How to Correct Skin Tones with the Vectorscope Skin Line

Keep skin natural under a strong grade: read a face on the vectorscope skin tone line, watch a teal and orange look push it off, bring it back with Protect skin tones, then lift the face with a soft window on its own layer.

Color grading tutorial · chapter 7 How to Grade Skin Tones with the Vectorscope Use the vectorscope skin tone line and the waveform to keep faces natural, fix colour casts on skin, and keep skin out of a creative look. Read the chapter →

Key moments

1. 1 Read skin on the scopes , starts at 0:00
2. 2 Protect skin from a look , starts at 0:04
3. 3 Lift the face , starts at 0:14
4. 4 Try it yourself , starts at 0:42

Transcript

Read skin on the scopes 0:00

1. 0:02 On the vectorscope, the face forms a cluster that lies along the skin tone line between red and yellow.

Protect skin from a look 0:04

1. 0:04 A strong teal and orange look drags the skin cluster further out and off the line: the face turns orange.
2. 0:10 Protect skin tones holds skin out of the look, so the cluster swings back while the background stays teal.

Lift the face 0:14

1. 0:14 A secondary layer with the Skin preset selects the skin; Highlight view shows the selection.
2. 0:20 A large, soft circle limits the key to this face, so warm tones elsewhere in the frame are left alone.
3. 0:29 A third of a stop more exposure on this layer lifts the face on the waveform, like a bounce card on set.
4. 0:35 Split compare while it plays: the look stays on the scene, the face reads natural and a little better lit.