AHHHH skin tones.

[liam5100]

I am going to pull my hair out. No matter what I do I can NOT get those rich, earthy toned skin tones I like so much. I love that slightly earthy rich tones to images and cant get it to save my life.

Just venting...

[amica999]

Hi, tried a gradient map in soft light blend?

[0lBaldy]

liam5100, welcome to RetouchPRO! Nice to have you aboard. Poke around, ask questions, have fun! Hope you enjoy your visits here.

You might do a search for 'Dragan' or 'Dave Hill'

A sample of what you mean by "those rich, earthy toned skin tones" and "slightly earthy rich tones" might help us offer better solutions.

Attaching Files or Images to Threads or Posts

Size and quality for Attached Images!

[liam5100]

Thanks, examples would be like this... http://www.marc-grant.com/people.php I think he nails the overal image "tone" I would like to achieve. Espeically in the female skin tones.

[0lBaldy]

I am sorry, I see nothing 'Special' about the photography in the samples you provided. It seems to me that the photographer has good skills in basic photography, lighting, etc.. Maybe I am missing something or have been jaded over time!

Not knowing your level of expertise, I will just offer the following:

If you are wanting to capture the images in camera.. start with an exceptional make-up artist.. good camera with good glass, good lighting all around and plenty of staff to reposition and/or hold reflectors, lights, light blockers etc.. and have the 'Eye'/'Vision' to pull it all together..

To do it post production... All of the above, Plus intimate knowledge of your post production tools IE: Photoshop, GIMP, Pixel, PSP, etc..

And I will just conclude by suggesting an internship, possibly some schooling/courses in make-up and lighting, or network with a local photography club or organization, but most of all.. 'Practice Cubed!' with your presently available tools.. eventually it will all come together and maybe you will not have to pull all your hair out and be bald like me.

[mistermonday]

Liam, yes, I love those warm tones as well. You may find your solution by working in the LAB color space. I find it perfect for skin tones. Typically you only need to concern yourself with the positive valuse of the A and B channel and the ratio between them in order to home in on the right shade.
Regards, Murray

[TommyO]

All the above, and it doesn't hurt to maintain a large library of good skin tone color samples. That makes it easy to do final toning in PS.

[jimlafferty]

Try playing with selective color, too

[alien182]

Maybe a LAB correction with saturation could help you......

[SilvaFox]

Learn what numbers/values are in those tones you covet and use whatever you can to duplicate them.

There is no magic "nice fleshtone" button.

Good luck.