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Seldom do I find portrait shots that I find unique yet casual. I was pleasantly surprised to see this photo! I love the colors and the background is unique but doesn't distract from the subject. My only suggestion that either the lighting across the subjects face caused odd highlights or the post-processing did some funky things with his skin tone (spefically the right cheek and a bar on his right temple). Still, a great picture and definitely one of the best portraits I've seen in a long time! Well done, and thank you for letting your picture teach me.

Josh

Ive zoomed up very close and can't see anything. On his temple he has two bones that are prominent that kind of look like immature horns , ( not kidding) so I i did use some cleanup on him, but I can't see the bands on my monitor. Do you mind using photoshop to show me what you're referring to? If I can't see it, then I don't know how to fix it. 

Why you blurred/softened his skin/him? I understand it would be girl (though even in that case it would look scary). You should also use layer mask to restore his hair etc. Very unprofessional post processing on my mind.

Hi Jennifer,

I should have been more clear...what was bothering me is what Martynas pointed out: the softening of the skin. Perhaps alright with his hand and fine on his clothes, but softens to much for a background and masculine figure such as this. Doing the softening blurs the areas of light with the surrounding area (again mostly on his right cheek and temple). Without the softening I would imagine that the light would have more a natural quality (obviously it is a bright day as is visible in the reflection of the subjects sunglasses).

Again, I love the pose, the surroundings, and the subject. My only suggestion is a different take on post-processing. (I would make some modifications but I dislike altering pictures at the size required by Photo.net. If you have the original I would love to see it).

This is the original before alterations.

I just started using new software and have been practicing over the last three to four days on these old model shoots that I did back in 2006. The photography is old, the processing is new. As with anything I don't want to try new software on paying clients so I have been using this new fashion folder to try out the software. I really appreciate the feedback. I kept thinking you were talking about the cheek on MY right, not his right cheek. LOL. I do see what you're talking about and do understand that like anything removing defects, debris and other things is also removing pieces of the story, ( I believe the same is true for a woman as well actually). Thanks as always for the honesty. It truly is helpful.

Here is the shot before the touch up software. Is this better? 

Hi Jennifer,

First may I say that I greatly appreciate your openness to criticism: it's something that so few photographers lack. Your photography and skill far outstrip my own but I thank you for listening. And I was honest in my first post how your art has taught me (it's one of my favorite parts of Photo.net, learning from those whose abilities are greater than mine). 

Back to the photo at hand. I really do like the original (untouched) photo that you linked in your post, but I can see that the subject was probably a bit too shadowed for it to be a final shot. I think what made your first posted photo look a bit off was the almost HDR quality that it had. It made the background look great, but the subject became too soft and lost the quality of the out-of-the-camera shot had. I think that your redone post-processing that you linked in your last post vastly improves the shot. It balances nicely the desire to brighten the subject without losing the "rugged" and "masculine" quality. Very nice and thank you again! I've looked through your portfolio and it looks excellent! I have years of practice ahead of me!!

Thanks,

Josh

Ive never taken a photography course, in fact it was photo.net that is partially responsible for my abilities. When I first started there were a few great photographers that saw something in my very less than talented work and somewhat brutally critiqued my work until I found myself actually hearing their typed words in my head when I went out to shoot. I uploaded thousands of shots only to have them beat them to the ground until I finally figured out what they were trying to do. 

It's nice to get those bravo moments when people appreciate your work, but for me and this site the comments that are mostly appreciated are the ones that are brutally honest and detail how I am to fix the mistakes that Ive made. The people that buy art are not usually well versed in the art, they just know they like what they see. So in that respect it is the art appreciator that makes the best critiquer. Lots of times they don't know why they don't like it, but they can give you a rough idea. Thanks again, and feel free to offer your two cents worth on any of my work. 

We've been having a discussion on whether to touch up males or not. In this case I did. There is also a picture of him in the conversation without the touch up. What do you think?