Trying to improve my portrait processing.

bass_junkie83

bass_junkie83

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Dave
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I have been taking some time today to play around with different processing techniques to try and improve.

So i have taken an image i edited a couple of months ago that i was originally happy with, and started again to see if i can do a better job.

Here is the un-edited original.
IMG_1188.jpg


This edit was originally done purely in lightroom.
1.jpg

​


And this is today's re-edit, using cs4.
2.jpg

What do you think? I reckon it's headed in the right direction, but would love to hear how people think it can be improved further.

Cheers. :)
 
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I prefer the original.... sorry :exit:

EDIT: Ok so you have changed the images from the original post, so my comment above is no longer applicable
 
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I think the new version is good - in fact I think it's really good! A minor gripe is you've blown the skin highlights in places , but overall it's some good processing. :thumbs:

The problem for me though is that it's reached the point where it's almost looking like she's a computer generated image, so good as it is, it doesn't work as well for me as yoiur initial shot which isn't half bad anyway.
 
I think it depends on the look your trying to achieve, personally I prefere the top (original?) image, the bottom one looks a bit dark around the eyes and blown in the highlights for my taste.
 
I can appreciate the time you've put into the edit Dave and time spent experimenting is never wasted, but the fact is she's a natural beauty and just doesn't need that much help mate.

Yuu did a pretty sound job in the first place. Personally I reckon all it needs is a levels adjust and a slight sharpen - just work with what you already have?

5321253633_2f49946101_o.jpg


You could do some very subtle skin smoothing in places if you wanted to, but in all honesty I don't think she needs it.
 
Hi Dave

I prefer the original as well it's an excellent shot, I think it just needs some subtle tweaks. hope you don't mind me having a go (I'm trying to teach myself at the moment, so like the practice) I've painted the blood vessels out a bit in the eyes with a colour selection from the white of the eye and then turned the opacity down to about 50%. Sharpened the eye's a little. Burnt the lips a touch and a bit of airbrush on the skin, using a PS action I came across. Then used portraiture glam adjust at about 10%.

1b.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I also had a quick go and mine came out pretty close to MnM version.

5321950448_1e4a6cd40d_b.jpg
 
Cheers guys.
I think what i was trying is probably leaning too far towards the glamour/glowing skin look to be used for general portraiture.
I have added the original to the first post for comparison.
Just trying to work a more sophisticated skin smoothing/softening technique to just going mad with the clarity brush in lightroom, which is how i did the first.
 
It might be worth trying negative sharpening as well (or instead of) and see which you prefere.
 
I agree she is a natural beauty and the original needs little doing to it although I think there needs to be more detail in the hair.

Gave it a quick go in Elements 9.

1146558402_d7jS4-L.jpg
 
My take on it :)... CS5 levels, vibrancy, Portraiture normal then masked out.



Oh and a few stray hairs removed... Great Model :)
 
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Thanks guys. I'm still playing but struggling to keep realism. And don'y get me started on bringing the detail back in the hair. :(
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Thanks guys. I'm still playing but struggling to keep realism. And don'y get me started on bringing the detail back in the hair. :(
Click to expand...
Dave, it's a doddle mate.

Using a freehand mask tool just select the area of the hair you want to lighten. You don't have to be any more accurate or even as accurate as I've been here - you're not working with the slide rule.

5324557807_23d3be3f0c_o.jpg


Then feather the mask by about 15-20 pixels so you don't get a hard edge when you alter the levels -like so..

5325164594_684527bbe9_o.jpg


I've used the gamma slider to lighten the hair here, but you can do it to your own taste as much or as little as you like. The nice thing about using a mask is that you can also sharpen the hair, soften it, or add just about any filter or effect you like while you're about it.

When you're done remove the mask - job done - 2 minutes tops.

5324558171_8995078f0b_o.jpg
 
Cheers, i will use that in my 'mk2' that i'm doing now.


I need to use CS4 more regularly to get more familiar with working with selections and masks. It's far from second nature at the moment!
 
I've got various versions of Photoshop up to and including CS4 which isn't even installed at the moment, but I almost entirely use an old version of Paint Shop Pro which I'm really familiar with so it's second nature, and I find later packages are offering little if anything which is an improvement.

The thing is all these packages are much of a muchness, the important thing is to pick a package and stick with it, swapping about in the early stages can get really confusing.

It seems an uphill struggle and in some respects it definitely is, but it's only perseverance and practice which will get you there. Using selective masks like this is one of the most powerful tools you can use, and quick too once you get the hang of them.
 
You guys are just making work for yourselves - you have to learn when less is more!! The LR processed shot is all it needs. Job done.
 
awp said:
You guys are just making work for yourselves - you have to learn when less is more!! The LR processed shot is all it needs. Job done.
Click to expand...

LOL. Go on then show us, don't tell us. I've never seen a do it all one shot filter worth a light yet. ;)
 
Number 1 just looks like bad make up, looks like she's got quite smooth skin but the make up has really not done much good. The Lightroom version is ok but a tad on the orange side, plus there are blemishes around the mouth which you may want to smooth. Number three is way too much, the idea of retouching someones skin is to make it look more flattering. Also look at the bloodshot in the eyes, too vivid and I think has the opposite desired effect.

Sorry sounds a bit harsh, it's a great learning curve and there are many ways to do it. Far too often you see skin that has been brushed too much, don't make this a priority. Rid of the blemish marks with the healing brush or patch tool set to 'destination'. Then on a new layer use a soft brush set to about 5% opacity and colour pick the area you want to paint so it remains the same tone. Use the colour picker to select skin colour every time you move the brush. This way you can build up a layer of 'make up' which can be adjusted later. You want to smooth the skin so that the model is pleased with the outcome but retain detail. The more your work goes unnoticed the better
 
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Danny133 said:
how do you airbrush skin like that?
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I'm not sure if that's addressd to me Danny, but anyway, in all honesty I'm not the biggest fan of skin smoothing a la the glossy mags and plastic looking women who don't exist in the real world, it's mostly overdone IMHO.

I've done this because I know Dave is after trying the effect. I've just used a smear type tool in PSP called 'Push' on a very low opacity and locally eased out the minor skin blemishes by hand which is really the only way to do it, although mine's still taken a bit further than I'd really like tbh. I've whitened the eyes too although personally I wouldn't have done. I hear you can actually buy a plastic woman these days if you really want one. :naughty:

Seriously, the best photo retouching of this type is done by hand, not by some Photoshop filter as Andrew seems to think.

And a word sof warning - most women will appreciate a little subtle help and love you for it, but it's a fine line between that and going too far when they're apt to start getting offended.
 
i get the whole glamour idea but i have a subject who would pay me good money for that look lol so would be good to learn it ..

cant find any smear tool or push though? :S
 
I know it's not to everyone's taste, but that's life.
I know the original lightroom edit isn't bad, she bought it after all. But if i ever get to a level where i'm happy and stopped, i would get bored very quickly. I enjoy trying and learning new things.

And with things like this, the way i seem to learn is to take things a little to the extreme to see the immediate effect, and then repeat with more and more subtlety each time until i'm happy.

And with that, i give you mk2, or is it mk3? Whatever. :D

mk2.jpg
 
Danny133 said:
i get the whole glamour idea but i have a subject who would pay me good money for that look lol so would be good to learn it ..

cant find any smear tool or push though? :S
Click to expand...

The 'Push' tool is in the retouching tools in all versions of PSP except one early edition where they dropped it to howls of protest from hordes of photo retouchers sp they promptly re-instated it in later editions.

Photoshop has similar tools but none that behave quite as beautifully as this one. It's worth getting a copy of PSP just for that tool if you want to do a fair bit of this sort of work, you'll undoubtedly be able to find free trial versions out there for download.
 
if i stick with CS5 what tool would i need?

I dont want to switch versions now ive started learning some of the basics as ill make it harder for myself lol
 
bass_junkie83 said:
I know it's not to everyone's taste, but that's life.
I know the original lightroom edit isn't bad, she bought it after all. But if i ever get to a level where i'm happy and stopped, i would get bored very quickly. I enjoy trying and learning new things.

And with things like this, the way i seem to learn is to take things a little to the extreme to see the immediate effect, and then repeat with more and more subtlety each time until i'm happy.

And with that, i give you mk2, or is it mk3? Whatever. :D

mk2.jpg
Click to expand...

Vast improvement - step up and get your TP choccy biscuit. :D
 
Danny133 said:
if i stick with CS5 what tool would i need?

I dont want to switch versions now ive started learning some of the basics as ill make it harder for myself lol
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what it will be called Danny, but look for tools which just smear pixels around, often called 'Smear' or something similar. I'm sure there'll be a few tools of that type Experiment with using it at very low opacity and vary the size of the brush - fairly large on larger areas like cheeks and foreheads. Use a smaller brush when you're working around the eyes, mouth etc.
 
ill keep playing lol but cant find nothing :| thanks fr your help mate
 
Danny133 said:
how do you airbrush skin like that?
Click to expand...

Another way is to duplicate the layer, then using the erase tool (or masks if you prefer) paint out all the detail parts and background (background layer turned off so you can see here) then you blur this layer with surface or gausine blur and ajust the opacity to suit,

5326714610_92b5b4709b_z.jpg
 
Wayne i have tried your method and that doesnt work for me .. when i try the smudge brush or blur brush it appears nothign happens and that i have no brushes :S
 
Thanks Wayne but I had already checked and am still female :)

Danny, although I showed you where the smudge/blur/sharpen brushes are these are not really the tools you would want to use for skin smoothing.
Blur will literally blur it and destroy the detail
Smudge - will move an area - imagine dragging your finger across wet paint, smudge has a similar effect on an image
Sharpen - can be useful in very small doses but introduces a lot of artifacts.

The way Wayne demonstrated would be to select part of the face - as CT demonstrated with the hair on the previous page, (and either create a new layer or a mask or both, which ever becomes your preference), then go to Filter, Blur, Gaussian Blur. You then erase the areas you want sharp. It is a fairly destructive method though and can make the skin look quite plasticy

There are lots of tutorials on face smoothing both in the tutorial area on TP and on the web in general

PS - if you cannot see your brushes when you should be able to see them then check your "caps lock" is not on
 
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