Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies, Second Edition

Chapter 3. The Color of Skin

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. In reality, the color of skin is quite varied but viewers tend to accept a much narrower range of color as "natural" in reproduction. This is where color control becomes important.

You cannot fully explore color without first dealing with value—the lightness/darkness structure of an image. Establishing an appropriate value range from black to white is an important first step in any color correction process because without light and dark you don't really have a recognizable image.

Chapter Contents

White Points, Black Points, and Places In-Between

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