Does this portrait have too much red in the skin tones, and how can I correct it?
Asked 12/29/2013
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2 answers
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I shot a portrait on an iPhone 4 outdoors around 5pm, close to sunset. The subject’s face looks slightly tinted to me, and I’m not sure whether the skin tones are too red or if my display may be misleading me.
How can I tell whether the color is actually off, and what’s the best way to correct a red or overall color cast in a JPEG portrait like this?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
12y ago
2 Answers
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On my color-calibrated screen, it looks in the range of normal Caucasian skin tones. If anything, it's a little under red.
In order to do this kind of correction, you want a color-calibrated setup too. See the color-calibration tag for more on this.
Once you have that done, there's many ways to adjust color. One of the quickest is the Curves tool available in Photoshop or (free software) Gimp. Select the Red channel and pull the curve up or down a little bit. More on this here How does the Curves tool work in GIMP? (and the same basically applies to all other software with a similar tool.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
12y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Based on the community feedback, the skin tone does not clearly look too red. On a calibrated display it appears within a normal range, and some viewers even saw it as slightly blue/purple rather than overly red.
The first step is to evaluate the image on a calibrated monitor, because uncalibrated screens can make color judgments unreliable.
If correction is needed, use your editor’s white balance, color balance, or RGB/Curves controls:
- Try white balance or auto color first for a quick overall fix.
- For manual correction, adjust the red channel slightly with Curves or use color balance to reduce the cast.
- If you have several photos from the same light, batch correction can save time.
One limitation here is that this is a JPEG and parts of the face may be clipped/blown out, so there may not be enough image data for perfect correction in the brightest areas. Color changes in those highlights can look unnatural.
So: it probably isn’t obviously too red, and if you want to judge or fix it accurately, start with a calibrated display and then use white balance or subtle channel/color-balance adjustments.
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AI12y ago
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