Portrait Question: Green Shadows

[jaidon]

This is a reoccurring skin tone problem I have noticed and am trying to find the best solution to.

[table]

Original Photo (ISO100 F/1.8 1/100 a6300 Sony/Zeiss24mm Raw File Viewed in Lightroom)

White balance set for skin highlights.

White balance set for skin shadows.

[/table]

 

 

I can't get the perfect balance! Is this a problem with Lightroom Camera Raw or my Sony camera? Is this how it always looks? Is this the green reflecting off the plants? I know I can fix this with masking, but I am looking for a solution I can blanket copy+paste for multiple photos. My gut tells me it's in Lightroom's camera calibration tab. All help is appreciated (including help in amateur portrait posing)!

Thanks Alpha Forum! -Jaidon

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

Dude, you're fine. The foliage is colouring the light slightly green. Perfectly normal and unavoidable.

 

Subjectively, I think the top middle photo works nicely. The left and right ones are too cool and warm, respectively.

 

The good thing here is that you have a good eye for colour. A lot of people wouldn't notice.

[jaidon]

Thanks Jaf-Photo! That answers a lot of my questions. Does anybody have any idea how I can fix this in Lightroom's Camera Calibration?

 

I guess my goal is to have less intense magentas and greens. I feel like I would decrease the saturation slider of the green primary, but I haven't fully wrapped my mind around the additive and subtractive effects of these sliders confusing!

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

HSL sliders will do that for you, possibly with a mask to protect the plants. But I wouldn't bother. The green tint is parf of the natural ambient light. Natural is always good in photography.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

HSL sliders will do that for you, possibly with a mask to protect the plants. But I wouldn't bother. The green tint is parf of the natural ambient light. Natural is always good in photography.

 

To be a bit more helpful, I tried a few things on the middle photo you posted. Using LR, I used the adjustment brush tool made a mask on the affected areas. Then I added a bit magenta to the masked area with the tint slider. I also tried a magenta colour overlay. Both worked well in neutralising the green without throwing the colour off. You could add a bit yellow with the temp slider too, for an even more natural look.

[Guest Jaf-Photo]

Here's the visual. Minimal changes and a natural look.

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[bennytan]

Hey Jaidon,

 

Good question! It's one of the difficulties shooting in natural light. All the foliage adds a lot of green to your subject matter.

 

I usually use a strobe or speed light and bounce it into foam core or a bounce board to add some pop to my subject. This will give you a nice clean key (and/or fill, depending on how you're playing with the sun). If you're shooting in the late afternoon sunset, gel your strobes to match!

 

You can always try and add an HSL or Selective Colour mask in post, but be careful not to throw your subject out of its environment.