Hi.
Attached is a portrait. I'm assuming that the subject was shot with hard light at a very high F-Stop. The "look" (desaturated and sort of hyper sharp) is somthing that I've been seeing in a lot in magazines today. Is there a filter that retouchers are using to achieve this? Or do you think it's mostly from the camera.

best,
gerald

I think it's definitely the post processing that give it that "look". the main effect comes from duplicating the image, desaturating to taste and overlaying it upon itself ... changing the blend mode of the duped image to overlay. this makes the light tones lighter and the dark ones darker ... kind of like increasing the contrast but not quite the same.

this operation can be repeated unitl the desired result is reached. then some sharpening by your favorite method should get you where you want to go. Mine is the High pass filter ... dupe, high pass and overlay. Adjust the opacity for effect. The another sharpen sith the USM at 0.5 pixel radius to get the fine details.

Good luck,

Stosh

thanks! that worked like a charm.

best,
starza