Color cast help

Photodivauk · #1 02-02-2009, 07:50 AM

Hello. I've been reading and learning loads from the experts here. I wonder if you could help me with this one.
First shot is one with good color and exposure.
Second one is one I slightly overexposed and now seems to make him look jaundiced. Looking at the histogram the red channel is rather burned.
Is there a technique I could use to bring the skin tones back to those like the 'normal' shot?
I've made the shot mono which works, but I wonder if there is some magic that I can use to improve this one.
Many thanks.

0lBaldy · #2 02-02-2009, 10:00 AM

Couldn't this be fixed in RAW?
It is pretty obvious I'm not an expert nor a professional.. but this was my approach to salvage the photo..
Just noticed the eyebrows are still dark but the originals could be masked in

Photodivauk · #3 02-02-2009, 10:26 AM

That looks like a good result. I thought I'd set the camera to raw but it ended up jpg - new camera body! I usually shoot raw. That'll teach me to be more careful.
Thanks

igot2pman · #4 02-02-2009, 02:52 PM

You can get rid of the color and over exposure quite easily, but OlBaldy is correct in having to paint back in the color as there is no color in the current hilights.

Just be sure to convert to B&W before you color. Then set the blending mode of the painted layer to COLOR. Use masking to only B&W and color what you need. Sometimes some or all of the original color can help, but in this case its mostly not useable.

This model has many tones to his face, many combos or colors would be needed if you want it to be exact.

Hope it helps,
-Keven

chillin · #5 02-02-2009, 10:25 PM

I'm not sure if it's fixable. I've tried curves, HSL & selectively "match colors".

Photodivauk · #6 02-03-2009, 05:05 AM

Thanks for the input, everyone. Chillin, your version looks very close to the 'better' shot. Could you clarify your workflow for me, so I can try it out for myself?

Olbaldy, it looks like you spent ages on the shot, for which I'm most grateful. I'm still working through this, and I had to go back to work today (despite the snow) so I'm dipping in when I can. thanks for the hints, Keven.

I would normally consign a badly exposed image to the trash, but I liked the pose and expression. The retouches certainly make the image usable on the web.

StormFX · #7 02-04-2009, 06:24 AM

Base corrections in ACR 5.2 adjusting hue/sat/lum of yellow and some other colors, selective color in PS addressing whites, color layer to solve grey zones, color balance and curves to nail skin tone and contrast. Bigger original will be better.

Regards,

Storm