COLOUR GRADING SKIN TONES
WE BUILD ON GREAT RELATIONSHIPS
ELLISDON PHOTOGRAPHY GUIDE 2024
Colour Grading Skin Tones
There is no one-size-fits-all combination for skin tone adjustments; skin tone is influenced by lighting, environment, age, health, and natural pigmentation. It’s essential to adjust skin tones contextually rather than relying on a single preset.
1. Use vectorscope and waveform tools to maintain consistency. RGB number values will appear in your histogram and will help you analyze your skin tones:
- The blue % value should be the lowest value.
- The green % value should be higher than the blue value by at least one percentage point.
- The red % value should be the highest value and at least two percentage points over the green.
2. Adjust the Exposure and White Balance
3. Adjust Skin Tones
- Incorporate environmental color subtly into highlights while maintaining natural reds in mid-tones and shadows.
- Make people look believably normal rather than perfectly realistic ensures a compelling and natural image.
