My Danica Patrick makeover
here's the before
and here's after.... thank you!
"The most endangered species? The honest man!"
My advice, is to hire a makeup artiste (with the e), and try to get as perfect as possible in camera, so you have very little to do in post.
I just see a made up, plastic person in the final version. Not even human.
But hey, I could be wrong.
Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"
I guess that's one way to look at it...I've been shooting since late June of 2011, and working on this program for the same amount of time. Though I appreciate your advice, and share your enthusiasam for the purist approach, I'm certainly not in the mindset to even begin thinking about an actual photoshoot that would require a make-up artist. You are correct about the final version.... it is a made up person that was my experiment. I did say I wasn't going for realism.
Here's another one that I did this evening. Though not to my liking as of yet, it's a little closer to 'real', which is what I was going for. This one was a little more difficult. The ladies in my office picked this one out.
Before
After
"The most endangered species? The honest man!"
But please, don't ever take offense from what I say. I never wish to offend anyone. I just call it like I see it.
You're new at this game, and that's fine. We all start somewhere. But I will 2nd my motion for hiring a good hair and makeup person for the direction you seem to want to go. It really makes a difference in our trade.
The idea that Ps can do wonders to ANY image, is not wrong. But to be a photographer is different than being a graphic artist. We try really hard to not to have have to "fix it in post". Getting a nearly perfect picture in camera, is a constant pursuit.
Again, my heart is on your side, and I hope you learn something useful from this.
Matthew
BTW if your goal is to be a "retouch" artist for others, than you are on the right path.
Matthew L Kees
MLK Studios Photography School
www.MLKstudios.com
[email protected]
"Every artist, was once an amateur"
Thanks again for your input!
"The most endangered species? The honest man!"
Pixelchix wrote: Being a woman I can't say I hate #1 because what I wouldn't give to have smooth skin like that. That is what all the magazines do. Take Oprah for instance or Paula Deen. If anyone did minimalistic retouching on those ladies I think they would be out of a job. I think there are times when you pull back and times when you don't. I really like what you did with her eyes too in #1, they just pop off the page. Comparing these three images I think you will be able to do whatever the job calls for in the future.
that some retouching is fine. A lot of people would like to have minor flaws smoothed away or they wouldn't sell makeup. #1 and 3 are well done but 2 does look a bit "touched", er retouched. Good start.Not sure about Oprah but Paula Deen has so much personality that she could survive. My wife took her cooking class in Savannah (at Uncle Bubba's) and the lady is outrageous and lovable. What you see on camera is MILD compared to the video Paula.
Shoot, learn and share. It will make you a better photographer.
fineartamerica.com/profiles/john-g-schickler.html?tab=artwork
The only problem I would have with #2 is that you're going for a more natural look, but right away it looks like Photoshop was involved. It's not a bad Photoshop job; it just looks like a Photoshop job.
#3, Matthew is right. She doesn't need retouching! But I understand you're not doing this because of necessity, you're doing this to learn how. Seems like you're going for the magazine photo type of edit on this one. Other than having some blown out highlights, it's a good effort.
I agree with everyone so far. The skin on number is too overdone. The blur was set too high. I've learned to watch that a lot closer and I'm learning how the strength of the blur will affect the final result.
I haven't figured out how to "fix" hair yet. I'll have to spend some time on that. On number 2 all I could really do was use the 'lighten' feature on the hair. I'm going to re-do that image with the suggestions given here. I don't use photoshop.... it's actually Corel PaintShop. It's a pretty capable program, but it's very unstable and crashes a lot, even with the 4 fixes installed.
And yes.... I'm definitely doing this, not to "better" the person, but to learn the program. I found a photo online that I think will be perfect for my practice. I'm playing with that one right now. Maybe I can get some shooting in soon, too.
Again, thank you all for your feedback.
"The most endangered species? The honest man!"
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