help me make this groom more handsome!

<p>Before the wedding this groom asked me to airbrush out all imperfections, and I confess I find that I am unsure exactly how to do that. I realise that I have a bit of a gap in my photoshop knowledge regarding whitening teeth and getting rid of large amounts of acne. I know about the spot healing tool, but should I be trying to get rid of the redness in his cheeks? And what's the best way to do that? Also, in some of the photos he has a bald patch. Should I try and get rid of this? He's not a bad looking man, but I fear has a propensity to exist on chips, and not the recourse to make up that us girls luckily have!</p><div></div>

<p>Here's a version that I have edited as much as I know how. I think the noise ninja has made it a bit too glossy. what do you think? Also this monitor has not been calibrated properly yet as it is new so tell me if the colours look awful and you have a calibrated monitor!!!</p><div></div>

<p>Fiona - yes, I'd say your fears are right.</p>

<p>The edited version doesn't work at all. Uneven skin tones (drifting into purple in places) unrealistic patches of plastic-looking smoothness next to normal skin with no transition, especially at forehead and temples. Teeth look a lot better, but for the rest of the image I much prefer the original.</p>

<p>Basically, you've overcooked it but it's easy to fix. When you're doing this type of editing you need to work on a duplicate layer and then reduce opacity of that layer so that more of the original shows through. The image will look natural and gently enhanced with an opacity of less than 50% on your edits. If you use more than 50% it will begin to look artificial.</p>

<p>As an aside, I wonder why you think this image needs fixing? From your description I was expecting problems that were more significant. There's nothing very wrong with his skin in the 'before' picture.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/10543110-lg.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>My attempt. I didn't go the Noiseware route, but I did remove the 3 moles and whitened his teeth a bit.</p>

<p>Dave</p>

<div></div>

<p>I softened the skin:</p>

<p> </p>

<p>I softened the skin:</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>My version.</p>

<p>Try that again...</p><div></div>

<p>Here is my take on it. I brightened the eyes a little more, whitened the teeth, and added a noise filter.</p><div></div>

<p>I don't see what the problem is with the original photo. If this man has "large amounts of acne" and "redness in his cheeks", then maybe it's getting lost somewhere on the internet. It sure doesn't show up on my monitor. The colors are pretty decent in the original, too.</p>

<p>I would take that attitude moving forward, and keep any edits as minimal as possible. The first rule of doctoring photos, like in medicine, is "First, do no harm!" Maybe you can make the color stand out a little better, whiten teeth just a little, and smooth the forhead just a little. Any more than that and you're just turning this guy into a ghoulish Ken doll. It looks like Melissa has the right idea.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>It looks like Melissa has the right idea.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I agree. If you're going to play with people's appearance it's best to use a very light touch. Melissa's works best (though overcooked in the eyes), but I don't find any of the other versions plausible.</p>

<p>Unfortunately he has been going to a lousy dentist and his crowns are poor-fitting and mis-colored. But that is his distinctive appearance and he has obviously been living with it for a while, so I wouldn't worry that issue as much as touching up acne and red cheeks. As a fellow man who developed a bald spot prematurely, I'd say have mercy on him and touch that up too! Good luck!</p>

<p>The key is simplicity. The most unattractive thing about this person (remember, imperfect as we all are) is the angle from which he was shot. It's both not straight, AND not angled, and shot from below, but only slightly. the result is that we see the lack of symmetry, and the picture has emphasized it. Easily 80% of great portraiture is in the angle of the shot (and not ignoring that as a photographer).</p>

<p>As far as the teeth, moles and other 'flaws' go. Brian & Hal's approach is, IMHO, correct. ( I'll have to remember that... "First, do no harm") I personally prefer to 'deemphasize' vs delete.<br>

A very light touch can make a very different picture.</p>

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<p>Hi Fiona,</p>

<p>I can't really explain all that I have done - it has been a bit of everything! Contrast, clarity, lightening, cloning tool, color adjustment - etc etc. If you'd like to chit chat on a more indepth basis or real help with the proper sized file just send me a message. This little bit of a comparison is a bit extreme even for me, but just an idea of what can be done. Take care !</p><div></div>

<p>Let me start of by saying neither my son nor I are wedding photographers nor do we earn a living in photography. My son is a trained photographer by schooling and I am a serious amateur for over 50 years. Back some years ago, my daughter volunteered us to help on a friend's daughter's wedding. From what was said the professional cancelled a few weeks before the wedding and after interviewing the prospective couple. When we arrived with film, cameras and strobes at the church, we were surprised by the reception we got. The wedding was fantastic, the reception equally so. Everyone had a great time, we took so many pictures that toward the end of the reception we actually ran out of film but kept on shooting! My reason for this brief story is the bride and groom were positively radiant but both were very,very heavy. I often wonder if the "Pro" cancelled for this very reason. My son and I really enjoyed this assignment and some of our photos were up there with the best of the nicest two people, ever!</p>

<p>Thanks for all the helpful replies, keep em coming! I'm curious to know more RT Jones about how precisely do you soften skin? And whiten teeth? Also Marcus Ian, what would you have done in terms of angling, bearing in mind that it was a spontaneous shot after the ceremony so no time to get a step ladder and he's a foot taller than me?</p>

<p>Less is always more when it comes to retouching. I always use a light touch on portraits. For this image I would lighten the dark area around his left front tooth at the gum line, soften a few of the blemishes on the forehead and nose, lighten some of the shadows and wrinkles around and under his eyes. Desaturate and brighten the teeth very slightly. Desaturating removes the yellow but if you remove too much, the teeth will look grey. Lighten the whites of the eyes, just a bit (too much looks cartoony). </p>

<img src="http://www.petermcmahonphotos.com/Other/retouching/retouch-groom/770165003_a5hUF-S.jpg"/>

<p>I'm not that good at this but here's my version. It started to fall apart becuse the pictures is small. You should be able to do some good stuff to a TIFF file. V/R Buffdr</p><div></div>

<p>Here is my version - All imperfections have been removed! (I don't think the groom will have the same sense of humor) </p><div></div>

<p>Hey Paul Reklaitis<br>

Brilliant, your version is far and away the best of all the posts. Some are just ridiculous, there really was nothing wrong with the original.<br>

Well done Paul !!</p>

<p>The most annoying thing I see that needs "fixing" is the bright red spot to the lower left of his right (for him) ear.</p>

<p>In Lightroom with the adjustment brush lower the clarity and sharpness of the skin. With HSL red hue +14. In Photoshop use the paintbrush and sample the teeth then choose a shade that is a bit lighter then overpaint teeth with opacity and flow set around 20. I did the same around the gumline to cover up the darkness there. Healing brush for some of the blemishes. Cloned out the bright reflection of the tinsel and burned the background and big red balls and a little lightening on the whites of the eyes.</p><div></div>

<p>What I usually do on portraits is remove spots, make wrinkles less apparent, dodge and burn different parts of the face, lower and raise the saturation on different parts. And sometimes a touch of liquify on a double chin or something like that.</p>

<p>Retouching is really about increasing perfection and youth. Back in the days we where all younger, thinner, our skin was smoother and brighter, our teeth where whiter and brighter, the sun was aways shining, the grass was greener and the sky was bluer.</p>

<p>In advertising they are creating a dream not enhancing reality. However we have to make the person look as good as possible while still maintaining a fair amount of reality. Of course how far we can go depends on the client and what we feel comfortable doing. Maybe we just use make-up, careful lighting, selection of perspective and camera angles or body positioning to make the subject look as good as possible. Or maybe the client just want their pictures to look great and don't care how much retouching is needed to achieve that.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>Pete, that looks pretty good. I wanted to get rid of some of those dark circles under his eyes (no doubt induced by the party the night before) but was too lazy.</p>