Quality
Lighting and Skin Tone Matching Guide
Match light direction, color temperature, and skin tones to keep AI outputs cohesive and natural.
Overview
Lighting and skin tone matching are the fastest ways to improve realism. This guide covers practical checks to align light direction, intensity, and color.
Use it when combining sources, adjusting results, or preparing assets for upscaling.
Key topics: lighting and skin tone matching, ai lighting match, skin tone consistency.
Light direction and temperature
Compare highlights on the forehead, nose, and shoulders. If highlights disagree, adjust the prompt or choose a different source.
Track color temperature by comparing whites and mid-tones. Warm sources should not be paired with cold targets.
- •Match highlight direction across key facial planes.
- •Keep color temperature within the same range.
- •Avoid mixing hard and soft light sources.
Skin tone harmony
Aim for consistent undertones rather than exact color values. Small shifts in undertone can be corrected with subtle grading.
Check shadows around the jawline and neck since those areas reveal mismatches quickly.
- •Confirm undertone consistency.
- •Inspect jawline and neck transitions.
- •Use light grading for minor adjustments.
Shadow cleanup
Shadow artifacts usually appear near the hairline and collarbones. Fix them before upscaling to prevent sharpening errors.
If necessary, reduce contrast in the prompt so the model produces a softer match.
- •Inspect shadow edges before upscaling.
- •Reduce contrast if the output feels harsh.
- •Re-run generation for major mismatches.
Lighting checklist
- ✓Highlight direction aligned.
- ✓Color temperature matched.
- ✓Undertone differences reviewed.
- ✓Shadow edges cleaned.
- ✓Contrast level approved.
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