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Amber Gel vs Manually Adjusting WB
Is there a way to match the warmth of an amber gel for skin tones by adjusting the white balance at post? If so, what's the best method? Can it be done with a jpeg image instead of a RAW file? Adam_A Jan 05 08 08:10 pm Link nic color effects pro has a sunshine filter that will give you those warm skin tones, check it out. Jan 05 08 08:12 pm Link Jan 05 08 08:14 pm Link You might seek out a "bastard amber" gel for shooting with, otherwise I would just adjust the wb temp in post, via the raw file.. *edit* There's also a way to 'add' a filter which is in Image > Adjustments > Photo Filer... I would do a quick mask, and add that to the selected area in another layer. Jan 05 08 08:15 pm Link Adam_A wrote: it can be done with a jpg, but it is a lossy method. Your photo editing program will destroy data as you adjust the colors. These controls can be found under "Color balance". Start with a very well adjusted color correct monitor, turn on live preview, and play. RAW adjustments are non lossy, and will be simpler... you still need a color corrected monitor or a grey card in your shot. I find that "proper" color balance is always a shade or two too cool for my taste, so I adjust out with a grey card and then bump it between 500 and 2000 kelvin. Jan 05 08 08:16 pm Link Heres' a sample of what a Bastard Amber gel looks like.  I use it on my flash at sunset to balance the color of the sky/setting sun, but also in studio or wherever I want to do what you're saying, warm up the skin tones. The problem with doing it to an existing image is that you have to mask the parts you don't want to warm up or you'll be warming up the whole image, which reduces the effect of the selective warmth. If you do it in the shot, you can use a grid spot or softbox to put the warmth where you want it, to look like the late sun or whatever. And definitely learn to work in RAW. Even if you only made your corrections in Photoshop (after converting the RAW to PSD you'll have a higher quality image that can be modified and saved over without losing quality. Andy Pearlman Jan 05 08 08:35 pm Link Be mindful of the model's skin tone when using gels. A bastard amber will make a dark-skinned model appear a bit grey. We always had this problem with theater lighting. If there was a mixed-race cast, we had to be selective about where we could use the bastard amber lest we end up with the 'zombie skin' effect. All points considered, I'd do it in post. Much easier. Jan 05 08 08:43 pm Link Thank you for your responses. It seems using gels is the best way to go. Otherwise, I can look forward to a masking job selecting just the skin for adjustment. I'd probably have to mask out the whites of the eyes as well. Maybe it's something I'll play around with. Thanks for the tips. Adam Jan 05 08 09:56 pm Link |
