Whatever her "RAW' looks, she is a talented photo model, and very sympathetic to the camera.
You have done a first class job with these, Charles, enviable work! I want to "borrow" some of your shooting expertise (I understand your PP, which is highly finessed), so could I ask you where/who have you got the most knowledge and inspiration from to get to this point? I can see your experience showing, but where did you get your directions to start with? Any particular photographer, or book or study course? Looking through your website as I write... lovely!
Neil, I'm a product of several outstanding photographers. If you are lucky enough to take a class by one of them or simply just study their websites. I'm a big fan of taking smallish classes, thirteen people or less. You will learn so much more in these small classes and then more when everyone gets together at dinner or in the lounge at the hotel. Some of my best classes were Gary and Pam Box in Kansas, Tim Babin and Kurt Voclain in Lousianna, Jen Hilenga in Minnesota, Larry Peters in Ohio and Jeff Dachowski in New Hampshire.
Also google Joe Zeltsman , long since past, and try to find some of his basic posing and lighting videos. Before you break the rules you need to know them. Hope this helps.
Whatever the challenges, Charles, I think these are some of your best - she's got great eyes (and seems to know how to work them - or you directed her super well!) and these are very flattering. I really like them a lot!
Seems to me you've been really breaking out some new and unusual comps and poses and I'm loving it - sure, there's a place for traditional too, but I really enjoy this more creative work. Terrific!
Holy Cow, until I saw the beginning photo I thought you must be exaggerating!! Great job...shaking my head... what was the client thinking or expecting??
Holy Cow, until I saw the beginning photo I thought you must be exaggerating!! Great job...shaking my head... what was the client thinking or expecting??
Your "tough day" beats the heck out of my best! These shots just are oozing with personality. For me, that's what counts most in your work. Hairstyling and makeup are the icing on the cake.
"Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed." Garry Winogrand Avatar credit: photograph by Duane Michals-picture of me, 'Smash Palace' album
Your "tough day" beats the heck out of my best! These shots just are oozing with personality. For me, that's what counts most in your work. Hairstyling and makeup are the icing on the cake.
Remember, photographing people is more psychology than photography. Don't focus on the photography as getting the subject comfortable and relaxed. Talk to them, find out their interests, hobbies etc. Tell stupid jokes or with little ones sing Christmas songs in July. Then the expressions will come.
Nice work. You did your thing on these. I imagine the processsing on these took awhile....
Zoomer, I try to only spend 2 to 3 minutes per file. If I show 75 I work up about 35 with hopes of selling an album to my seniors. So if a sessin runs about two hours I spend about 1.5 to 2 hrs time in PP.
Zoomer, I try to only spend 2 to 3 minutes per file. If I show 75 I work up about 35 with hopes of selling an album to my seniors. So if a sessin runs about two hours I spend about 1.5 to 2 hrs time in PP.
My daughter, being a 13 year old girl, has a similar complexion on her forehead. Standard acne and such for that age.
The contrast between before and after is pretty stark here.
Can I ask a simple question: was it make-up, post-processing or a combination of both that you used to clear it up.
If post-processing, what do you do to make up such a difference?
"I'm just very selective about the reality I accept" - Calvin
Zone, this young lady had a very modest base on to attempt a coverup of the blemishes.
My steps are...
1. patch tool in photoshop to take care of the obvious areas and to get a clean area to work with later.
2. when using the patch tool too close to the hair it blurs so then I use the patch tool set to 33ish % in opacity and flow. Then I try to work from the clean area from step 1 to hit the areas close to the hair line.
3. then I use an action from Imagenomic called portrature on a layer and run that action. SO WORTH THE MONEY SPENT!!!!
4. reduce the fill on the extra layer to about 40ish % and then erase the effect off the eyes, eyebrows, lips, nostrils and hair.
That does a great job on the complexion. Hope that helps.
Remember, photographing people is more psychology than photography. Don't focus on the photography as getting the subject comfortable and relaxed. Talk to them, find out their interests, hobbies etc. Tell stupid jokes or with little ones sing Christmas songs in July. Then the expressions will come.
You know, it never occurred to me to reduce fill instead of opacity on a retouching layer - big fat duh. I don't have Portraiture, but (for anybody else who might be looking for cost-effective solutions) I have found a couple of pretty good freeware actions which - used SPARINGLY (!!) - can help a lot with retouching ("Magic skin" and the coffeeshop blog's "Glamour Glow" are both excellent). I also like what I've seen so far of the TRA one which comes with TRA1 - haven't had a chance to use it much yet, but the tests I tried were good; it's nice and subtle.
Thanks for the info. However it is tought to make a comparison when you don't have both. Not you divamum but anyone in general. My adage is there is a reason they make a $700 camera and a $6000 camera. Same at times goes for software. I will look at those you mentioned.
I don't think they have quite the flexibility of something like Portraiture - I'm sure there are all sorts of bells and whistles in the higher end programs! That said, after checking out a free trial of Portrait Professional, I found I went back to the freeware ones - I preferred it and found it easier to use within PS than as a standalone separate product. Maybe it's better with the plugins. At some point I'll probably get Potraiture (or one of the other dedicated programs), but for now, these free ones are pretty good when used in moderation (key word moderation - they can be VERY overdone if care not taken!) The TRA one looks pretty good tooo, and the results I"ve seen others get out of it is extremely encouraging; I'm looking forward to using it next time I need some retouching. For all that they're overused, I've been impressed with the TRA actions - reliable and flexible, IMO.
Another good freebie I found is the "cspringer skinfx" action - it's not glamour retouching at all, but works pretty well for reducing minor skin flaws WITHOUT looking like fashion retouching; useful for guys or on occasions when it needs to look "less perfect" (but still cleaned up).
I'm also finding the Lee Varis "Skin" book really helpful - the tip/how-to on using soft-light fill layers for dodging and burning wrinkles is great and really helps keep things looking natural.
Divamum, watch out for the names. Portrait professional is not Imagenomics portrature. Imagenomic is very easy to use even if you use the default setting it does a great job. I agree Portrait professional is very complicated. At first look it seems to be.
No, I know they're not the same program (I think they're in direct competition, actually - they always seem to be reviewed head-to-head). PPro wasn't complicated (quite the contrary - everything's automated after you punch in the initial info) it just didn't give me results I terribly liked
My experience indicates to me that when your technique is good (= exposure optimal, starting from basis of WB) - and that is basically lighting, correctly metered, creatively shaped - then your PP is very straightforward. In that case PP is the icing on the cake.
It's not too uncommon to hear the attitude, "Oh, I'll just shoot loose and fix it in post." I fall down there myself too often. I have found that turning a bad capture into a great image requires much more time and expertise than learning and practising best lighting practices! And an excellent capture wins every time in the eye of the customer hands down over even the most outrageously good fix. It's that aspect of what Charles has done here that I admire.
So, I think you must aim to have winners to start with, and then take them to whatever other level you want and are capable of.
To touch on another point, I am increasingly uncomfortable with the gender split in portraiture. I mean because a person is female their portrait must go down one assembly line, and because they are male down another. It's a kind of world of beige which makes me feel pukacious. What it leads to is generic masks on faces that have been lost. I'm not saying don't put masks on, but to throw away all faces, the potential of all faces, in favour of a generic product, I think, is antithetical to photographic portraiture. Let a female's face's lines sound in the symphony, transpose a male's face into a glamour treatment key. Whatever. Play. Don't transplant a face with a generic mask. I think this too has implications, as with lighting, for the place of PP in portraiture, in that the basic capture is promoted rather than disguised. I am talking about portraiture, not something more dramatic like fashion and glamour, or "art".
Remember, photographing people is more psychology than photography. Don't focus on the photography as getting the subject comfortable and relaxed. Talk to them, find out their interests, hobbies etc. Tell stupid jokes or with little ones sing Christmas songs in July. Then the expressions will come.
When little ones get antsy I have been known to bark like a dog, it works for a very short time.
Zone, this young lady had a very modest base on to attempt a coverup of the blemishes.
My steps are...
1. patch tool in photoshop to take care of the obvious areas and to get a clean area to work with later.
2. when using the patch tool too close to the hair it blurs so then I use the patch tool set to 33ish % in opacity and flow. Then I try to work from the clean area from step 1 to hit the areas close to the hair line.
3. then I use an action from Imagenomic called portrature on a layer and run that action. SO WORTH THE MONEY SPENT!!!!
4. reduce the fill on the extra layer to about 40ish % and then erase the effect off the eyes, eyebrows, lips, nostrils and hair.
That does a great job on the complexion. Hope that helps.
Charles,
Greatly, thank you.
I was trying the software 'Portrait Professional Studio', the trial version but, from what I could tell, it barely did anything. I realize that some make up is required but the difference in before and after using that particular software was negligible. I would have expected to see something.
However, I will try your suggestions above.
Thanks,
-Rick
"I'm just very selective about the reality I accept" - Calvin
Comments
Cheers,
-joel
Link to my Smugmug site
www.cameraone.biz
You have done a first class job with these, Charles, enviable work!
Thanks.
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
Also google Joe Zeltsman , long since past, and try to find some of his basic posing and lighting videos. Before you break the rules you need to know them. Hope this helps.
www.cameraone.biz
Seems to me you've been really breaking out some new and unusual comps and poses and I'm loving it - sure, there's a place for traditional too, but I really enjoy this more creative work. Terrific!
www.CottageInk.smugmug.com
NIKON D700
She was expecting the work of a master!
And she got it
It is about how that thing looks photographed." Garry Winogrand
Avatar credit: photograph by Duane Michals- picture of me, 'Smash Palace' album
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21695902@N06/
http://500px.com/Shockey
alloutdoor.smugmug.com
http://aoboudoirboise.smugmug.com/
Remember, photographing people is more psychology than photography. Don't focus on the photography as getting the subject comfortable and relaxed. Talk to them, find out their interests, hobbies etc. Tell stupid jokes or with little ones sing Christmas songs in July. Then the expressions will come.
www.cameraone.biz
Zoomer, I try to only spend 2 to 3 minutes per file. If I show 75 I work up about 35 with hopes of selling an album to my seniors. So if a sessin runs about two hours I spend about 1.5 to 2 hrs time in PP.
www.cameraone.biz
My daughter, being a 13 year old girl, has a similar complexion on her forehead. Standard acne and such for that age.
The contrast between before and after is pretty stark here.
Can I ask a simple question: was it make-up, post-processing or a combination of both that you used to clear it up.
If post-processing, what do you do to make up such a difference?
http://zone99.smugmug.com
Nikon D300
Nikkor 18-70 DX
Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 ED
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
Couple o' other lenses I never use!
My steps are...
1. patch tool in photoshop to take care of the obvious areas and to get a clean area to work with later.
2. when using the patch tool too close to the hair it blurs so then I use the patch tool set to 33ish % in opacity and flow. Then I try to work from the clean area from step 1 to hit the areas close to the hair line.
3. then I use an action from Imagenomic called portrature on a layer and run that action. SO WORTH THE MONEY SPENT!!!!
4. reduce the fill on the extra layer to about 40ish % and then erase the effect off the eyes, eyebrows, lips, nostrils and hair.
That does a great job on the complexion. Hope that helps.
www.cameraone.biz
This works wonders.....
I imagine over a zillion repititions speed does develop.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21695902@N06/
http://500px.com/Shockey
alloutdoor.smugmug.com
http://aoboudoirboise.smugmug.com/
I love the eyes closed comment. When I used to load film in a dark room I would find myself closing my eyes. Why I'm not sure it was already dark.
www.cameraone.biz
www.cameraone.biz
Another good freebie I found is the "cspringer skinfx" action - it's not glamour retouching at all, but works pretty well for reducing minor skin flaws WITHOUT looking like fashion retouching; useful for guys or on occasions when it needs to look "less perfect" (but still cleaned up).
I'm also finding the Lee Varis "Skin" book really helpful - the tip/how-to on using soft-light fill layers for dodging and burning wrinkles is great and really helps keep things looking natural.
www.cameraone.biz
It's not too uncommon to hear the attitude, "Oh, I'll just shoot loose and fix it in post." I fall down there myself too often. I have found that turning a bad capture into a great image requires much more time and expertise than learning and practising best lighting practices! And an excellent capture wins every time in the eye of the customer hands down over even the most outrageously good fix. It's that aspect of what Charles has done here that I admire.
So, I think you must aim to have winners to start with, and then take them to whatever other level you want and are capable of.
To touch on another point, I am increasingly uncomfortable with the gender split in portraiture. I mean because a person is female their portrait must go down one assembly line, and because they are male down another. It's a kind of world of beige which makes me feel pukacious. What it leads to is generic masks on faces that have been lost. I'm not saying don't put masks on, but to throw away all faces, the potential of all faces, in favour of a generic product, I think, is antithetical to photographic portraiture. Let a female's face's lines sound in the symphony, transpose a male's face into a glamour treatment key. Whatever. Play. Don't transplant a face with a generic mask. I think this too has implications, as with lighting, for the place of PP in portraiture, in that the basic capture is promoted rather than disguised. I am talking about portraiture, not something more dramatic like fashion and glamour, or "art".
Neil
http://www.behance.net/brosepix
When little ones get antsy I have been known to bark like a dog, it works for a very short time.
www.CottageInk.smugmug.com
NIKON D700
Charles,
Greatly, thank you.
I was trying the software 'Portrait Professional Studio', the trial version but, from what I could tell, it barely did anything. I realize that some make up is required but the difference in before and after using that particular software was negligible. I would have expected to see something.
However, I will try your suggestions above.
Thanks,
-Rick
http://zone99.smugmug.com
Nikon D300
Nikkor 18-70 DX
Nikkor 80-200 f2.8 ED
Nikon SB-600 Speedlight
Couple o' other lenses I never use!
I feel it is much better for complexions. The other is more adapt at changing facial structure.
www.cameraone.biz