Hey all. I want to first apologize for the extreme delay in responding to this. I saw the flurry of replies, and at the time that I posted this I also became swamped with work, and totally put this on the backburner.
Second, I want to thank everyone for their input. And as an experiment that I thought you might all find interesting, I have made a multitude of scans that exemplify the different ways in which this image can be produced using the flexcolor software supplied by hasselblad.
First, after scanning as a raw file (3f file), I simply hit auto, which seems to colour balance by finding 18% grey in the photo, as well as finding the white and black points.
Second, while leaving the white and black points alone, I neutralized by finding grey on her shoulder.
Third, I neutralized by finding grey on the backdrop (which is a relatively dark grey).
Fourth I neutralized on her left eye.
And finally I neutralized on her right eye.
It seems to me that the "auto" interpretation of the image is the most accurate, colour wise. There is still quite a lot of cyan in the shadows, and this to me is the concern that caused me to make this post in the first place. Neutralizing on her right eye is also pleasing to me, as it bathes the photo in cool tones.
What I should have articulated in the initial post is that I had added an S curve, using the curves software in flexcolor, which I realize now produces colour changes that are interesting and creative, but not necessarily "accurate". Most notably, it tends to make the darks in the image much cooler (more cyan/blue), which disturbs the accuracy of the color balance in the softwares default interpretation. Since I had this issue to begin with, adding an S curve compounds the problem.
This all being said, removing the cyan is doable in photoshop, and to some degree also in the flexcolor software. But is it desireable? That is the real question.
Ultimately what I have come to terms with is the fact that colour, with regards to negative film based photography, can be harnessed using two different approaches: 1) accuracy, and 2) pleasantry. What I mean by this is that you can try to attain accurate colours, or you can try to attain colours that please the eye. These two things may in fact coincide, but it is not necessarily true. For me, this is an explanation that remedies the "problem" and offers a way to move forward with colour work that, from a philosophical standpoint, I can be satisfied.
What do you all think? Any and all thoughts are welcome
