Yellow children (skintone balance issue)

[smoothfluid]

I have tried a few methods to balance this photo, but am still not happy with my result. I resorted to LAB (probably making life a bit tricky for myself) to get reid of some of the cast, but wonder if anyone had some tips to offer.
Obviously the skin is too yellow, but I've been finding that in the process of removing the yellow I've been flattening the colour.
Out of interest what are some 'normal'/'neutral' skin tone values? I've been doing it by eye, but sometimes the numbers help.
Caspian

[DCobb]

I used the hue/sat to remove the yellow.

dc

[smoothfluid]

I tried that way too but felt everything looked too flat afterwards.
Just had another go with some more curves and a pink-to-white gradient map set to 15% Color, that I was surprised to see helped.

[_ManWithNoName_]

You could try a cooling filter...
Do A Selective colour mod of yellows,reds, oranges.

Im a beginner so just throwing what I know out there..

[d4ws]

i used color selective to reduce the yellow..and some level correction...

[smoothfluid]

Thanks for those tips. I'll see if I can make it pop now.

[jbrembat]

White balanced on clock strap.

Jacopo

[smoothfluid]

jbrembat, what method did you use to balance the white? It looks like a good start, and probably quicker than mine.

[shootphoto]

my take......

[jbrembat]

jbrembat, what method did you use to balance the white? It looks like a good start, and probably quicker than mine.

White balance using my father's PhotoResampling. Just a click on strap.

Jacopo

[smoothfluid]

Another Windows plugin. Not to worry.

[Algarve Images]

My take on it,
removed colour cast with pro contrast then remove cast filter in "NIK" on yellow, desaturated the yellows again in selective colour and hue/sat...then brought back the vibrance in the colours of the t-shirts etc, Gary

Ps... if you take images in Raw you can change the white balance easily

[smoothfluid]

Thanks Gary, Pro contrast is a Windows plugin isn't it? You guys have an easy ride
I ended up creating a Luminosity layer from the RAW that brought out more details in the shadows.

[Algarve Images]

Hi Smoothfluid,
"pro contrast" used in combination with "remove colour cast filter" are Nik filter plugins , they work as a good starting point and should be available for mac too

[d4ws]

great..i use NIK too..it's very usefull..

[igot2pman]

I probably took the long way around but my basic theory of recovery was to start with one thing then compensate with another until right.

See screen shoot for more details.

-Keven

[Algarve Images]

http://www.niksoftware.com/index/en/entry.php

Nik is available for Mac, just checked the site, also they have a new plugin called "viveza" which looks very interesting to use without the need for layers and is compatible with NX2 for those who use it, i tend to go for lightroom and presets etc...

Another note, having an A3 graphics tablet makes kife so much easier now i found the software to make it run, has been dormant for a while...

[Algarve Images]

Sorry forgot to mention, "pro contrast" is within Nik filters so yes it's for mac

[jbrembat]

Another Windows plugin. Not to worry.

Wrong, PhotoResampling is Windows, but it is'nt a plugin.

Jacopo

[atw]

For children, Caucasian skin is usually equal magenta and yellow, cyan is 1/3 of the magenta percentage (minimal to 0 black): c11 m33 y33 k0 (would be a reasonable example).

For Caucasian adult it is usually a couple of points higher in the yellow: c11 m33 y35 k0 (for example).

The problem you have with this image is that there is a yellow cast in the midtones and highlights but a blue (maybe Cyan cast in the shadows). The trick is to use the luminosity of the image as a mask for a Yellow killing adjustment layer. Then another adjustment layer with an inverted luminosity mask to neutralize the shadows.

In my example, I also blended the Magenta channel from CMYK separation into the final RGB. I have only just finished reading "Professional Photoshop" so am still getting my head around new techniques but I think the attached is a pretty good result...

[smoothfluid]

thanks for the numbers atw, I used a luminosity mask too at the the end, which I made in ACR. Lots of tips for future use!

[crazyfly1]

Smoothfluid, I've learned a couple ways, both quick sometimes one works better than the other.
1. duplicate layer- apply filter "average" use a curves layer and click on your new one color layer with with the grey eye dropper. Now delete the averaged layer.

2. (Much better with this image) Find a white item in the image and take a five by five sample with the eye dropper (I used a sample from the white t-shirt on the right) create a new blank layer and fill with this color with the paint bucket. Now invert that layer, switch blend mode to color and back the opacity off to about 50%.

[smoothfluid]

that sounds like witchcraft crazyfly1! thanks. I'll see how that works for other images too.

[crazyfly1]

You're welcome.
I was just playing with that second method. Try swtching the blend mode to hue and set the opacity to 25% or so, see what you think.

[chillin]

In camera RAW:
temp -39
clarity +33
radius 1.0
detail 25
reds +24
oranges +2
yellows -68
aquas +16
purplea -24
magentas +74
Highlights:Hue 233, Sat 10, Balance +3
Shadows: Hue 89, Sat 10

In RGB:
Curves: Red in235 out255
Green in 248 out255
HSL:Red sat+2

[holgaman]

Try a curves adjustment layer - pump up the blue channel and then pull out some in the red channel and change the blending mode to color. Fun photo, by the way.