Understanding Destructive and Non-Destructive Color Adjustments in Pixelmator Pro/Photomator

In Pixelmator Pro, there are three types of color adjustments:

1. Color-correcting adjustments - These are used to "fix" the colors in the photo, to give the photo a "right" look.

2. Color-grading adjustments - These are used to distort the colors in an artistic way, to give the photo a certain mood.

3. Numerical adjustments - These are legacy adjustments without specific intent, such as Levels, Curves, Invert.

When working with these adjustments, it's important to understand the difference between destructive and non-destructive color adjustments.

Destructive adjustments, like Levels, Curves, and the Fade effect, are lossy. This means that they permanently alter the image data, which can result in a loss of information if you try to reverse the adjustment later.

Non-destructive adjustments, like Exposure, are lossless. They preserve the original image data, so you can undo or modify the adjustment without losing any information.

When working with multiple adjustment layers, it's generally best to use non-destructive adjustments to preserve as much color information as possible.

Best Practices for Color Adjustments

When making color adjustments, it's generally best to perform color correction before color grading. This means you should first fix any defects in the image, and then add artistic effects.

For example, if you add a Fade effect (a color-grading adjustment) and then try to fix the Exposure via mask (a color-correcting adjustment), you may not get the desired results.

For more information on this topic, you can refer to the Pixelmator Pro support ticket.