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A
ARJP023
Participant
August 8, 2023
Question

Lightroom needs a cyan filter for darker skin tones

  • August 8, 2023
  • 4 replies
  • 1038 views

I regularly photograph people with darker skin tones. When the image is lightened in LR using exposure or shadow/highlights, darker skin tones turn orangey. The same thing happens in Photoshop but there is a cyan filter to correct this easily. I have tried all of the preset filters as well as adjusting the temp/tint in LR but there is no good correction for the orange skin tone. I'm having to open multiple images in Photoshop to correct this, which increases my editing time by hours. The same issue doesn't exist for lighter skin tones, which makes it a racial equity issue.

Please add a cyan filter similar to that in Photoshop and allow temp/tint corrections in CMYK as well as in RGB. It would also be helpful to have an info box like in PS to read the colors more easily and not have to do it by sight.

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    4 replies

    A
    Ava444
    Participant
    July 20, 2024

    I have this exact problem too! In fact when I use Lightroom mobile, images of darker skinned people that looked perfectly fine before import, will turn into an obnoxious shade of orange. I have to individually desaturate and lighten the orange tones in the photos, and if there's orange anywhere else, I have to create a mask. It's very time consuming and the fact that the orange skin wasn't a part of the photo before import clearly shows the fault lies with lightroom's image processing. And no, my lighter skinned subjects don't have this problem ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯ Continually disappointed with Adobe. 

    Rikk Flohr_Photography
    Community Manager
    Rikk Flohr_PhotographyCommunity Manager
    July 22, 2024

    Did you try the preset in the previous thread?

    Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
    Rikk Flohr_Photography
    Community Manager
    Rikk Flohr_PhotographyCommunity Manager
    August 16, 2023

    Here is a preset you might try for comparison purposes. 

     

    It appears to provide similar results to the Photoshop Cyan filter at the default settings. Of course since it is a Lightroom preset, it is tunable using the Amount slider to 0% -200%. Give it a try and let us know if it improves your workflow. 

     

    Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
    8
    8raptor8
    Known Participant
    August 9, 2023

    "The same issue doesn't exist for lighter skin tones, which makes it a racial equity issue."

     

    Boy Adobe, you put up with a lot of b.s.  I recommend banning this user for abusing social issues for their betterment.

      Rikk Flohr_Photography
      Community Manager
      Rikk Flohr_PhotographyCommunity Manager
      August 8, 2023

      Greetings, 

       

      Would it be possible to share with us a couple of before and after pictures showing how you are shifting the colors? Bigger would be better. 

      CYMK is probably a longshot for a feature request but there may be something else we can do. If we have some examples we can have our experts look into it. 

       

      Rikk Flohr: Adobe Photography Org
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