Retouch Portfolio

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

I'm a retoucher+Manipulator building up my portfolio (again) and I need all the C&C I can get.

If I should post this in the Image Editing - Digital Imaging - Printing forum just let me know.

Photographer: James Brown

High res

Photographer: James Brown

High res

Please, be honest and let me know what you think.

Thank in advance!

Natalia Taffarel

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

Two more...

Photographer: francofoto.hi5.com

High res

Photographer: Q

High res

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

And two more :)

Photographer: Adam Parker

High res

Photographer: Charlotte Kibbles

High res

Be sure to check the high res links for details like skin texture.

Thank you all!

Natalia

Joined: 30 Jan 2007 Posts: 269 Location: Santa Fe, NM

Very nice , dont guess you care to share any tips?

thanks,
jd

Premium Member Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 2020

To my eye these are substantially over processed. They ended up looking as natural as polyurethane.

If that's the look you're going for then you're all aces. If you were looking for a more natural look, then I think you need to dial it back a bit.

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

Sure,

* Always use Adjustment layers, never change the original

* Work with layer mask, never erase anything

* Learn and understand every technique you use

* Retouch EVERY part of the image: Eyes, mouth, skin, ears, hair, background using diferent layers and layer masks and PAY the same amount of atention to each of them

* Experiment

* Learn to use every tool in PS

* Learn to use: Selective color,Color balance & Hue/Saturation with the diferent colors.

* Learn to use Curves and levels

For easy fixes on the skin: create a texture layer mask using high pass filter (on a dup layer Filters/Other/high pass at 5to10%) placed it on top and then on another layer bellow this high pass from 9 to 30, then glausian blur (ALways 1/3 % of the high pass) then invert (Image / Adjust/Invert) blend it linear light and mask out what you don't want, then overlay the texture layer.

For high end fix of the skin:

Once you have retouched everything else about the image

Create a new set of layers:

Adjustment layer/Curve/mode: LIghten - Lighten the midles - Layer/Layer Mask - Hide all

Adjustment layer/Curve/mode: Darken - Daken the midles - Layer/Layer Mask - Hide all

OPTIONAL: Adjustment desat layer & Adjustment contrast (This two are for your eyes, they are going to get very tired if you do it with color)

First with a 10000% Zoom work on the fine details of the skin: Using a very very small soft brush at 15 to 25% opacity paint on the darken layer mask to darken small points of the skin and in the lighten layer mask to lighten small dots in the skin.

Then with a SOFT LARGE brush you paint white (10 to 25% opacity) on the layer mask.
If you want highlights you paint white on the lighten adjustment layer MASK
If you want deep shadows you paint white on the DARKEN adjustment layer MASK

REMEMBER TO PAINT ON THE LAYER MASK.

Now as the last last steep. If you want the wet look:

Create a new layer on top of everything.

Select/Color range - Here you eyedrop the lighter highlight you have on the image, then you move the fuzzines slider untill you're happy with the amount of image that's going to be selected, click OK

EDIT/FILL/fill with white 100%

With this layer is up to you, but I usually bring down the opacity to 20% and glausian blur it a little (like 0,7%)

My english is not great so this is the best I can do

Hope this helps you

Thanks for looking

PS: How's that for sharing?

Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 4:13 pm

Im with singlemalt on this one, seems way over processed, almost like dolls or something. not really sure of the exact look you were going for but i would definitely turn it down to get back to more natural.

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

SingleMalt wrote:

To my eye these are substantially over processed. They ended up looking as natural as polyurethane.

If that's the look you're going for then you're all aces. If you were looking for a more natural look, then I think you need to dial it back a bit.

I find most of this natural looking (as natural as any of Vogue's published images :wink: )

The close up I'm reworking it, I'm not happy with it, but the rest I love.

But it's great to have people know the diference still between a retouched and an untouched image.

Thanks for your thoughts :)

Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Buffalo Valley, OK

I have reworked some of my images and i have found that when i send some of the more extreme fixes off to be printed.. i find that my alterations are very obvious as a print, but they arent on my computer screen. have you had this problem?

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

Choctaw1983 wrote:

I have reworked some of my images and i have found that when i send some of the more extreme fixes off to be printed.. i find that my alterations are very obvious as a print, but they arent on my computer screen. have you had this problem?

I have a calibrated monitor and what I see on the screen comes out in print, almost exactly.

Almost: The printed image doesn't have as much bright or texture (Monitor and paper don't have the same light) that's why I keep my images really sharp and bright on the monitor :)

Joined: 03 Sep 2006 Posts: 69 Location: Buffalo Valley, OK

well. im going to have to look into getting my monitor calibrated. thanks for helping me with that. by the way, i think that your work is amazing. i have always wondered what models looked like before all the "air brushing".

Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 240

wow, instant vanity fix for me lol - I suddenly feel quite gorgeous lol

Joined: 13 Jan 2007 Posts: 245 Location: Maryland

Extremely good work!

If these were family or senior pics or some such, certainly they would be overprocessed. But I don't believe they are. These are for a different market. Many images in high fashion/glamour have this look. Like the look or not, it is a sought after look.

Jacque

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2007 1:45 am

Great work!

And read the posting rules about the number of photos per thread :)

Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 17 Location: Argentina

andrewshalin wrote:

Great work!

And read the posting rules about the number of photos per thread :)

Sorry I thought i was per post :)