Adjusting Flesh Tones


So what do you do if you've used Levels to properly set the highlights, midtones, and shadows, but the flesh tones in your photo still look too red? You can try this quick trick for getting your flesh tones in line by removing the excess red. This one small adjustment can make a world of difference.

Step One

©ISTOCKPHOTO/PETER CHEN

Open a photo that needs red removed from the flesh tones. If the whole image appears too red, skip this step and move on to Step 3. However, if just the flesh-tone areas appear too red, press L to switch to the Lasso tool and make a selection around all the flesh-tone areas in your photo. (Hold the Shift key to add other flesh-tone areas to the selection, such as arms, hands, legs, etc.)

Step Two

Go under the Select menu and choose Feather. Enter a Feather Radius of about 3 pixels, then click OK. By adding this feather, you're softening the edges of your selection, preventing a hard, visible edge appearing around your adjustments.

Step Three

Go under the Enhance menu, under Adjust Color, and choose Adjust Hue/Saturation. When the dialog appears, click on the Edit pop-up menu and choose Reds so you're only adjusting the reds in your photo (or in your selected areas if you put a selection around the flesh tones).

Step Four

The rest is easyyou're simply going to reduce the amount of saturation so the flesh tones appear more natural. Drag the Saturation slider to the left to reduce the amount of red. With the Preview checkbox turned on, you'll be able to see the effect of removing the red as you lower the Saturation slider.

TIP

If you made a selection of the flesh-tone areas, you might find it easier to see what you're correcting if you hide the selection border from view by pressing Control-H while the Hue/Saturation dialog is open.


Step Five

When the flesh tones look right, just click the OK button and you're set. But don't forget that your selection is still in place, so press Control-D to deselect.

Before

After



The Photoshop Elements 4 Book for Digital Photographers
The Photoshop Elements 4 Book for Digital Photographers
ISBN: 0321384830
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 201
Authors: Scott Kelby

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