View Full Version : bronzing skin tones


tetsuo
11-22-2005, 03:58 AM
I am trying to change the skin tone to bronzing like colors. does anyone have any idea how to do that?

edgework
11-22-2005, 10:15 AM
A sample would make it easier to suggest an approach.

Rule of thumb: generic caucasian skin tones usually have approximately equal magenta and yellow with about one-fifth the cyan. Yellow can be a little higher but some situations call for a pinker tone.

Bronze tones, or highly tanned skin, has both a higher proportion of cyan and yellow compared to magenta. Don't just add yellow with Levels or Color Balance because this will effect the whole tonal range equally. You often find that the effect is most pronounced in the midtones and three-quarter tones. A curve will allow you to add tone to the darker regions without sending your highlights off the grid.

The tones you're talking about share a lot in common with gold. Gold isn't red, blue, green, yellow blue or brown, but a slight deviation in one or more channels can send it into those unwanted hues. It's a tricky balance and there's no single formula.

tetsuo
11-22-2005, 11:24 AM
a bronze tone. hmmm. balance. i tried doing it. nearly took me 4 hrs.

but what you mentioned is in CMYK right?

edgework
11-23-2005, 10:42 AM
a bronze tone. hmmm. balance. i tried doing it. nearly took me 4 hrs.

but what you mentioned is in CMYK right?

a bronze tone. hmmm. balance. I tried doing it. nearly took me 4 hrs.

but what you mentioned is in CMYK right?

The numbers, yes. I often set one of my Info readouts to CMYK even if I'm in LAB or RGB. Maybe it's because the numbers are in percentages of 100, rather than 256, it's easier to think of the proportions of one channel to the other. Because shadow detail is siphoned off into the Black channel, the C, M, and Y, values are primarily in the areas where color is most crucial. If my skin tones are too hot, I automatically think in terms of a deficient Cyan plate, even if I'm in RGB. Selective color allows me to add Cyan anyway, and for the most part, the RGB curves can be treated as though they were CMY curves.

tetsuo
11-23-2005, 10:24 PM
The numbers, yes. I often set one of my Info readouts to CMYK even if I'm in LAB or RGB. Maybe it's because the numbers are in percentages of 100, rather than 256, it's easier to think of the proportions of one channel to the other. Because shadow detail is siphoned off into the Black channel, the C, M, and Y, values are primarily in the areas where color is most crucial. If my skin tones are too hot, I automatically think in terms of a deficient Cyan plate, even if I'm in RGB. Selective color allows me to add Cyan anyway, and for the most part, the RGB curves can be treated as though they were CMY curves.

Oh. most of your color adjustment done in SELECTIVE COLOR? I was wondering do I really have to change to CMYK just to adjust.

tetsuo
11-24-2005, 06:34 AM
I realised 1 thing. As a photographer, most of our kind think in RGB. rather than CMYK or LAB. I guess I have to start thinking out of my box.