Color correcting skin in Adobe Photoshop through the use of a reference image

 

 

While generally speaking, cameras do a really good job of capturing accurate skin tones, there are a lot of variables that can throw off your results a bit and you may find yourself hoping to color correct skin in software such as Adobe Photoshop. In the video tutorial below, Aaron Nace from Phlearn shows us how we can utilize Photoshop’s selective color adjustment layers to quickly and easily dial in the perfect look for portraits.

To utilize this technique, all we need is Adobe Photoshop and a reference image with nice skin tones. You will want to find a reference image which has a similar skin tone and color temperature to the image you are working on. With the image you are color correcting and your reference image both open, drag the reference image onto the image you are working on. Now, create a new selective color adjustment layer and select “reds.” You will want to ensure that your reference image layer is above your selective color and background layer, so any adjustments you make to the selective color adjustment layer will only affect the layers beneath it, your background in this case. Now adjust your cyan, magenta, yellow and black sliders until we get in the ballpark of the reference image. To see what the next steps are, watch Phlearn’s video below.

(Via Phlearn)