portrait processing practice

some nice work so far. Just to let you know that I'm not resting on my laurels, here's a few that I'm not 100% satisfied with. I think my favorite of my own is the last one. I discovered that the touch-up tools on PicMonkey.com are pretty amazing. Airbrush tool for skin imperfections and glossyness on the forehead and wrinkle remover around the eyes and I try not to abuse the Orton Effect, but I usually go a bit too far.

the colors here are maybe a bit too screwed up and everything is just a bit too diffuse.
8738779003_b75334d1a3_c.jpg

IMG_9753-Edit-Edit by Lukinosity, on Flickr

a black and white and overexposed (trying to just subtly blow out the skin imperfections)
8738780147_b1ec25bd21_c.jpg

IMG_9753-Edit-2withvignette by Lukinosity, on Flickr

and this one had the most "cheating" done on it. "airbrushing", "wrinkle removal"..... it's easy to get carried away with powerful tools like those, but it's also easy to make people look like wax figures. It's important to leave some definition and some character lines.
8739902006_4e55d15c13_c.jpg

9755 ortonish by Lukinosity, on Flickr
 
I think you need to tread carefully & not over do it as she looks too intelligent to be fooled or taken in by too much of that

the last one works very nicely & the first could be good in BW
 
I think you need to tread carefully & not over do it as she looks too intelligent to be fooled or taken in by too much of that

oh sure, I understand that. But if a model should ever take offense at some wrinkle removal or airbrushing, I would be quick to let them know that all the world's most beautiful models are touched-up on a daily basis. check out this short video...... Models' Real Faces, Before The Photoshop Magic
 
too much softening, and too much punch on the eyes... hmmmmmmm
and i tried to remove the rear veil thingy as i found it distracting, but i suck, lol!




IMG_9758.jpg
 
OK Eliot. you have crossed the Uncanny Valley, but in reverse. She wasn't this smooth when she was 18. Someone tell me if I'm wrong. I'd say split the difference between this one and your earlier ones. This stuff is a lot trickier than I ever thought. I think I'll try one more before dinner.
 
OK Eliot. you have crossed the Uncanny Valley, but in reverse. She wasn't this smooth when she was 18. Someone tell me if I'm wrong. I'd say split the difference between this one and your earlier ones. This stuff is a lot trickier than I ever thought. I think I'll try one more before dinner.

haha yeah
after dinner ill redo that last one!
i was zoomed in the whole time, i didnt look at it in total until i saw it in my dropbox for uploading, lol
 
just in from evening errands and dinner... but ive had too much sweet tea and i need to collapse for the night, lol
so redo will have to be tomorrow!
 
She is a really lovely lady. For that reason, I would keep the post processing as simple looking as possible, so that the attention is on the bride and not on the artistry of the post processing. Here is how I would do it:

IMG_9751.jpg
Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)


This is what I did:

1. Touched up expression lines and skin blemishes with the spot healing brush.
2. Softened the skin texture with the Dynamic Skin Softener filter in Color Efex 4.0.
3. Removed some shiny bits in the forehead using the clone stamp tool (sampling from non-shiny parts, with the opacity set at a very low level).
4. Removed white spots from the teeth.
5. Converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2.0
6. Using a duplicate layer and a mask, slightly brightened the eyes.
7. Tweaked overall contrast with a curves adjustment layer.

Fun exercise.

Cheers,

Antonio
 
Thanks for the detailed explanation Antonio. When I was confronted by the original shots as an available light shooter myself, I was a bit overwhelmed. Flash photography untouched is about as far away from reality (and unflattering) as a photo can be. But when one knows a few tricks in PP, it is easy to see why portraitists are usually strobists who only dabble in available light when it is perfect (or their batteries are dead).
 
She is a really lovely lady. For that reason, I would keep the post processing as simple looking as possible, so that the attention is on the bride and not on the artistry of the post processing. Here is how I would do it:

https://www.photographerslounge.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=10402&title=img-9751&cat=506

This is what I did:

1. Touched up expression lines and skin blemishes with the spot healing brush.
2. Softened the skin texture with the Dynamic Skin Softener filter in Color Efex 4.0.
3. Removed some shiny bits in the forehead using the clone stamp tool (sampling from non-shiny parts, with the opacity set at a very low level).
4. Removed white spots from the teeth.
5. Converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2.0
6. Using a duplicate layer and a mask, slightly brightened the eyes.
7. Tweaked overall contrast with a curves adjustment layer.

Fun exercise.

Cheers,

Antonio

That's perfect. Now do it four more times on the others. Heheheheh

-Eliot "...but if you tame me, then we shall need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world..." - Fox, Le Petit Prince
 
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