Theme skin

Theme 3: Skin

Submit Assignment
  • Due Jan 31 by 11:59pm
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  • Points 30
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  • Submitting a file upload or a website url

Task

Each week, post 6 photos that fit the weekly theme: 3 unedited, and a version of those 3 with edits made in Lightroom or Photoshop.  This week: SKIN! People are the thing we care about in photos. It doesn't matter if you're photographing a volcano getting struck by lightning: the first thing people will say is "I can't see his face, why is it so dark?" Using the skin tones of your subject as the barometer for your exposure is best in 90% of scenarios.    

Purpose

Exposing for your skin is an aesthetic goal you always need to consider, but it also shows the importance of metering. Your camera is a robot that can only guess correctly so often, and understanding metering will help you in other ways. Lastly, photographing people involves the real-world choice of staging: arranging elements in your shot so that problems are solved by simply taking them out of frame. This is also a technical problem that has deep social implications. http://jezebel.com/the-truth-about-photography-and-brown-skin-1557656792

Criteria for Success

Successfully upload 3 photos unedited photos that fit the theme, as well a second version of the 3 with edits made in Lightroom or Photoshop.
Turn in jpegs unless otherwise stated in that week’s theme.
You can upload your files in a .zip or .7z. Additionally, if you have a Flickr account, website, or other online portal you’d prefer to use, post your photos there and turn in a URL as your assignment.

Rubric

30 points total.
  • 5 points for 3 unedited photos.
  • 5 points for the edited versions of the 3 photos

Knowledge & Skills

The process for great skintones can be simplified to this:
  1. Stage your model and environment effectively. 
  2. Switch to spot metering
  3. Meter the light based on the SHADOWS of their skin (for instance, under their chin.) 
  4. Then, consider going a 1 EV lighter.
  5. Chimp! If you accidentally metered on their beard, it might be wrong. Always trust your eye. 
  6. A RAW file lets you get the perfect shot in post. You can edit abnormally bright or dark areas to even out.
Staging
  • Bright, sunny day? Put your model in a tree's shadow, so they don't squint and get raccoon eyes. 
  • A simple white sheet can bounce light back in
  • If you're indoor, sit by a north facing window. 
  • You can move your model and yourself. You can switch lenses and zoom. Don't just point and click, design!
Metering
In manual mode, go to the Metering settings. Metering is how your camera decides a "correct" exposure, as shown by the lil arrow in the viewfinder with the shutter held down halfway. You can change this to average everything in your viewfinder, or base it on a single point (spot metering.) We want spot metering, because otherwise the dumb robot will average a person's skintones with the bright blue sky, and the result is an underexposed shadow person. 
When you adjust settings based on what the viewfinder's meter tells you, point it at a person's skin shadows. Thus, this will be the "default", their skin highlights will be bright, and their darker hair will be the darks. 
From there, I often overexpose by +1 EV. This might depend on the lights and darks of your scene, the directness or diffuseness of the light, and the greasiness of your model's skin. 
 Editing in Lightroom
The ultimate example: A wedding. Super-black tux, super-white gown. This is where RAW is your friend. If someone has bright clothes or dark clothes, adjust the exposure on just the clothing with the brush tool. If you have an extremely pale person next to an extremely dark-skinned person, your best bet is to shoot an averaged exposure of the two, then adjust exposure on each of them individually in Lightroom. 
Are you using a Canon? A Nikon? A Sony? There are hardware-specific tutorials that match your exact camera. On the Software side panel, you can sort by manufacturer. https://www.lynda.com/Cameras-Gear-training-tutorials/71-0.html (Links to an external site.)

Example project

There is literally no wrong answer here. Like, maybe photos without 

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