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I’m tired of badly edited images of black and brown people. Poorly exposed frames with recycled presets slapped on has got to stop. It doesn’t help tell the stories of black and brown folks. #equitythroughediting #madewithlightroom
what sort of action is needed?
I could go on forever. But what I want to focus on how bad editing has robbed so many black and brown subjects of being truly seen.
I could go on forever. But what I want to focus on how bad editing has robbed so many black and brown subjects of being truly seen.
my solution, a new initiative called greater equity through editing. sponsored by @Lightroom, taught by me (for now).
it's a start.
it's a start.
As creators, we abuse presets and profiles without paying attention to how they alter skin tones.
Remember presets are supposed to be a saved edit that helps with a specific situation. Specific lighting, specific skin tones, specific colors.
#equitythroughediting
It’s not one size fits all.
(this is the original)
(this is the original)
let's say you like a preset. How can you maintain the mood but fix the impact on skintone?
Try the color mix tool.
#madewithlightroom
Try the color mix tool.
#madewithlightroom
These 4 presets I chose are very popular ones that many of us use.
Notice how they are completely wrong for this subject, wrong for this image.
Notice how they are completely wrong for this subject, wrong for this image.
the contrast is so high, that you can’t see her hair texture.
& her skin tone is a tad too purple.
& her skin tone is a tad too purple.
the highlights are fine, but her skin is much too warm now, it’s almost leathery.
so how do we fix it?
let’s take this edit I liked but found to be too desaturated for my aesthetic.
let’s take this edit I liked but found to be too desaturated for my aesthetic.
Swipe between the edits, this one has all the soft tones of the past preset based edit, but her skin looks like her skin.
What did I change?
What did I change?
I increased the saturation of orange in the image, warming her skin and upped the luminance which brightened the orange tones. Together she looks less lifeless but the orange isn’t overwhelming.
#madewithlightroom
#madewithlightroom
