GIVE US YOUR SUGGESTIONS & FEEDBACK ABOUT THE SITE
We will send you an E-mail every time there is a new article in your favorite section. Sign-Up For ALERTS.

Digital Photography

What is the Color of Skin? by Alfred DeBat Alfred DeBat offers up three how-to books, two for beginners and one for advanced photographers Article rating: 6.00

When it comes to digital imaging books, there are so many excellent volumes available. For beginners using the very popular Adobe® Photoshop® Elements software there is Photoshop Elements 5 for Dummies ($24.99) by Barbara Obermeier and Ted Padova and Digital Photo Projects for Dummies ($34.99) by Julie Adair King.

Both of these guides provide step-by-step instructions for digitally correcting and manipulating your images written with folksy, non-technical, easy-to-understand explanations. We can recommend both of these texts for getting the most out of the Photoshop Elements software without putting hours of work into learning to be a digital expert.

Recently, we came across an advanced imaging book that tackles the thorny challenge of correctly recording the color of human skin in digital portraits. Not written for the novice digital snapshot shooter, the volume, Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies ($39.99) by Lee Varis, delves into many technical subjects that contribute to the perfect portrait. Varis is a Hollywood commercial photo-illustrator, whose work has been featured in many national magazines, as well as in scores of movie posters.

Although the first chapter starts with “Digital Imaging Basics,” the more complex Chapter 2 dives into “Color Management, Workflow, and Calibration,” which teaches readers how to make sure what they see on their computer screens is an accurate rendition of the image’s color.

Next, the book returns to relatively simple tasks in Chapter 3 with “Lighting and Photographing People.” Even though the author displays professional lighting equipment used in this chapter, he illustrates many lighting tips that can be accomplished with one or two white reflector boards (or even white sheets).

In Chapter 4, “The Color of Skin,” he demonstrates how viewers perceive flesh tones. Varis writes, “Most people will say they want ‘accurate’ color, but what they prefer (and what clients buy) is ‘pretty’ color – not wild surrealism, but usually some departure from reality. This is where color control becomes important. This chapter examines color in detail, starting with a basic technical foundation, moving through basic color controls and ending up with detailed step-by-step instructions for adjusting color.”

The volume is geared to pro-level Photoshop software, but in many examples, consumer-level Photoshop Elements software can be substituted. The real trick for readers is to become more sensitive to the adjustments that can be made in skin color in order to make a portrait more natural “looking,” rather than reproducing absolute correct color. The chapter offers examples of portraits with too much “yellow” or “red” in the flesh tone and describes how easy it is to adjust these color biases.

The author ends the chapter with, “In conclusion, getting the right skin color is far from trivial. Simply calibrating your capture system is not going to guarantee that you will get an ideal skin tone. You have to be prepared to edit the color to satisfy the cultural, personal, or psychological needs of your clients or yourself. There are many creative departures possible as well.”

One of the most helpful remaining chapters is “Retouching,” which explains basic image repair. To be successful, the digital retoucher’s strokes can’t be obvious or noticeable. Varis suggests subtle techniques to soften wrinkles, eliminate blemishes, selectively lighten or darken skin areas and downplay baggy eyes, while preserving skin texture. In the sub-chapter “Beauty Retouching,” he demonstrates how an image of an attractive middle-aged woman can be turned into a more youthful-looking portrait, without losing the character and essence of the model’s face. It shows how much can be done through “skin smoothing” without going overboard on retouching.

Since the book is directed to a professional audience, other subjects are also explored, such as “Tone and Contrast: Color and B+W.” Varis explains, “The black-and-white aesthetic is familiar and often desirable for photographing people. Unfortunately, with digital photographs, the process of converting from color to black-and-white is often treated as a trivial mode change followed with contrast-enhancing curves. Photoshop provides many different methods for creating monochrome images. After you learn the types of controls available, a whole new creative frontier opens for you to explore. Photoshop can truly become the ultimate black-and-white darkroom, allowing the digital photographer to go well beyond the Ansel Adams Zone System.”

Among the book’s remaining chapters, “Special Effects” concerns the use of soft focus, depth-of-field adjustments, diffusion, artificial film grain, mezzotint and lens-tilt effects, all of which are employed as creative tools to produce one-of-a-kind images. Varis states, “Ever since the movie ‘Jurassic Park,’ the general public has associated digital imagery of any kind with special effects. This is true with digital photography as well, and often people assume that some trick is involved just because an image was shot on a digital camera. Not all digital imagery involves trickery, but I certainly don’t want to disappoint anyone hoping to learn a few special effects. This chapter will explore a few techniques that are uniquely digital, even though they may simulate traditional photographic effects.”

Finally, in “Preparing for Print,” the author describes the issues that should be addressed before a photo is actually printed, which includes image sharpening, color management and soft proofing. “Last minute tweaks frequently make the difference between a great print and a mediocre one,” he advises.

^ Back to top

* Your Name:
* Email address:
	(Enter the code shown)
	(Your e-mail address will not show on the site and is used so that we can contact you back if needed)
* Your Comment about this article::
	Include me in the TGP Monthly Newsletter