25d • General discussion
🎨 SKIN TONES: THE MAKE-OR-BREAK OF COLOR GRADING
You can have perfect lighting, nice frames, cinematic movement…
If the skin tones are off, the whole video feels amateur.
Skin tones are one of the hardest parts of color grading but once you understand the process, it gets way simpler.
Here’s how to do it properly in DaVinci Resolve 👇
1️⃣ Start with exposure (before color)
Before touching color:
- Fix exposure
- Balance contrast
- Make sure skin isn’t clipped or crushed
Bad exposure = impossible skin tones.
2️⃣ Use the vectorscope (this is key)
Open the Vectorscope and look for the skin tone line.
Healthy skin tones sit close to that line regardless of ethnicity.
Don’t guess with your eyes.
Use the scope 🧠
3️⃣ Balance temperature & tint firstBefore saturation:
- Fix white balance
- Remove green/magenta casts
If the image is too green or too warm, skin will never look natural.
4️⃣ Control saturation (less is more)
Over-saturated skin is the #1 beginner mistake.
Pull global saturation down slightly, then:
- Add contrast
- Let color come from good lighting, not sliders
5️⃣ Fine-tune with a subtle qualifier (advanced but powerful)
If needed:
- Qualify the skin
- Gently adjust hue/sat only
- Keep it natural no orange faces 🚫
Rule to remember:
👉 If the skin looks good, everything else can be stylized.
This week, focus on natural skin first, cinematic look second.
If you’re grading right now, post:
- Before (LOG)
- After (graded)
Let’s clean this up together 🤝
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🎨 SKIN TONES: THE MAKE-OR-BREAK OF COLOR GRADING
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