skin tones

Can anyone recommend a good site or book to read up on photographing, retouching, and just all around perfecting skin tones? I am just looking to really nail skin tones in portrait photography. Any tips or points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

I have heard that Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies is an excellent book. It's on my amazon.com wishlist now. Just ordered three other books so this one is still in waiting.

Does anybody swear by Ansel Adams' Zone System for achieving great skin tones?

Ansel Adams' Zone System used properly requires the user to expose a negative based on 10 zones of brightness. The film is then processed (extending or shortening the processing time) so that the contrast curve matches the intended results. In other words a low contrast scene can be developed with increased contrast & a high contrast scene can be developed with lower contrast. Ideally the print could then be made on normal (#2) grade contrast paper. This is usually done on Cut sheet B&W film.

Truthfully, I am not sure how the Zone System would apply to skin tones, color & digital, but I suppose it could be possible. Perhaps someone else here would know.

Conventionally, 'skin tone' is described as Zone VI when in the sun, Zone IV in the shadow. This is a very shakey assignment, as white-Western European skin has its lighter and darker phases at different times of the year due to sun exposure! Conventionally we describe white-Western European skin as +1EV brighter than 18% gray or Zone V.

The Zone System typically applies to the extremes of brightness range in the scene and what 'fits' within the contrast range of the film ordinarily, and uses adjustments in development to compensate the exposure adjustments, so as to better fit the scene brightness range you want to capture within the limitations of the film. I am not a Zonie, and I cannot tell you what role skin tone and the Zone System have, if any.

Wilt; I have used the zone System (with good results) & know how it works, but, I always have trouble explaining it to someone else. Thanks for adding clarity to my post......tw