Need photoshop action to select skin tones ONLY

[jeff__2]

<p>Programs like PhotoTools have the capability to batch process multiple images. Portrait photos can be batch processed in PhotoTools2 with actions to do "skin smoothing" and "boosting the saturation of everything except skin tones", increasing the contrast of everything except skin tones, etc. <br>

I have tried using an action to select "color range" loading a standard caucasian skin color range - but the results are less than half as good as PhotoTools is able to do.<br>

Any ideas how caucasian skin can be accurately selected in a batch program in Photoshop? Is "Color Range" the only way - do I just need a better standard caucasian skin range to "load"?<br>

Thanks.</p>

[tobey_bilek]

<p>Properly used, color range should work fairly well. Set the slider to a low value, pick the skin, then move the slider to be more selective. If you chop off some skin, back off some. Then use the plus and minus selectors to clean up what went wrong.</p>

<p>You now have a nice mask. Adjust the mask with the magic selector set to a very low value to add and subtract. I say magic selector, but it the tool that shares the icon with the magic wand.</p>

<p>Try the red channel and adjust it to suit. Go to the channel pallet, dup the red, double click so you see it full size. Adjust with black and white brushes or contrast or levels to get just the skin. opt or alt click on the resulting alpha channel to move it as a selection to a duplicated background layer which you left active before switching to channels. The go to layer, layer mask, reveal selection and you have a mask showing skin only.</p>

<p>Make a quick mask and paint out the skin with white. </p>

<p>Three ways. I hope one works.</p>

[jeff__2]

<p>Yes, I can do that for single images, but how about batch processing 100+ portait shots where I can't do all the manual selecting and masking.<br>

Thanks.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>why would you need to do 100+ portrait images?</p>

<p>By using correct color temp during the shoot, a gray card, a raw developer..i can process zillion of image and color corrected them for a pleasing skin tone in no time.</p>

<p>Then for skin smoothing, use the clarity in the negative in Lightroom, it will smooth skin in a way i personally dotn really like but if you are just about quantity more than quality it will do a nice satrt.</p>

<p>And finally for the how to get more punch to the overall image without touching to much the skin color, use the vibrance slider vs the saturation, as the vibrance as been create for exactly that purpose; getting more punch on all the color first, then on the skin tone ..kind of a saturation but protecting the red and orange to get too much.</p>

<p>Your questions was how to do it in CS4 and i keep talking about Ligthroom..ACR will do the same thing ; )</p>

<p>____</p>

<p>You can also create a action that will *blur* the whole picture, and fill a mask with black, so you just have to open them all one by one and make a quick brsuh stroke on the face so the effect only apply to that region only..pretty fast techinque that i use sometime for quantity shot requirement; shcool image, hockey team, model face for web or small images only etc...</p>

[jeff__2]

<p>Vibrance was the answer I was looking for.<br>

Thanks.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>excellent.</p>