Melissa's Photoblog
These Eyes v2
Posted by Melissa W. (Warsaw, Indiana, United States) on 30 June 2008 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.
Some may recall this image from a senior shoot I had a couple of months ago. Since I've been working on some tutorials lately, I thought I'd have another go at it. This time I was going for more of a "fashion" style retouching. This isn't typically my style for retouching portraits, but it was fun learning and trying new techniques.
paulski from Muncie, IN, United States
overall, i like the retouch here. the hair and skin look great. the one thing i don't like, however, is the background; the pure black is not as effective as the other muted background. nice work, though...
30 Jun 2008 5:24pm
@paulski: Yeah, I feel the same way about the background, too. It went almost completely black because of the vignette. :( I'll have to work on that.
Graham Russon from Cape Town, South Africa
This is a very professional looking end result, good enough for a high end magazine. Well done.
30 Jun 2008 7:50pm
@Graham Russon: Thank you so much, Graham. I really appreciate your continued encouragement and support. :)
MaryB from Staffordshire, United Kingdom
I love what you've done with this shot Melissa, beautiful work.
30 Jun 2008 8:08pm
@MaryB: Thank you so much, Mary. I couldn't do this amount of retouching to all my portraits. It just takes me forever right now since I'm still not familiar with the techniques yet; although, I do like the results.
danthro from Suburbia, United States
nice work, i do prefer this version. but i notice you made her more blonde ;) i think this version emphasizes her face more actually
30 Jun 2008 8:18pm
@danthro: I have to say, and not to toot my own horn, I LOVE how her hair looks. Blonde? I just emphasized her highlights a bit. ;) Alright, so I may have brightened her highlights and made them slightly more blonde. You got me. Can't get anything past you. :P
I couldn't do this amount of retouching on every portrait; it just takes me too long. Maybe if I did it more, I'd eventually get faster at it. But I have to say, I'm liking the more polished look. It's just finding a balance between the polished look while preserving the realism of the portrait (if that makes sense).
BTW, have you checked out those sites?
Bhavin from Mississauga, Canada
Fantastic image. I really like the model's pose here.
30 Jun 2008 11:45pm
@Bhavin: Thank you for visiting and for the comments. Much appreciated.
Ron from Saint Louis, United States
This is fantastic, Melissa. The hair and skin tones are so beautiful ... even the highlights you've brought out in her lips makes a difference. I've been sitting here flipping back and forth between tabs and I have to say that I could live with the background either way ... the deep black is more dramatic. When I compare the images now (back and forth between tabs), I'm amazed at the quality of her skin tone and texture (here) ... huge, huge improvement (and originally I saw nothing wrong with this young woman's skin tone).
I have to say, you inspired me to do some tutorials on retouching. I officiated at a wedding this past Saturday, and I asked the bride and groom if I could snap a few photos before the ceremony. I shot them in beautiful diffused sunlight, and I thought I had some pretty good images. Now I should point out that this was the second marriage for each and both were a bit older than 50 ... so the lines were beginning to deepen here and there. I followed some tutorials in Scott Kelby's Photoshop CS3 for Digital Photographers (reducing [not eliminating] wrinkles, smoothing skin texture, and adjusting skin tone) and the image looks incredible.
I know what you mean about taking time ... but it's worth it in the end. I think after you get used to making these adjustments time and again it will become second nature for you and the time element will greatly diminish. Well ... I think you did a pro job with this already beautiful image!
1 Jul 2008 2:21am
@Ron: I'm very overwhelmed by the wonderfully positive response regarding this retouch. I honestly didn't think I would get this much of a response. I liked this version, but wasn't sure if I might have crossed the line where it looked photoshopped or fake.
I had been doing the tutorials at Lynda.com for a while, but have recently started working on tutorials at kelbytraining.com. I just recently finished Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques I & II with Scott Kelby and will be starting Using Small Flashes with Joe McNally hopefully in a couple of days. I have the Canon 430EX speedlight and have been frustrated with my results; therefore, it just sits in my bag. I've been bouncing the light, but sometimes it looks good and most of the times not. Anyway, that's a WHOLE other topic of its own.
I'd love to see your portraits sometime. I'm sure they're terrific.
Thanks again, Ron. Your continued support and encouragement is greatly appreciated. :)
chakrapani from Hyderabad, India
Ahh ! the portrait expert at work again ! :)
I like the dark background. For me portraits are all about the person .. and actually i prefer any more vignetting that can help coax the viewers eyes on to the person in the snap. Here , her eyes are gorgeous and dont actually need and 'drag the eyes of the viewer' :).
Try another post processing.. for ex greyscale with increased darks ,increased highlights increased vignetting and just see if u like the results .
1 Jul 2008 3:24am
chakrapani from Hyderabad, India
You could also crop an inch from all 4 sides and twist the cropped frame so that her frame is more slant than horizontal.. if u understand what I mean .. that ways the viewer can be fixated on her eyes and yet , does not have to twist his neck subconsciously.
cheers !
1 Jul 2008 3:36am
Tasha from Chicago, United States
What an impressive photo. I think the black background really does make it a significantly more dramatic photo. Both shots are gorgeous, but this one is truly eye-catching.
Good job.
1 Jul 2008 3:38am
Judy from Brooksville-Florida,, United States
This is beautiful - a gorgeous retouching job. I too, flipped back and forth between this one and the original. I like the black background and the fact that you don't see her underwear here. This must be lovely in its full size!
1 Jul 2008 7:13am
paulski from Muncie, IN, United States
I know I already commented on this, Melissa, but congrats on having this image designated as an aminus3 spotlight image. looks like all the hard work paid off, at least on this venue...
1 Jul 2008 11:14am
@paulski: I had no idea I made the spotlight page until I read your comment. I'm truly shocked! There are so many brilliant photographers here that I honestly never thought I'd make the spotlight. Thanks again, Paul. :)
danthro from Suburbia, United States
no, haven't had a chance to check out those sites yet, but i just noticed you're on the Aminus3 spotlight! Congratulations!!! :D
1 Jul 2008 4:23pm
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
Looks like a definite improvement to me. I routinely make many of the same kinds of changes with many of my images, but using Nikon NX --which is essentially a quick substitute for layers and other more tedious Photoshop changes-- it doesn't take me very long. The old guys like Ansel Adams used to make 20-100 similar changes per print --using standard enlarger techniques like burning, dodging, masking, in addition to using different kinds of paper and different developer combinations.
1 Jul 2008 9:18pm
Saeed from Tehran, Iran
Very Nice portrait . I Like composition , colors & title .
I read the comments & enjoy it :) Thanks Melissa .
2 Jul 2008 6:08am
GJC from Kyoto, Japan
Very nice and I enjoyed seeing the contrast. I think this is better, though like many I didn't see anything "wrong" with the first. But the skin tone is quite nice here. I like most, however, that you keep experimenting. Keep it up!
3 Jul 2008 3:48am
#gallery ce655bc2091d00e6cad8dbd347f1e0c4
#gallery cd84ef8e245933ec80b6e433851f19ec
#gallery b1fd75ebcfa5c1843d74c94a8e7fffc7
Canon EOS 30D
1/250 second
F/4.0
ISO 200
90 mm