Correcting facial tones Nikon D80

[Lorry]

Hi all.
I'm new here and what a great site.

I am still new to photography and I have a Nikon D80.

I have done a couple of weddings for my friends and have a problem with skin tone especially red faces.

I work on manual mode not automatic.

I have very dull colors on my camera anyway but have set my camera to the "Optimize image - Portrait setting" and it doesn't really do much except wash out colors from the background.

I've tried the Custom setting to get more color into my photos but that just makes everyone's faces very red.

Here is a sample of one of my red faced photos and the guys actually had different skin tones anyway. I even use a flash to get that nice look but that doesn't work.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/60263162@N05/5502310324/
This photo is set on the Portrait Setting and used with a flash.
ISO 400
1/100
f8
focal length 38mm (which I dont understand)

I cant seem to get the same even tone on everyone's face.

Is it that my camera is horrible or have I got photography all wrong.

I'm really frustrated because I cant get that lovely smooth look even in portraits.

I hope someone can help me.

How do I get the effect of beautiful soft pale skin that I see in all the professionals photos..they are so beautiful and mine are so horrible.

I hope you can help.
Thank You

[candidrachel]

I can't see the photo. Try uploading from flickr instead.

Someone else here asked a similar question. Here is a link to a site that you may find useful.

http://michellekanephotography.com/p...at-skin-tones/

[Lorry]

Hi Thanks for your reply. I have uploaded the photo to Flickr.

thanks
Lorry

[baycruisers]

From the example you posted, I'm not sure you would expect the gentlemens' faces to be pale, as opposed to the bride.

Are you shooting RAW files? Are you doing any post-processing out of the camera?

[Lorry]

Hi Mario,

Yes I have edited it in PS4 a little.
I'm finding that the last 3 wedding's I've done for my friend they're saying that some of their photos are very red faced like this one comes up extremely red faced on their computers.
I'm not quite sure what to do. Is there a way of editing photos so that when hey are viewed on someone elses monitor which hasn't been calibrated that they dont show up those red tones?

I'm probably not making alot of sense.

[SusanH1970]

Have you tried setting custom white balance with a grey card?

[JFSanders]

Lorry, first and foremost. Stop and take a breath. What you are seeing in your photographs is from making this more complicated than it needs to be.

To obtain a "pro" look in your photographs will take knowing your camera and its settings. See also these books:
Nikon D80 field guide
Thom Hogan field guide
It will take off camera lighting techniques (see the strobist website). Setting your white balance is one of the first things that must be understood to get proper flesh tones. Also understanding light and its various qualities (temp, cast, direction in relation to subject and brightness) is essential to correct creative exposure. Read Bryan Peterson's books as well as Scott Kelby's books.

This is just a starting point. It will also take a sustained effort on your part to shoot everyday if at all possible. The camera is just a tool and you have a very nice tool to learn on albeit a tool with a steep learning curve as you have found out. All great pictures begin and end inside the photographer's head.

When viewing photos on a pc monitor versus a printed photograph will be dependent upon monitor calibration and printer profiles. These are full blown subjects in their own right and will take effort on your part to understand and implement.
They are critical to obtaining your goal of beautiful skin tones and eye popping photographs just like the pros.

[Lorry]

Hi Susan,

I havent done the grey card...are you able to tell me in lamens terms how to do this as where I've read about it is very confusing.

Thanks for your valuable information JFSanders, I will look into those books....I backed out of my photography course because I felt I had learnt everything, now I'm really kicking myself.

Lorry

[JFSanders]

I cant seem to get the same even tone on everyone's face

With those three blokes getting the same skin tone would be almost impossible. The gent on the far right is tanned to the max, the one in middle is out and about fairly regularly and has fair skin which will always turn red not tan, the one on the left works indoors or puts on sunscreen lotion thickly.

Now that being said, the picture looks to be properly exposed for a bright sunny day around noon.

ISO 400
1/100
f8
focal length 38mm

1.Drop your ISO to as low as it will go. Only increase it when no other option is available.

2. Open your aperture from f/8 to f/5.6 to shrink your depth of field so the blokes pop out of the background.

3. Either move closer to fill the frame or zoom in. Most portrait shots are shot at a longer focal length to get compression on the subject which is flattering to it.

4. If you are using on camera flash. Stop it. Harsh front lighting will wash out your colors right quick like. Get a bracket and a sb 600 or the smaller one and set it up on the bracket with a cord or some such. Use a light dome. You can get one from Gary Fong.

5. If you have the time, use a tripod. If not practice bracing yourself.

[candleman]

WB looks good to me.. if he's red, then he's red.. simple as that.

you can't expect it to make everyones skintones the same.. WB doesn't do that.