Beauty & Fashion Retouching

[kittybuddha]

I'm looking for the perfect retouching technique for beauty & fashion shots -

in particular close-up facial shots. I'd like to learn to retouch photos the

way they're done in Vogue, Bazaar, etc. Where the photo is obviously retouched

but you can still see the pores in the skin & fine hairs. I've tried the Lee

Varis technique which I like a lot but it still isn't what I want. I was

taught the "Glitterguru" technique by Suzette herself & really love it but it's

just too time consuming & doesn't leave any fine details in the skin like

pores. Any suggestions? Can anyone provide a link or the title of a great

book?

[allan_schoening]

Please don't take this wrong way, I'm not trying to be a snooty in the way I say this but I feel

as though people are always concerned about the way things are "photoshoped" and/or re-

touched. Instead of re-touching it like they do in Harpers or Vogue maybe we should light it

like they do in Harpers and Vogue.

 

Also, the final product of what you see in those magazine is a product of the best make-up,

hair, clothing stylist, art direction, lighting assistants, photographer, models, lighting gear as

well as re-touchers in the world. So it's not just a technique, it's a whole production.

[anthony_r]

He said it exactly correct above. (high end retoucher in new york who retouches for those

mags and tons of advertising)

[wogears]

Generally to leave detail in the skin, you need to do the retouching on a separate layer and adjust the opacity or use a layer mask until the detail shows through as you want.

 

Comments above are spot on. Makeup and lighting are critical.

[kittybuddha]

That makes sense. So how do I light the model to completely remove all the wrinkles & blemishes?

[emre]

By using diffusion, controlling contrast, and lighting head on. Not necessarily all at the same time.

[terry_spade]

All of the above is a good place to start. But many people go to a professional photographer to get the best picture of themselves and family members they can get. And that can mean different degrees of retouching. An older women doesn?t want to see her age spots and wrinkles leap out at her in a picture.

 

This is a good place to start:

 

http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=209

[li_sun]

The easiest way to remove wrinkles & blemishes is probably using healing brush and dust&scratches filter but you still need to work on the skin tones and other imperfections of a image. It can take hours just to retouch one image and it all depends on how far you are willing to go.

The ultimate way is mentioned above: lightning and makeups.

[patricklavoie]

I'm looking for the perfect retouching technique for beauty & fashion shots.

 

Took me a lot of *time consuming hours* to get there myself. sorry not magic recipe.

 

(high end retoucher in montreal who retouches for those kind of mags and tons of advertising) ; )

[patricklavoie]

Oh, i must also said that even with the best make-up, hair, clothing stylist, art direction, lighting assistants, photographer, models, lighting gear and anything else, i still see image that need minor / major retouching ...skin is never perfect and smooth as you see on a cover as you may indeed know, even with all the extra care and experience on set. Specialy for make up ad, or close up.

[kittybuddha]

The link is a great help. Thank you! I just met a former photo editor for Harper's Bazaar & other top fashion mags who told me that EVERY advertising & editorial shot in those magazines is retouched. It's also very obvious to me that when I see a photo of someone like Cindy Crawford (who's past 40)& she has less wrinkles around her eyes than a two-year-old that somethings retouched. I know lighting is important but I can't possibly see how it could completely eliminate wrinkles.

[mike_pallas]

i find a cokin diffuser 2 works really well. but seriously if you want to get your photoshop technique to the highest level then look out for workshops by leading exponents in the field. and of course plenty of hours spent on the computer.

 

personally I didn't get into photography to burn out my retinas on a computer monitor so the quick and easy solutions are fine for me.

[ben_moore1]

Don't underestimate the power of a good makeup artist. ALthough they do a fair amount of

touchup in the big magazines, they also have a crew of people working on the original shot.

Smooth skin is 1 part touch up, 2 parts lighting, and 2 parts a good MU artist (don't ask me

why 5 is the sum total ;)

 

That said, there are some useful tutorials on lynda.com and a few more on youtube.com ...

the basic skills are there to help you start experimenting.

[kittybuddha]

Thank you so much, everyone. I'm realizing more & more the importance of a good MUA. I worked with Patricia Le (Who recently did the cover of People magazine) in L.A. & she did such an amazing job. The problem was that we worked with a young (15 year old) model who had acne on her forehead - a nightmare to retouch). The link to ReTouch Pro was incredible - that helped a lot. I'm realizing I need to take some Photoshop workshops as well. Thanks again!

[anthony_r]

Bottom line. You want your images to look like Harpers Bazaar and Vogue images, you pay a

high end retoucher to make them that way. Doing it yourself will get you in trouble.

retouchpro specifically will get you in loads of trouble... it's about as pro as Sears Portraits

[engelgrafik]

<p>The biggest problem I see in the retouching area is what people THINK is "fashion" and what actually IS "fashion".<br>

The moment someone emphasizes words like "soft focus" or "glow", you know what they're talking about is really '80s glamour.<br>

Look at actual fashion photos today, they show plenty of detail in the skin, the photos are SHARP, but the skin has a textured silkiness to it, almost a bronze look. That's actual fashion retouching.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>exactly.<br>

When i retouched for my high end client, i dont apply ANY soft blur, gaussian blur, shape blur or else..they have make the image with a razor sharp lens, usually from a P45 back, with serious lense. What they want is the smothes skin possible with ALL skin pore.<br>

It demand a lot of skil, time, experience and a looooooot of patience because you are retouching at point by point..no filter can do that. Sure a lot of technique you will read in Katrin book or Scott will give many amateur or semi pro the look they want..but far from the *real* pro look, or i should say far from what my client ask.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>one example.</p><div></div>

[deny_deny]

<p>Patrick, it's interesting to hear real professional. Would you say, which instruments do you use, to save pores and texture, may be patch, clone stamp and... ? And what about bronze look? Would you post some tutorial about that?</p>

[mywork1]

<p>I really loath when people comment but don't answer the question! She didn't ask how to take a photograph or how to apply makeup she asked how to retouch the photo. Clearly all of the other things are important which judging by the quality of her images she allready knows. @all of the retouchers who commented and could have saved their breath....maybe some of you took a professional course...maybe you learned on your own....maybe someone helped you along the way. Point being....so many are so greedy with their knowledge. You aren't going to be put out of business if you share some tips. I love helping other photographers with issues they are having when I have the solution. If you aren't providing a solution and you just want to type that you are a retoucher and you have ALLLL this work...save it becuase no one cares.<br>

End.</p>

[mywork1]

<p>Sorry just cant help myself......<br>

@Patrick and Anthony.....glad your both so busy and such experts. Thanks for telling us everything we shouldnt do and nothing that was helpful. Its 1am and Im irritated with stupid people. Take your worthless advice and shove it</p>

[patricklavoie]

<blockquote>

<p>Point being....so many are so greedy with their knowledge. You aren't going to be put out of business if you share some tips</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Mmmmm, i like the smell of uneducated rant on the morning, i feel energyzed ; )</p>

<p>Ashley, if only you had take time to click on my name, and see how many post i have.. you would have seen that i try to help this community by anything i can humanly do. You would also have seen that i have written tutorial about skin retouching here on PN.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/digital-photography-workflow/advanced-photoshop-tutorials/intro-to-skin-retouching/</p>

<p>about floor retouching</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/digital-photography-workflow/techniques-tips/retouching-studio-backdrop/</p>

<p>about being a digital assistant and a retoucher</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/learn/digital-photography-workflow/overview/fashion-photography/</p>

<p>and many more other (i think) very helpfull *quick how to* during my different post from the past 10years.</p>

<p>You could also have found that by emailing me, you could have acces to many PDF i wrote about skin retouching, cosmetic retouching, darkroom, sharpen etc.. all in french (i suppose you dont read french? but some also are in english) to all my Lightroom preset, to most of all my action that work with Photoshop.. all that for <strong>FREE</strong></p>

<p>So when you say "so many are so greedy with their knowledge" i dont even for a split second feel bad, because i know i offer as much as i can for this community, and it seem it is appreciate by people who take the time to make proper research before ranting.</p>

<p>So next time you cant sleep, before writing bad comment, take a big breath, go to bed, and make some quick research when you wake up... you might have a different opinion about people. If you feel like it, you can also just write me a email with some excuse .. you will feel more happy im sure and certainly have a better karma for today ; )</p>

<p> </p>

[mywork1]

<p>When your right your right. I stand corrected. Maybe you could have noted those links here before as you clearly could have been more helpful to this perticluar post. Ive had my morning coffee. I speak fluent french. Im not to proud to admit when I wrong. The end.</p>

[patricklavoie]

<p>thanks, appreciate. wish you a beautiful day ; )</p>

[midan_smith]

<p>pixel level dodging and burning is a good place to start. use a soft light layer at 50% grey, with a 1 pixel size brush at 5% or so opacity, zoom in to 400% and start painting white on the darker pixels and black/very dark red on the lightest pixels. Do that for a few hours and see how the skin is looking.</p>