Facial skins tones and reds

When I take pictures in my living room, I at many times get a reddish skin tone and also some reddish tones in the general frame. I'm trying to figure out how to eliminate this.
PS. This isn't the sharpest picture, but it illustrates what I'm talking about. Is this a white balance issue?

Frodge wrote in post #17686212
When I take pictures in my living room, I at many times get a reddish skin tone and also some reddish tones in the general frame. I'm trying to figure out how to eliminate this.
PS. This isn't the sharpest picture, but it illustrates what I'm talking about. Is this a white balance issue?

Hosted photo: posted by Frodge in
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forum: Canon Digital Cameras

Most likely white balance, but in the shot you've posted there will be some diffuse reflection from the pink top that will affect the face.

The easiest thing to do would be to get an 18% grey card (something you know is neutral) then use Lightroom's eye dropper tool on it to set white balance. That way you'll know the overall white balance for the shot is neutral, and as long as the subject is in the same lighting then it should be correct.

If not (and if you're just shooting JPEG) then might it be an inappropriate colour profile? I don't use them, but a vivid profile may do something like what you're seeing.

This is sooc jpeg

Frodge wrote in post #17686234
This is sooc jpeg

OK. I'm going with white balance. I won't repost, but I just loaded the image into Photoshop and neutralised the colour balance based on (what I assume is) white detail on the heart on her t-shirt; the skin tones then looked much better.

I appreciate the feedback. How would I do this in ligjtroom? Just with the dropper? To set wb from the shirt?

Yes, that will work. Next time try setting your in-camera WB to tungsten.

Frodge wrote in post #17686253
I appreciate the feedback. How would I do this in ligjtroom? Just with the dropper? To set wb from the shirt?

As the photographer witnessing the scene, you can often adjust WB with the foreknowledge...

• Incandescent light typically somewhere in the 3000K-3200K
  
• Modern fluorescent CFL, about 2950K and Tint +9 to take out the excess green
  
• or you can shoot a picture of a white piece of photographic inkjet paper in one shot, to use the LR eyedropper on
  

Thanks folks. Very helpful. While I'm at it, what do you typically do in lr for shots of people? I do certain things for landscapes and such that I'm happy, but not quite sure what others do for photos of people....

I just eyeball it while tweaking until it looks right. Then the rest of that set should all be very similar, if not identical.

the T-shirt also reflects a lot of pink onto the child's face, particularly her bottom cheek...which is quite normal

What is the dominant light source? If you use auto white balance, and have incandescent lighting, you get reddish tones. If the dominant a light source is natural light, you may be able to avoid this. Late in the day, artificial light will provide more of your lighting, and all of it at night.
Try a shot near the window and check to see what happens. An alternative is to use a custom white balance setting on the camera, if it supports this. Fluorescent light is much harder to deal with.
If your lighting is entirely incandescent, try that setting on the camera.

Frodge wrote in post #17686296
Thanks folks. Very helpful. While I'm at it, what do you typically do in lr for shots of people? I do certain things for landscapes and such that I'm happy, but not quite sure what others do for photos of people....

Generally just getting the tones looking right, maybe paint over the face with a positive shadows value if it's a bit dark. Also I use the Iris Enhance preset to paint over the eyes.

Sometimes I'll use a little bit of negative clarity, as that can smooth skin and take the harshness out of a shadow (e.g. a chin line). I don't tend to do much in the way of dodging and burning to adjust specific shadows and highlights; partly because it's overkill for most of my people shots, partly because I don't think I'm that skilled at doing it.

Frodge wrote in post #17686253
I appreciate the feedback. How would I do this in ligjtroom? Just with the dropper? To set wb from the shirt?

Yep. Just the dropper on what looks like a white/grey area. You've got to be careful to not get something that's coloured due to reflections/closeness from something vivid as that can throw things off.

Often I'll just go through some of the presents (tungsten, fluorescent etc as appropriate); one is often good enough.

rrblint wrote in post #17686305
I just eyeball it while tweaking until it looks right. Then the rest of that set should all be very similar, if not identical.

...keeping in mind that in a mixed light setting (e.g. some daylight coming thru a window plus some incandescent from inside) the ambient color temperature is a varying mix depending upon location...think of a pond fed by a thermal spring, near the spring is warm but at the other end it can be much colder.

What artyH says is appropriate.

That's her first camera BTW. This was mine: