Photographers, here’s how to honor and respect the color of every subject’s skin

Taylor Brumfield shares her secrets to accurately photograph and edit diverse skin tones, and why it matters. Her before and after photos (like the feature photo, for example) show what a huge difference correct color toning can make. 

So many creatives in the field of photography struggle with color toning and grading of skin, given the near infinite shades human skin comes in. To do so accurately, in color-graded photos, it’s crucial to understand the concept and manifestations of color itself.

The colors captured in photos are influenced by both the exposure of the frame and the white balance. If the photo is underexposed or overexposed, the skin tones will be too dark or too bright to look true to life. The overall white balance setting of the image affects the skin tones, especially with dark skin. If the overall tone of the photo is too cool or blue, the skin tone will appear to be cool and can change the appearance from what is in reality a warm skin tone to an inaccurately cooler skin tone or vice versa.

Knowing how to edit diverse skin tones is important.

As a photographer who photographs primarily people of color, I have taken the time to learn how to portray skin tones correctly, and how to color grade my subjects in a way that honors and respects their true skin color. I do not find it acceptable to inaccurately portray skin tone; it’s something I have never given myself the space to do as a Black photographer.

However, I know that color grading specifically for darker skin is an area of opportunity for many other photographers, and I want to see a dramatic reversal of that phenomenon. For that reason, I’ve made it my mission to teach those around me my own approach and techniques for honoring every subject, including those with deep to deep, dark skin, with accurate and flattering color grades.

1. Identify you subject’s skin overtones and undertones.

Skin presents in innumerable tones, shades, hues and saturations, but there are two main aspects to skin color: the overtones and the undertones.

The skin’s overtones are the more obvious of the two — it’s immediately apparent that the skin is fair, tan, medium, medium deep, deep, or deep dark, etc. The skin’s less obvious undertones are generally separated into two categories: warm and cool. Most people adhere to the doctrine that cool skin tones range from neutral (the skin will generally blush pink to pink-red tones). Warm skin tones range from peachy neutral to golden, orange-reds, and golden tones. Undertones exist in a range or spectrum with neutral falling close to the center.

It’s important to identify undertones for a few reasons, but the main reason for me is that I want to accurately portray the subject’s skin tone in my photos.

2. Use correct white balance (in-camera, if possible).

When white-balancing a photo, it’s easy to miscalculate where the undertone falls on the color spectrum, which results in mistakes such as a yellow-toned person having greenish tones in the photo or a person with red tones looking quite orange. I notice that some individuals have problems in identifying the undertones in darker skin. Often, the in-camera white balance is off, creating additional work later on in post-production.

Depending on how incorrectly the white balance is set, this can also mess up the quality of the photo once the white balance has been corrected in post-production. The photo may begin to show banding or pixelation because there has been too much manipulation to the original photo’s colors in an attempt to correct white balance. This is because there may not be enough color data in the photo to manipulate the colors to reflect truer skin tones. This severely limits the ability to color tone the photo for drama, as now the photo has already been manipulated to an obvious extent.

I often see subjects with deep, dark skin whose more apparent overtones are moderately correct, but their undertones are extremely off. So, while the subject’s brown luminosities may be accurately light or dark, they are still an incorrect color because the creative has not graded the subject’s skin to be appropriately warm or cool.

I personally prefer to shoot in Kelvin in order to get as close to the skin tones that I would like to achieve instead of using the color profile presets in my camera.

3. Base editing choices on your subject’s specific skin tones.

After having attained a desirable white balance, I usually add a series of adjustment layers to color tone my photos. My adjustments are not random; they are influenced directly by the overtones and undertones of the model, and, to a lesser extent, by the existing tones in the surroundings in which we are shooting.

I find, especially when color toning photos with models of color, I can get away with playing with the tones in the highlights very easily without distorting the skin tones. My quick rule of thumb is, the deeper the skin tone of the model, the less I can adjust the mid-tones and shadows without influencing the overall skin tones of the model. The opposite holds true for fair to lighter skinned models. If I’m working with a fair skin or light-medium model, I find I can play less with the highlights and more with the mid-tones and shadows in my photo.

I also focus on getting my white balance as close to desirable in camera so that I don’t experience as much, if any, noticeable color distortions; if my white balance is just right, the skin tones are right too, and I can easily add a color grade that is flattering for my models.

Knowing how to photograph and edit diverse skin tones honors your subjects.

I find it to be an absolute honor and privilege to be able to work with and photograph every single person who steps in front of my camera. Because I am honored and humbled by their presence, I honor them by respecting the skin that my subjects are in, and I accurately represent their skin tones in my work.

I hope that respect and representation for deep and deep, dark skin tones becomes not only a norm but a universal standard for all. Meantime, I plan to continue discussing and teaching my techniques for nailing the tones and colors in skin, and I hope that my work influences change and perspective and above all, forward and positive progress for everyone.

Photos by Taylor Brumfield

This article was originally published in the September/October issue of Click Magazine. Buy your copy today, or subscribe so you never miss an issue.

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