.18. Desaturated Blue Street
> Street photography grade — reduce overall saturation 25-40%, blue-grey shadows, cool neutral midtones, slight cyan tint to sky. Quiet and observational. Documentary essay from a grey city on an overcast day.19. Sunset Orange Glow
> Sunset orange glow grade — sky and background pushed to burnt orange and deep amber, rich dark shadows with a slight red tint, warm rim-light glow on subject edges. Dramatic and golden. Last 5 minutes before sunset drops.20. Green Teal Forest
> Green-teal forest grade — deep teal-green in the greens, aqua-blue cast in shadows, slightly lifted exposure, desaturated reds and oranges. Immersive and lush. Like being surrounded by a rainforest canopy. Cool, fresh, deeply green.---
ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Lightroom for Colour Grading
| Tool | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT (GPT Image 2) | Portrait and social media photo colour grading from text prompts | $20/month |
| Gemini (Nano Banana 2) | Softer grades, natural skin preservation, warm/pastel styles | Free or $19.99/month |
| Adobe Lightroom | Professional RAW editing, non-destructive, exact repeatable grades | $9.99–$54.99/month |
| CapCut | Quick TikTok/Instagram preset filters on mobile | Free (watermark) |
For social media content, ChatGPT and Gemini give results equivalent to Lightroom presets in a fraction of the time. For professional commercial work needing exact colour accuracy, Lightroom is still the standard.
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What Makes a Good Colour Grading Prompt
The difference between vague results and professional-looking grades comes down to being specific:
Do:
Avoid:
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