Where skin sits on the waveform

Level does not have one skin target either. On a display-referred waveform, faces often occupy broad starting bands. Complexion, lighting, the transfer and scene intent all influence them. The ranges below are orientation aids for this exercise, not exposure laws. Isolate the person, compare the approved shots, and protect shape in the face instead of forcing every complexion to one number.

```sketch { "kind": "range", "orientation": "horizontal", "scale": { "min": 0, "max": 100 }, "bars": [ { "label": "fair ~1 stop over", "from": 58, "to": 74 }, { "label": "deeper", "from": 40, "to": 60, "accent": true } ], "markers": [ { "at": 70, "label": "'exactly 70' flattens" } ], "caption": "Illustrative display-referred starting bands for this exercise. The person, lighting, reference, and intended contrast determine the final level." } ```

Read the skin on its own before you trust any of this. A whole-frame scope mixes the face with the drapes and the lampshade. Isolate the skin first, or you end up reading the rest of the frame instead of the person.

You have two ways to do that. The first is the sampling ring from the parade, the same one you just put on two faces. It reads only what sits under it. A ring on a cheek reports the cheek, and a ring on a curtain reports the curtain. The second is false color, which repaints the whole frame in flat bands by level. The face falls into one band and the wall behind it falls into another. You can see which band a face is in without measuring anything. The ring gives you one place precisely; false color gives you the whole frame at a glance. Use the ring to settle an argument about a face and the bands to find the argument in the first place.

Both instruments come out on the frame below.