color-grading Best way to grade overexposed skintones?

Asker

Asker

Hello fellow indie filmmakers

I'm making a portait of a CEO, and in one of the important shots his face is unfortunately pretty overexposed.

It was recorded in 4k and slog-3 so there's a bit room for grading, but having barely any experience with colorgrading (I know I shouldn't go for slog-3 then, I've learned my lesson), I would love to know if there are any tips for grading overexposed skintones? Like darkening the picture, lowering the contrast, using a certain filter....etc. Whatever you guys got on the topic.

Thanks in advance.
 
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So it's not overexposed?

Just grade as you would normally grade.

If you have lost information in the highlights, grade as best you can without causing artifacts. You'd be better off using other footage if available.

If you find the project is beyond your capabilities, hire a colorist who'll let you sit in and learn.
 
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I go for masks. Specifically, pull out the mask, slightly blur it and pop it over the top again. It gives a lot of flexibility because it can be graded independently of the main footage and lightly blended, it will 'recover' detail. Just a suggestion.
 
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It won't be totally fixable if it is overexposed and information is lost. But there is still definitely some damage control that can be done.

You'll want to try to do some secondary color correction and get a selection of just the skin tones if possible. The technique on this varies according to what software you're using. I normally use Resolve which makes it pretty easy. But it can also be done in Premiere and others. Then, with that selection, lower the highlights. Also, you'll probably want to push the midtones towards the oranges, as color is often lost or desaturated as it becomes overexposed.

There could still be lost information in skin detail, but at least the color will feel more natural.

That's my initial thoughts, having not seen the actual shot. Hopefully it's a start and you can keep tweaking from there.
 
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The real question here is: is it really blownout or just too bright?
Besides that: 4K is of no importance here. Bitdepth, however, is.
Did you shoot 8-bit or 10-bit? Or more?
(I would always advise against 8-bit Slog-3: leaves you with a few values per stop.)

Also important: what parts of the face are over exposed? That influences how much you can get away with something.
 
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Are the whites clipped? And are they clipped in Slog? If they're clipped in Slog, it's going to be impossible to bring them back.

Feel like putting up a screenshot?
 
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