Colour

Skin Tones in Capture One

Four steps from the RAW file to the final grade, on a beauty image we shot for Madame Germany.

Beauty portrait of a woman with red lips resting her chin on her hand, rings with blue and pink stones, warm skin against a pale cyan background
The idea
What healthy skin looks like
Beauty portrait split down the middle, left half straight from the camera with a grey background, right half graded with warmer skin, deeper red lips and a pale cyan background
RAW and final
The same file, graded in Capture One

Skin is never one flat orange

We shot this beauty image for Madame Germany. Skin usually goes wrong the same way: too orange and too flat. So we keep global saturation low and put colour only where it belongs.

Four rules run through the whole grade. Warm shadows and clean highlights: red in the shadows reads as life, neutral highlights read as shine. The face is the brightest skin in the frame; neck, chest and hands step back. Colour goes into the skin, and the rest of the image stays quiet. And a cool background is the partner of warm skin: the contrast makes the skin look warmer without adding any warmth to it.

  • White balanceA little cooler than the camera
  • Global saturationClose to zero
  • Colour balanceCyan in the shadows, gold in the highlights
  • FaceOwn layer from the AI mask, redder shadows, cleaner highlights
  • BackgroundOwn layer, brighter and a little cyan
  • Exact valuesEvery slider of the grade · inside the Lab
The grade
Grade it in steps

Grade skin tones in four steps

Each image is rendered from this file and adds only the tools described in its step.

The same portrait brighter and cleaner, with a lighter, more open backgroundThe same portrait with cooler shadows and golden highlights on the skinThe same portrait after the face layer, with Capture One's AI face mask shown in red over the face skinThe same portrait with a brighter, pale cyan background that makes the skin look warmer
Step 1 · Clean, bright base

The values belong to this image. On another file, keep the direction and find new values.

The tool
Capture One's Skin Tone tab
Close-up of the face with rosier shadows and cleaner highlights after the face layer
The face layer
After Step 03

When to use the Skin Tone tool

Capture One's Color Editor has its own Skin Tone tab. Pick a spot of skin, and the tool selects that colour range. Hue, saturation and lightness move the whole range. The Uniformity sliders do something different: they pull the colours inside that range closer together, so red patches and yellow patches move toward one tone. Use it gently. Too much uniformity takes the life out of skin, and the colour contrast from Step 03 is exactly what you want to keep. On a face layer, it works best as a small correction after the grade.

Compare
Three ways to fix skin tones

Three ways to correct skin tones

Two of them in Capture One, one in Photoshop.

Close-up of the face with rosier shadows and cleaner highlights after the face layer

Layers and AI masks

Graded in steps above

Face, body and background on their own layers. The way we graded this image.

Feels
Natural, alive, controlled
Tool
Capture One layers, Color Balance, Color Editor
Best for
The look of the whole image
Close-up of the face with cooler shadows and golden highlights on the skin

The Skin Tone tool

Selects a skin range and evens it out with the Uniformity sliders.

Feels
Even, clean
Tool
Capture One Color Editor, Skin Tone tab
Best for
Blotchy redness, small corrections after the grade
Portrait split down the middle, left half natural, right half in a high-contrast blue and green help view that shows uneven skin tones

Photoshop, on a Hue layer

For local colour shifts, Jan Wischermann works in Photoshop. A temporary help view turns skin into strong blues and greens so every red or yellow shift jumps out. He then paints the correction on a layer in Hue mode, which changes colour without touching texture or light.

Feels
Precise, local
Tool
Photoshop, Hue blend mode, eyedropper on "Current & Below"
Best for
Spots, patches, matching a campaign series

Most of the work happens in Capture One, before the image ever reaches Photoshop. Good light makes all of it easier: this image was lit with a beauty dish, shown in our beauty dish breakdown. For whole-series looks, see how we use Capture One styles.

From the grade
Four things that matter
  1. 01

    Retouch before you grade

    Spots and dark circles read as colour problems. Clean them first, or you correct colour that is really retouching.

  2. 02

    Keep global saturation low

    It pushes skin, background and jewellery up together, and everything turns orange and flat.

  3. 03

    The face is the brightest skin

    Pull neck, chest and hands down a little, and the face comes forward.

  4. 04

    Cool the background

    A cooler background makes skin look warmer than any slider on the skin itself.

Inside the Lab
The full grade

The rest is inside the Lab

Members get the full skin tone workflow on this image, with every step and every value we left out here.

  • All twelve steps, with the exact valuesLab
  • The Capture One style for this setupLab
  • The lighting setup behind the image, rebuilt in 3DLab
  • Colour grading sessions in Capture OneLab
  • Jan's retouching courses for skinLab
  • 60+ lighting setups and 60+ Capture One stylesLab
Preview of the skin tone workflow inside the Lab, partly blurred
The Skin Tone Hack · 12 steps
See the plans
Questions
Skin tones in Capture One
How do I fix skin tones in Capture One?

Start with a slightly cooler white balance and low global saturation. Then give the face its own layer from the AI mask and add colour only there: a little red in the shadows, cleaner highlights. A cool background makes the skin look warmer without touching it.

What does Uniformity do in the Skin Tone tool?

It pulls the colours inside the selected skin range closer together, so patches of red and yellow move toward one tone. Use small amounts. Too much makes skin look flat and painted.

Capture One or Photoshop for skin tones?

Both, for different jobs. Capture One sets the overall skin tone and the look. Photoshop is for local fixes, such as a red patch on a cheek, painted on a layer in Hue mode so texture and light stay untouched.

Why does skin look orange after grading?

Usually because of a warm white balance or too much global saturation. Cool the white balance slightly, bring global saturation down, and add warmth back only to the shadows of the face.

The Curated Lab

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Shot for Madame GermanyPhoto Per AppelgrenGraded in Capture One
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