correcting skin tones with RGB layers

i have been watching tutorials online, and i have to be missing something.

when you turn off the all color layer, green and blue layers, the only one i want left on is the red layer. and that gives me a creamy looking black and white.

when i go to select. copy then paste back into my normal layers. ( because im trying to remove the redness from skin. something goes wrong, and i cant get it to do what im trying to do.

i like the look of skin that has less red in it, so the skin is nice and clear looking. like perfect clear compection.

if anyone has a tutorial for me to follow, or if BOBSTER and PEANO know what im talking about .. lol.

let me know.

thank you in advance.

shannon

"something goes wrong"...what exactly goes wrong?

on a side note, i hope to be so good at PS some day that someone calls out my name in a thread.

Are you using Photoshop?

If so, open the photo, add a Channel Mixer layer and see how you do!

Shannon, I confess I'm not sure what you're trying to do, but I suspect I know the source of your problem. If you want to select a single channel, it's not enough to simply turn off the visibility of the other two channels - you have to click on the channel first to highlight it in the channels palette.

http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=OydrlfaPOFY

in this tutorial, ( he does an excellent job in explaining what i have been trying to accomplish) BUT... the black and white image will just turn back into a color image when i go to paste.. it wont stick. so thats what i have been getting messed up with.

shan

I have no clue why it's not working for you. I tried a few times and tried to do it in a way I thought might be wrong and it still worked. If your following his tutorial it should work unless it's some obscure check box in the preferences.

Along the lines of the Channel Mixer layer. Make sure you check Monochrome in the Channel Mixer window. Lower your Blue and Green channels, boost your Red. Make your layer blend mode Luminosity and you should achieve similar results.

There are other ways to fix red, blotchy skin. Good luck with the tutorial.

shannyD wrote in post #8141415
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=OydrlfaPOFY

in this tutorial, ( he does an excellent job in explaining what i have been trying to accomplish) BUT... the black and white image will just turn back into a color image when i go to paste.. it wont stick. so thats what i have been getting messed up with.

shan

You did it exactly like this?

• click on the red channel
  
• press Cmd+A (select all)
  
• then Cmd+C (copy)
  
• then click the composite channel again
  
• then Cmd+V (paste)?
  

yeah.. i did it exactly like that. and it throws it back to color before i get a chance to go to blend mode/luminocity.

ehh im probably being sloppy about something.. its easy i know.. so i was thinking maybe i was missing something.. but i have litterally watched that video a hundred times to see if im missing something. and i didnt think that i was.. but i probably am.

The only thing I can think of is this setting.

Edit --> Preferences --> Interface --> Show Channels in Color
Make sure that box is unchecked.
How odd.

Another question. If you already said this, sorry. What version of Photoshop are you using?

cs3

ill try again shortly.. i just like the look of skin like that.

shannyD wrote in post #8144284
yeah.. i did it exactly like that. and it throws it back to color before i get a chance to go to blend mode/luminocity.

But the new layer (from the red channel) is being pasted in? As a grayscale layer?

Post a screenshot of your layers & channels palettes maybe. (realize that channels and layers are entirely different!)

Alternatively (provided you don't need to modify the "red channel" layer (haven't watched the entire video), use a Channel mixer adjustment layer, click the "monochrome" checkbox, set red channel to 100%, rest to 0, set its blending mode to luminosity. Result will be slightly different, (I think because the channels in the channels palette aren't color managed) but close enough.