Smugmug's Take on Pleasing Skin Tones

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.smugmug.com/help/skin-tone

"First, the bad news: 99% of all customer complaints about printing are related to skin tones. And it's the subject most likely to make photographers weak in the knees. Now for the good: Unlike expressions and poses, which are a matter of taste, there's a simple way to measure skin tones and feel confident they're safely in range. You're probably shocked to read that headline from the company that provides calibration prints & ICC profiles — and takes pride in offering a True Color option, which printers like Ofoto don't offer. When it comes to skin, however, it's about a pleasing tone. The customer wants to look good and she's allergic to red."



This is a very interesting article about adjusting images for more pleasing skin tones - if you're using an online photo printing service, or even printing at home, it's definitely worth checking out!

[Jason Dunn]

http://www.smugmug.com/help/skin-tone

"First, the bad news: 99% of all customer complaints about printing are related to skin tones. And it's the subject most likely to make photographers weak in the knees. Now for the good: Unlike expressions and poses, which are a matter of taste, there's a simple way to measure skin tones and feel confident they're safely in range. You're probably shocked to read that headline from the company that provides calibration prints & ICC profiles — and takes pride in offering a True Color option, which printers like Ofoto don't offer. When it comes to skin, however, it's about a pleasing tone. The customer wants to look good and she's allergic to red."



This is a very interesting article about adjusting images for more pleasing skin tones - if you're using an online photo printing service, or even printing at home, it's definitely worth checking out!

[Vincent Ferrari]

I'm going to piss a lot of the "serious" photographers on here off with this one, but frankly I've given up on color matching. It's too complex and too dodgy (at least for my tastes).

However... That being said, I've found that if you get your prints from Adoramapix.com and let them adjust colors, they do an awesome job, particularly with skintones. You don't get the dreaded red warming that Kodak Gallery is notorious for and they've got some kind of ESP installed in their brains that utterly reads your mind.

Okay, maybe not, but they come pretty close and their prices are competitive...