Yuri's Portrait Post Processing Techniqeus - Nastya

Yuri Pautov

Priviet, dear friends.
Nastya - short name of Anastasya...
I met her at the Riding tournament


Hope you'll like her eyes like I do...
Spasibo,
Yuri

rutt wrote:

I don't think you can teach us the first two skills over the internet. We learn from looking at your shots and from our own efforts about the next skill and how close we are ever going to get to you. But that last skill, the post processing, well, I might be able to learn that. So, please, Yuri, pretty please with sugar on top, could you walk us through the steps of your post processing of one of these shots?

Spasibo for your kindest words and such a high mark!
So, just no secrets - usual PostProcessing steps are:
1 step. Resizing. Portrait - to 768 height... Landscape - to 600 and Cropping - for perfect composition...
2 step. Copy layer
3 step. Healing brush. If 'model' has some skin problems (and who now has no skin problems?) - I use Healing brush in copied layer to solve these problems. I use 'normal' mode of healing brush and sometimes 'replace' mode (near edges). Its so easy and wonderful to make skin better then it was without expensive creams and without scalpel and blood!!!
If the 'model' is 'in years' as we say here, I use another layer copy, use healing brush for under eyes places, wrinkles around mouth, between the eyebrows, but this time I use 20-70% opacity of this layer (making a bit younger :-)
4 step. Then I look at the portrait and
- sometimes I 'see' how it must be looking,
- sometimes I try different things.
I sometimes use optikvervelabs free plugins with custom settings.
5 step. Sometimes I use unsharp mask for eyes (very carefuly - 70-98/0.4/0 at copy of layer and then decrease opacity to <100% if needed)...
6 step. If the photo is bright enough, I sometimes use Harry's method (Harry Behret! Hello!)
Copy layer. set blending mode to 'Multiply'.
Blur -> Gaussian Blur -> 1.5 - 20% depending on the size of the details..., set opacity to what you need..
7 step. Sometimes here I deside to make it B&W - many ways (Channel mixer 50/50/0, for example...)

The main thing - your taste...
Look at the result and say - yes, thats what I wanted...
So,
look at my photos - realy no postprocessng secrets...

As for the models - you can find all that pretty ones here and there. The problem is - to approach, to say 'Oh, sorry, you are SO beautiful! Can you help me - I said to my Internet friends, that the most beautiful girls live here, in Russia, in Voronezh city. Now I must prove this statement. But without your help, I cant do this!'
Nothing bad if 20-40% will say 'No'...
Just feel yourself confidently, say, that during this photosession you must take ~50 shots. Ask her/him to stand (again confidently - You know what you are doing!) this or that way - I always make minimum 5 shots with front, 5 with left side and head turened to your camera, 5 from the right side... and then choose another background (look at my posts...)

So,
Try...
Yuri

lynnma

Yuri Pautov wrote:

Priviet, dear friends.
Nastya - short name of Anastasya...
I met her at the Riding tournament
Hope you'll like her eyes like I do...
Spasibo,
Yuri

luckydog

Yuri that is a great shot! Must admit, I like the eyes too.

rutt

How great is this, Yuri? These shots you take of the women you meet, they just blow me away. I'd sell my soul to the devil to be able to do that. There are so many elements, getting them to agree to pose, getting them to pose so well, looking through the viewfinder and finding those great angles and compositions, and the post work.

I don't think you can teach us the first two skills over the internet. We learn from looking at your shots and from our own efforts about the next skill and how close we are ever going to get to you. But that last skill, the post processing, well, I might be able to learn that. So, please, Yuri, pretty please with sugar on top, could you walk us through the steps of your post processing of one of these shots?

bfjr

WOW baby all I can say or I'm in trouble again :uhoh :uhoh

3rdPlanetPhotography

Excellent Yuri.... would you please adopt me?

pathfinder

I love your protrait work Yuri - just like all the previous responders.

The subject is lovely - but the lighting is lovely too - nice, soft,muted. I know you shoot by natural light - great North Window light . But was the day cloudy or overcast slightly? What did you use for shade and did you use any reflectors also? Nosy aren't I?

Yuri Pautov

rutt wrote:

I don't think you can teach us the first two skills over the internet. We learn from looking at your shots and from our own efforts about the next skill and how close we are ever going to get to you. But that last skill, the post processing, well, I might be able to learn that. So, please, Yuri, pretty please with sugar on top, could you walk us through the steps of your post processing of one of these shots?

Spasibo for your kindest words and such a high mark!
So, just no secrets - usual PostProcessing steps are:
1 step. Resizing. Portrait - to 768 height... Landscape - to 600 and Cropping - for perfect composition...
2 step. Copy layer
3 step. Healing brush. If 'model' has some skin problems (and who now has no skin problems?) - I use Healing brush in copied layer to solve these problems. I use 'normal' mode of healing brush and sometimes 'replace' mode (near edges). Its so easy and wonderful to make skin better then it was without expensive creams and without scalpel and blood!!!
If the 'model' is 'in years' as we say here, I use another layer copy, use healing brush for under eyes places, wrinkles around mouth, between the eyebrows, but this time I use 20-70% opacity of this layer (making a bit younger :-)
4 step. Then I look at the portrait and
- sometimes I 'see' how it must be looking,
- sometimes I try different things.
I sometimes use optikvervelabs free plugins with custom settings.
5 step. Sometimes I use unsharp mask for eyes (very carefuly - 70-98/0.4/0 at copy of layer and then decrease opacity to <100% if needed)...
6 step. If the photo is bright enough, I sometimes use Harry's method (Harry Behret! Hello!)
Copy layer. set blending mode to 'Multiply'.
Blur -> Gaussian Blur -> 1.5 - 20% depending on the size of the details..., set opacity to what you need..
7 step. Sometimes here I deside to make it B&W - many ways (Channel mixer 50/50/0, for example...)

The main thing - your taste...
Look at the result and say - yes, thats what I wanted...
So,
look at my photos - realy no postprocessng secrets...

As for the models - you can find all that pretty ones here and there. The problem is - to approach, to say 'Oh, sorry, you are SO beautiful! Can you help me - I said to my Internet friends, that the most beautiful girls live here, in Russia, in Voronezh city. Now I must prove this statement. But without your help, I cant do this!'
Nothing bad if 20-40% will say 'No'...
Just feel yourself confidently, say, that during this photosession you must take ~50 shots. Ask her/him to stand (again confidently - You know what you are doing!) this or that way - I always make minimum 5 shots with front, 5 with left side and head turened to your camera, 5 from the right side... and then choose another background (look at my posts...)

So,
Try...
Yuri

auraflora

Thank you Yuri for sharing the information that information with us.


A beautiful model and a wonderful presentation, as usual.

Michal

wxwax

I need to know a woman called Nastya.

Andy

wxwax wrote:

I need to know a woman called Nastya.

you are so excited over her name, you forgot to think to move this to the hall - so, i did it for ye

Yuri Pautov

wxwax wrote:

I need to know a woman called Nastya.

Nastya - is a shotname of Anastasya - very beautiful name...

Andy

Yuri Pautov wrote:

Nastya - is a shotname of Anastasya - very beautiful name...

yuri - thanks so much for the excellent post-processing tips. definitely hall of wisdom material!

rutt

Sorry, Yuri, that I didn't get around to thanking you sooner. I've been busy moving. But thanks! And I didn't even have to sell my soul. This weekend I'm going to take my camera to Harvard Square and hang out and wait for the pretty girls and then ask them if I can take their pictures and you describe. I'll probably end up in jail or the hospital.

rahmonster

Thankyou for sharing the great technique Yuri. This surely does belong in the Hall of Wisdom thread

Nikolai

Use the Force, Luc

wxwax wrote:

I need to know a woman called Nastya.

I mean, order by mail, Sid!:):

annnna8888

Hi Yuri,

great portrait as usual. Thanks for the detailed explanation of your workflow. I'm sure it'll be useful to many. I do have a question however. If I understand correctly, you resize the photo to a web size first and then make all post-processing on the small version? What do you do if you want to print the photo?

Spasiba in advance for your answer :,

Ana

Yuri Pautov

annnna8888 wrote:

Hi Yuri,

great portrait as usual. Thanks for the detailed explanation of your workflow. I'm sure it'll be useful to many. I do have a question however. If I understand correctly, you resize the photo to a web size first and then make all post-processing on the small version? What do you do if you want to print the photo?

Spasiba in advance for your answer :,

Ana

Spasibo, Anna!
I make just another PostProcessing - PP creative work is very interesting to me - sometimes I make 2 or more variants of prints (minimum - color and b&w)
OK, I know, I could edit original file and then use it for web and prints... - but I'm not a pro, my aim is not production, but creation...
Yours
Yuri

annnna8888

Thanks for the explanation, Yuri. I agree, PP is very creative and very interesting, but I find it frustrates me if I do a great job on a web-sized pic and then can't duplicate it on the print-sized pic! So I do all PP on big photos so I can print them if I want, and resize later for web.

Of course, everybody finds a workflow that suits them best. Keep up the good work!

Regards,

Ana

Yuri Pautov

rutt wrote:

Sorry, Yuri, that I didn't get around to thanking you sooner. I've been busy moving. But thanks! And I didn't even have to sell my soul. This weekend I'm going to take my camera to Harvard Square and hang out and wait for the pretty girls and then ask them if I can take their pictures and you describe. I'll probably end up in jail or the hospital.

Ha-ha-ha!
You're so funny!
Spasibo!
Yuri

Harryb

Great post Yuri.

rutt

Yuri, your results are so great that it's hard to make a suggestion, but I'm going to try anyway. Dan Margulis has a trick for sharpening portraits, especially glamor shots. Sharpen in CMYK and sharpen only the K (black) channel or perhaps the Cyan and K channels. Typically there is very little detail in these channels in flesh. In your shot, I think this would have sharpened her eyes, eyelashes, and her hair a bit and not the texture of her face. It's easier than making a selection. Because it's selective, you can often use very large sharpening values. And it tends to look very natural.

Yuri Pautov

rutt wrote:

Yuri, your results are so great that it's hard to make a suggestion, but I'm going to try anyway. Dan Margulis has a trick for sharpening portraits, especially glamor shots. Sharpen in CMYK and sharpen only the K (black) channel or perhaps the Cyan and K channels. Typically there is very little detail in these channels in flesh. In your shot, I think this would have sharpened her eyes, eyelashes, and her hair a bit and not the texture of her face. It's easier than making a selection. Because it's selective, you can often use very large sharpening values. And it tends to look very natural.

Spasibo, Rutt!
I'll try this trick.
I sometimes use 'High Pass' sharpening (add layer/ Filter-> other->Highpass (what you need)// Overlay blending mode/ set opacity to what you need...)
Yuri