Skin Tone Help

[Bluescope]

Hi all,

Ever since I requested a logo in the freelance section a few months ago, I have been trying my luck learning the basics of PS. I have always had an interest in it and now that I have the time I would like to become more accustomed with it.

What I am trying to do is input someone into another picture. Grand, done that no problem.
Feathered out the hard edges (poorly I must add) and tried to recreate the original background as someone was in this persons place to begin with.

Now the part that has been giving me a headache for hours.. Trying to match the skin tones.
I've tried every possible curve, level, hue/sat and highlights. All to no avail.
I have found that by using the burn or dodge tool I can create shadows or extra lighting.

Can anyone give me any pointers as to how to match people's skin tones. Can this be something I can just pick up or do I need to go through extensive training material.

Also pointers on how to make the people you cut not look like "cardboard cutouts" haha.

Thank you and happy holidays!

 

[ibclare]

Since you are having trouble matching them with adjustment, try this:

First, I assume your girl on the right is an individual layer, or vice versa, depending on which color you want to match. But it will be easier to take the slightly darker tone of the girl on the left and transfer to the girl on the right. I like to use the brush and sample a dark tone on the model's face, but experiment because the next step will alter this.

Make a layer above the girl on the right. Clip this layer to the girl. Hold your cursor between the two layers, hold down the alt/opt key and click. Make a selection of her skin; this can be fairly rough as the blend mode will soften edges. Now fill the clipped layer with the skin color and set the layer blend mode to color, overlay, or soft light. Usually one of those will work. Play with the opacity and/or change the fill color you're using for the selection of the skin till you're pleased with it.

Now you can erase or mask out the features to restore their original color. This is like direct painting and you may wish to change the tone and increase the shadow with a brush, or make another layer and add highlights.

As for making them look less like cutouts, they basically need shadows that fall against the wall. Two ways I would manipulate this. You can try to use layer effects on one and adjust distance and size especially, then check on the opacity. Then hold the alt key and move the fx logo to the other girl. This doesn't always work so you may need to create it manually. Sometimes combining these techniques works well. Make a layer below the models and take a brush of varying hardness and opacity and darken the shadows that are more directly made by the solidity of the body. It may be good to add a secondary shadow, but start with just the one. It will make a world of difference.

At least these are methods I would try. This being Photoshop, you'll likely get more advice -- lots of ways to do the same thing. Initially, use what comes easiest to you so you can complete your project. Then when you have time to practice and learn more, try some other methods. Have fun. I applaud you for taking this up yourself, but be careful! PS is addictive. :mrgreen:

Here's a quick example selecting the girl on the right. The change is subtle:



I forgot to add, I used a slight guassian blur on the right model's face or you could conversely sharpen the other. If you make the one you use the filter on a smart object, you'll have a filter mask to remove the effects where you don;t want them, such as take the blur off the eyes.

 

[Vetoed]

You should learn how to use the pen tool. You can see that you used a feathered rubber or something to cut the girl out. The pen tool is awesome when you learn how to use it. Prob the most useful tool in PS when you're comfortable with it

 

[ALB68]

You should learn how to use the pen tool. You can see that you used a feathered rubber or something to cut the girl out. The pen tool is awesome when you learn how to use it. Prob the most useful tool in PS when you're comfortable with it

I agree. I have been involved with the use of Photoshop for several versions now. I recently acquired CS6. I had never used the pen tool for masking until now. It allows precision you cannot get with the other manual selection tools. I especially like the magnetic abiliity with the free form pen. Cool tool.