Right now, I'm limited to heal brush to remove imperfections and adjusting contrast/clarity/color to change the appearance of skin. I don't really want to go the gaussian blur route at any point, ever.
How do you even go about beginning to learn to retouch skin? The first few articles I read went the "just blur it" route.
That's an amazing video. So many things to learn from it. I think he does an especially good job focusing on the overall image and improving it, instead of saying "hey, watch me spend ten hours zoomed in at 400% perfecting every single pore and wrinkle." Obviously that's important too, but it can be too easy to just focus on that and miss the big picture.
The very start of the video where he's talking about learning how to do something vs why (and when) to do it is really good to think about too.
That's an amazing video. So many things to learn from it. I think he does an especially good job focusing on the overall image and improving it, instead of saying "hey, watch me spend ten hours zoomed in at 400% perfecting every single pore and wrinkle." Obviously that's important too, but it can be too easy to just focus on that and miss the big picture.
The very start of the video where he's talking about learning how to do something vs why (and when) to do it is really good to think about too.
It's a good video and zooming at 400% is a no no. : )
It's a good video and zooming at 400% is a no no. : )
Oh come on. More zoom = better skin. Everyone knows that.
Kidding, I promise
My point is that after watching this video about ten times, you could round it out well by learning various finer-detail techniques like ways to remove stray hairs, for instance. I divide things into two rough categories in my mind: broad and pixel-level adjustments. Using dodge and burn with a big brush to reshape the light and emphasize features would be a broad adjustment, using dodge and burn to make individual skin blemishes would be a pixel-level one.
Of course, the funny part is that in a lot of ways the broad adjustments take a fraction of the time as the tiny ones, yet they have an equal or bigger impact on the picture. It's good to learn a balance of both!
Oh come on. More zoom = better skin. Everyone knows that.
Kidding, I promise
My point is that after watching this video about ten times, you could round it out well by learning various finer-detail techniques like ways to remove stray hairs, for instance. I divide things into two rough categories in my mind: broad and pixel-level adjustments. Using dodge and burn with a big brush to reshape the light and emphasize features would be a broad adjustment, using dodge and burn to make individual skin blemishes would be a pixel-level one.
Of course, the funny part is that in a lot of ways the broad adjustments take a fraction of the time as the tiny ones, yet they have an equal or bigger impact on the picture. It's good to learn a balance of both!
I see you are focused on the clean ups but make sure you have a good conversion first that helps a lot. For me the clean ups is all in one I move in and out cloning and d&b but I do try to clone first especially if I see things that would take too long to d&b (Also, I do try the healing brush from time to time). Then color, lastly final touches then i look at the image with everything on and might clean up some more or change this or that with adjustment layers. Really basic and old school really.
I see you are focused on the clean ups but make sure you have a good conversion first that helps a lot. For me the clean ups is all in one I move in and out cloning and d&b but I do try to clone first especially if I see things that would take too long to d&b (Also, I do try the healing brush from time to time). Then color, lastly final touches then i look at the image with everything on and might clean up some more or change this or that with adjustment layers. Really basic and old school really.
You're talking to the guy who shoots on film more than digital, couldn't agree more about basic and old school.
sbourson wrote: natalia taffarel DVD & Workshop is the perfect way to learn retouching
you mean you want People to go back to cs4 tutorials .....we are in the CS6 era.
I want a DVV with color toning, like ibarra, emily soto, david hills, and much more. including extracting crazy hairs using chanels, you tube/vimeo is flooded of good D/B tutorials.
Natalia_Taffarel
Posts: 6,221
Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
365 Digitals Exposed wrote: you mean you want People to go back to cs4 tutorials .....we are in the CS6 era.
LOL
You can do everything I do with photoshop 7
365 Digitals Exposed wrote: I want a DVV with color toning, like ibarra, emily soto, david hills, and much more. including extracting crazy hairs using chanels, you tube/vimeo is flooded of good D/B tutorials.
In this we agree. Loads of perfectly good tutorials out there.
BTW Ibarra does workshops, Emily Soto does too.
David Hill has videos
Extracting crazy hair aint that hard if the shoot was set up for it
Please don't promote blurring and filters (lol) as person that started thread didn't want blur but to learn the best way for the best possible result and it isn't painful you can do a really good d&b in about 1hr or 90 mins at most. Barring beauty, heavy cosmetic jobs those take time.
Please don't promote blurring and filters (lol) as person that started thread didn't want blur but to learn the best way for the best possible result and it isn't painful you can do a really good d&b in about 1hr or 90 mins at most. Barring beauty, heavy cosmetic jobs those take time.
Maybe you didn't notice - I posted 4(!) d&b tutorials and 1(!) fs using words "maybe", "in some cases" - in my opinion my statements shouldn't lead to: "oh this technique is the best - I will use only this over all face" lol
And for beginner d&b IS painful for first times. More experience you gain for it, more easy it goes.
I know you did my friend and I like those first four you posted those are helpful that last one sucked and is responsible for a lot of okay to bad retouching trying to pass off as good it's pretty obvious when its done. At least to the trained eye. That is not true it's not painful maybe for some it is but for others it's simple they don't overcomplicate or overthink it like I did myself and maybe you also from the sound of it.
If the poster likes my style of retouching and has any questions after a few months of trying she can send me a message and I will help. There is a tendency to remove everything but there should be variations on skin anyhow it shouldn't look like a dish unless you are told to do it like that.
my_other_profile wrote: Right now, I'm limited to heal brush to remove imperfections and adjusting contrast/clarity/color to change the appearance of skin. I don't really want to go the gaussian blur route at any point, ever.
How do you even go about beginning to learn to retouch skin? The first few articles I read went the "just blur it" route.
Here is a basic skin softening that will allow you to retain skin texture. this does not enhance the eyes, just the skin.
1. Duplicate the background
2. Go under Gaussian Blur-drag the slider to the right until skin smoothers out and different skin tones go away. DO NOT click ok, simply remember where you stopped. Probably 8.2 to 8.4
3. Cancel
4. Go under filter and choose High Pass. Enter the number from the Gaussian Blur.
5. Re-open Gaussian Blur and enter 1/3 of the number you memorized from the Gaussian Blur
6. Invert the layer
7. Go to layers panel and change blend mode to Linear Light.
8. Lower the opacity to 50%
9. Hold the alt key and click on add layer mask
10. Change your foreground color to white, choose a soft edged brush, set the opacity to 100%
11. Paint over the skin area, make sure to avoid lips, eyes, nostrils, eyebrows, hair or the edge of the face.
12. Check to see if you missed any areas by going to the layers panel and press and hold the alt key and click directly on layer mask thumbnail. Any black areas haven't been softened, so get your brush and cover those areas.
13 Alt click on the layer mask to return to the normal image.
It seems many steps at first, but after you do it a few times it will become second nature.
Note that we haven't enhanced the eyes, and the blemishes should be removed before softening the skin.
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