Color grading - the struggle is real
Sunday, December 11, 2016
It's Sunday afternoon. Middle of December. Perfect time to work on my color grading skills. Is there such a thing as a color grading fobia? Then I might have a light version of it. I do most of my portraits in black and white. The main reason is that I really like the look and feel of monochromatic portraits. Even though no color is used you still have a lot of control over the tones and contrast. But more about that next time.
So... The second reason I mostly use black and white is that color is scary. Oh yes. Especially color in studio portraits. When photographing outside you have more to work with. A background, sunlight, sky. In the studio you have a solid background. Wow, how exciting. Skin tones are hard to master and in the studio you have to get them right since the focus lies just there. But I figured, it's time to grab the bull by the horns and get to it.
Here is one recent example. A portrait of beautiful Emma from Sweden Models shot a while ago.
Canon 5D mark III
Canon 70 - 200mm f/2.8L
Two light setup
Profoto Silver Deep Umbrella in front and a softbox from behind/right
Settings:
1/160 sec.
f/10
ISO 100
Retouch:
Adobe Photoshop
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