At 02:31 AM 6/24/03, Albert wrote:
My portraits are sharp. Err.. Too sharp. My gf's zits are highly
visible to her dismay. Also, sometimes the skintone is not so accurate.
What filters would you all suggest? Something like an 81??
I don't believe in softening the picture with filters (I can do that with
Guassian blur a la photoshop) but color rendering seems like a problem I'd
like to tackle..
Asian skin presents a serious problem, a little redish on Fuji, WAY too
brown on Kodak...
Albert
Reducing prominence of skin blemishes with color film is going to be
difficult. A warming filter (e.g., skylight) has such a slight effect that
it likely won't produce what you want. I suggest using B&W film and a
yellow, orange or red filter . . . in that order. The most common colored
filters used with B&W are yellow, orange, red, green and blue. The
important things to remember about colored filters with B&W film is they
lighten their own color and darken their complentary color:
Yellow filters are often used with B&W portraiture as they render average
skin tones to a more natural looking gray color and are the least risky
with other effects. The one thing I concern myself with is whether the
subject is blonde. I don't think that's an issue in your case. With less
risk there is also less effect at reducing prominence of skin
blemish. These typically come in two "strengths" . . . a more pale and a
deeper yellow. I don't recommend using this filter with a blonde.
Orange filters have a similar effect as yellow filters, but the effect is
greater. There is more risk at shifting some other colors (such as
clothing or background) to looking slightly unnatural in grayscale. The
lips will look a little more pale than what might be expected, but it's not
extreme. I don't recommend using this filter with a blonde or redhead
Red filters have the greatest risk. Their effect is usually quite
noticeable, although if carefully used they can work well. Reds in
particular will look much more pale, especially lips.
Green filters are used for a variety of reasons. In portraiture they are
typically used outdoors to provide "color separation" (read: greater
grayscale difference) between skin tones and blue sky. They will also
provide separation against foliage (by making the green foliage
lighter). I don't recommend using it for reducing skin blemishes
though. Based on my use of it in the past, I predict it would leave them
neutral (no effect) or possibly slightly enhance them.
A blue filter is NOT what you want to use to reduce skin
blemishes. Indeed, they are used to enhance them for documenting scars,
etc. If a person has very clear skin however, the blue can be used to
create dramatically darker lips. With men, the filter will enhance a ruddy
look and make prominent the "character" of an older one's face (e.g. the
Ancient Mariner's "face that launched a thousand ships"). A variation of
the blue filter is the cyan, which provides a more accurate rendition of
what the very old orthochromatic films produced.
-- John
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