here's a different sort of shot to work with:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/45178172@N00/2220455034/


this is hires and royalty free so you'll be able to include it in your portfolio, assuming it's good enough, enjoy...

Interesting shot. It will be interesting to see what folks do with it. Thanks for offering it for practice.

Pixelzombie thank you for the shot, it is great to have a image like this to practice on or in my case mess around with !
Just lately there have been a few techniques that I have wanted to try but never had the image to try it on ( tried about 3 on this ) And no it isnt good enough to keep in a portfolio ( if i had one that is ) but boy did I have some fun and will come back again. Cant wait to see what those with more experience at retouching come up with

Thank you again

Palms

Here are 2 extremes.

This isn't perfect, but I used a new technique I'm not familiar with. Critiques are welcome.

I liked Wolfmans idea of doing a double..

LOL.. just noticed the dark cheek edges on the "Smoothie#.. Oh Well!! I spent enough time on these already and they are just for fun.. and I DID have fun doing these.. Thanks Pixelzombie

~~Original~ ~~Smoothie~~Rough~

My try:
copied one half, paste and mirror.
Then some levels, eye adjustments, d&b a bit and some light and layer effects.


Bart

come on guys....why don't you actually take the time and properly retouch this image. it's a piece that you can include in your books. great for beginners.

*if you're just messing around with photoshop and not a retoucher, don't mind my comments. but i would love to see what some peaople could come up with since the shot has no major flaws, it would be interesting to see where ppl can take it.

come on guys....why don't you actually take the time and properly retouch this image. it's a piece that you can include in your books. great for beginners.

*if you're just messing around with photoshop and not a retoucher, don't mind my comments. but i would love to see what some peaople could come up with since the shot has no major flaws, it would be interesting to see where ppl can take it.

Why don't U inspire us?

i dont got time to do things the right way today, but here's a rough sketch, 'bout 15min shifting things around, general color range i would take it.

wih such little image area...i tried hitting the jaw line, clean up eyes a bit.

maybe a more desat. look would work nice, not sure.

i would leave his forehead wrinkles as it serves purpose to his facial expression,,,,but if i had more time i would go in and d&b those uggly spots to clean it up a tad, but not that much.

i dont know, thats what i got so far.

Maybe you should give the image a target like it should be used for some deodorant, or Wilkinson razors, or.... ?

come on guys....why don't you actually take the time and properly retouch this image. it's a piece that you can include in your books. great for beginners.

*if you're just messing around with photoshop and not a retoucher, don't mind my comments. but i would love to see what some peaople could come up with since the shot has no major flaws, it would be interesting to see where ppl can take it.

Ok here is my try. Probably is not the kind of retouch you expect but it is just to give a different view. It is true that is a good one to include in the books. I may include it in mine.
Critiques about the work are welcome.

At this time I'm practicing the easy, natural looking approach. On this version, no smoothing at all, just softened the lines and a very light blur, plus color balancing.

Wolfam, how did you do the one on the right? I like that effect a lot :)

Looks like Wolfam used some kinda LCE to me..?

i just dont get the point of running some wild filter on the image, or adding anything...i mean aren't you trying to learn anything here? but i gotta remember theres a lot of ppl here and i'd say 9 out of 10 aren't really interested in what i am.

at lest the giants won the superbowl!!!

but i gotta remember theres a lot of ppl here and i'd say 9 out of 10 aren't really interested in what i am.

I think i am.
I'm gonna have a go at this in the next couple of days when i get
the chance. I like where you were heading.

I didn't run any filters like LCE if you are referring to Lucius Art. I don't have anything outside of CS3. Just some exaggerated moves in Adobe Camera Raw and high pass and some de-saturation. I don't remember all the steps I took... a lot of it is just instinct and trial and error. But what I described above is the basic part of what I did.

Some of the controls in ACR can do essentially LCE, especially combining extreme settings
on fill light, recovery, vibrance, clarity, etc.

Photomatrix, lucis and such like to give you one slider that ends up doing similar things.
S/H in Photoshop can do its own version as well. Always more than one way. :)

Inspired by KR1156, here it is my 15min try

KR1156: How mutch time need and enough for U if it would be real work, as a half page ad in a magazin?

i just dont get the point of running some wild filter on the image, or adding anything...i mean aren't you trying to learn anything here? but i gotta remember theres a lot of ppl here and i'd say 9 out of 10 aren't really interested in what i am.

at lest the giants won the superbowl!!!

I don’t know if you are talking about my retouch. Anyways, I didn’t run any wild filter, just a little bit of liquefy for the flames. I did it all adding fire from others photos, here they are.
I don’t know what is wrong in adding something to an image to make it look different, beside my retouch is not only a mix of few photos. I retouched the whole faces and the eyes to get it in the scene and I tried to look like his left side (the right side for us) was burnt. May be, I did it wrong and it is a bad retouch or just you may don’t like it, and that’s ok, but I don’t think that means ppl don’t wants to learn anything, at least I’m very interesting in learning from other ppl, here in Retouchpro and I appreciate critiques of my work to try to do it better.

Hi Im new here.
Here is my attempt.

I'm going to have to try this, but, Saby, you nailed exactly what I was picturing for this shot. Care to share what you did?

Hi, this is my version...

I'm going to have to try this, but, Saby, you nailed exactly what I was picturing for this shot. Care to share what you did?

Hi BMMack,

free transform all at skew function to get the right angles of the face, than i desaturated the colors with hue/sat,sat: -10 at all, than i changed the rgb space from adobe to AIM trinitron d65g1 which has linear gamma included I did it because the right face was to dark to me, than duplicated the face to a new layer and change it to vividlight mode after this duplicate this vivid layer 3 times so i had 4 of vividlight layers
from the top:
highpass: 1 on and set the 4th layer opacity to 14%
highpass: 7 on and set the 3rd layer opacity to 12%
highpass: 14 on and set the 2nd layer opacity to 10%
highpass: 21 on and set the 1st layer opacity to 8%
these layers gave amazing of local contrast to the face even more what it needs so I put them to a new set of layers and set the opacity: 50%
than the background was selected and copied to a new layer below the set of vivids and the lens blur filter what i've used on it amount 20% but it was too much of blur so i changed the layer opacity to 70%

than I made a new set of layers and put the blurred layer and set of vivdlight layer set -the same order was kept- into my new set

a layermask applied on that new set inverted to hide all and painted with white over I wanted the effect, sadly I think it's ovredone.


if it's not clear just say it and I'll make a screenshot of it

My Version (ROLL MOUSE OVER TO SEE ORIGINAL)

www.juicyfxstudio.com/hiresmaleheadshotbeforeandafter.html

Hello guys,
Thank you for the photo, Pixelzombie.
Here's my try:
http://i258.photobucket.com/albums/hh251/Marshallsea/man.jpg

I am almost a pro... ok maybe not, but getting close.
Critics not just welcome, required.
0% Blur

Before (http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2072/newnogp1.jpg)
After (http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/8384/yaquedodejedejoderwo8.jpg)
(both links so you can see easyly the difference swithching the pages)

Thanks pixelzombie.

D&B Retouch. (http://www.dudleystudios.co.nz/clients/retouch/pixel.jpg)

Thanks pixelzombie.

D&B Retouch. (http://www.dudleystudios.co.nz/clients/retouch/pixel.jpg)

Very nice work, it looks a bit colorless though, maybe that was the effect that you were trying to portray. Other than that the skin looks flawless, completely natural. Very nice work.

Saby,
The screen shot would be great. I'm a little confused as to how you have the layers grouped and exactly why. Also, I've never worked in the trinitron color space-- what effect does the linear gamma have on your work, or does it just effect the way the blending modes work?

Very nice work, it looks a bit colorless though, maybe that was the effect that you were trying to portray. Other than that the skin looks flawless, completely natural. Very nice work.

Thanks. Yes it's preference. Many others looked overly saturated to me
for this shot but if it works for you, it works.

here's my try at the gritty dragon look with a little more color. let me know what you guys think!

www.myspace.com/kissofglamour

I am reading book about LAB color recently (canion something). And I am so crazy to do such effect in LAB mode :) Roll over to see b&a.
http://ciebiera.eu/retusze/labdragan/
In RGB mode it can be done 4 times faster.
CU

CaptainHook; the best retouch so far (after mine, obviusly... xP); the only problem i see is on the most lighted areas of the picture (right side of his nose mainly), looks like another material, not skin no more, is already a soft problem in the original photo but in your retouched version is really easy to notice it.

I am almost a pro... ok maybe not, but getting close.
Critics not just welcome, required.
0% Blur

Before (http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2072/newnogp1.jpg)
After (http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/8384/yaquedodejedejoderwo8.jpg)
(both links so you can see easyly the difference swithching the pages)


Can you critic the mine? Even if you think it absolutly suck say your reasons.

the only problem i see is on the most lighted areas of the picture (right side of his nose mainly), looks like another material, not skin no more, is already a soft problem in the original photo but in your retouched version is really easy to notice it.

Thanks.
Yes. I noticed in yours you've added some texture there.
I could have done that but i dunno, doesn't bother me (right now).


Can you critic the mine? Even if you think it absolutly suck say your reasons.

Sure.
My first thought is that it looks like he almost has makeup on.
Especially his forehead. Perhaps a combination of too much
sharpening there, and the color?

Overall i think the color is off for my taste. Either not enough
cyan in your reds and yellows or too saturated. A tad too
much yellow in the red and yellows for me also. I would also
maybe take out some black from the reds.

The part of the nose you talked about before, it seems as though
there and a few other places in your attempt to add texture
you've also removed the highlight and colored it the same as
the rest of the skin. Maybe try bring back some of the highlights
using PWL if you're set on doing that. It looks a bit flat overall
now. Flatter than the original.

You've gotten rid of some of the obvious flaws with what i
assume is the heal brush(doesn't look like d&b?) but missed
other places like down his left side of the face along his
cheek, under the eyes could do with more work but this is
prob preference and the intended context should be
considered.

His lips could have some done to it. I would get rid of the
slight pink on his eyelids and get rid of the last two lines
in his right eye.

Something i missed on mine, is down the left side of his
hairline where it meets his forehead. Looks like a brush
of color has been swiped down. It's in the top part of
his hair quite bad too Fix that.

I like that what you've done is not too over the top except for
maybe the color. Check with the info palette.
I appreciate your restraint and attempt for naturalness.

Keep going. :)

1st try, love the forum, I am learning so much figured I might as well start participating. =-D I should have spent more time on my masking now that I look at it with "fresh eyes"

hi new to the forum.
im currently looking for work as a retoucher

here is my try at retouching the image

retouched it with 2 different looks

Saby,
The screen shot would be great. I'm a little confused as to how you have the layers grouped and exactly why. Also, I've never worked in the trinitron color space-- what effect does the linear gamma have on your work, or does it just effect the way the blending modes work?

1st picture shows what does the rgb space changing does from the edit menu assign profile

2nd the sets of the layers

hope it helps

Hi, I'm new here.

That's my try on retouching the pic. Critics are welcome

Thanks for the photo, Pixelzombie.

in your attempt to add texture
you've also removed the highlight and colored it the same as
the rest of the skin.

Nor exacltly texture added; just selective sharpening. There is a lot of Dodge and burn, and yeah, i also was thinking that i lost the highlights colors and in less propotion the highlights themselfs. And yes, there is way to much sharpening on his forehead, about the healing stuff in my computer the left side looks way too dark that in most screens and i forget so. But Cyan and blue are not for faces (not on 0, but almost)

Starting to read about PWL.

Gave it a shot with D&B.

My last try on this one, crtics required anyway.

NEW VERSION (http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/8449/sevaiw1.jpg)

Whit some fixes needed of the last version and also some de-grunge.

This is my contribution :)

http://www.angeldesigns.nl/images/retouched.jpg

my version - done with Elements.

Thanks pixelzombie.

D&B Retouch. (http://www.dudleystudios.co.nz/clients/retouch/pixel.jpg)

looks good, how long did it take you?

Thanks.
Not sure, maybe 2-3 hours?

Hello.
This is my try. (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2146/2265609528_d504aacf37_o.jpg)

My Version (ROLL MOUSE OVER TO SEE ORIGINAL)

www.juicyfxstudio.com/hiresmaleheadshotbeforeandafter.html

Great job, IMO.

Here is my version of only skin color correction

new on forum, tried for first time... please comment...
http://davidcox.zenfolio.com/img/v2/p752166535.jpg

Here's my take....

Here is my try using D&B. Any critique would be welcome.

Michael

Here's mine which I think looks realistic though I often do unrealistic ones when it's a female subject.

My first post. Hi!

I am reading book about LAB color recently (canion something). And I am so crazy to do such effect in LAB mode :) Roll over to see b&a.
http://ciebiera.eu/retusze/labdragan/
In RGB mode it can be done 4 times faster.
CU

I really like that look, you did that all in lab mode?

Care to share some steps you used if you remember?

Here's my attempt. Did a curves adjustment layer in lab mode, and used a high pass technique shared with me the other day here for sharpening and clone, healing brush and some dodge and burn on a 50% grey layer set to overlay.

Had another go. More cartoon like.

Hi all

I'm new :)

Well I gave it my best shot..... I'm a complete amateur so, I'm sure other people did much better than I, but I'd like to hear all the critiques you have for me....

Here's mine. Nice to have a guy to play around with. ;-0
Hmmm That just doesn't sound right. lol
~Nancy

_________________________________________
www.PhotoArt123.com

I will give my try, thank you, pixelzombie.

Hi all

I'm new :)

Well I gave it my best shot..... I'm a complete amateur so, I'm sure other people did much better than I, but I'd like to hear all the critiques you have for me....Hi Butterfly... welcome to RetouchPRO. Not to worry - everyone who participates here was an amature at some point. Hats off to you for jumping in to give it a go.

Here's my 2-cents from a non-pro/casual observer perspective. To me his eyes are very important. The one on the R side of the image is very hidden in the shadows, so maybe lighten that side of his face a bit?

Keep having fun as you continue to grow!

Good try for now, boke78. Just some possible improvements - even if you do smooth skin, keep some skin structure around eyes and nose, it will give more natural appearance of the face. My suggestion would be also do not blur, try to search site for dodge and burn technique.

this is my entry...

i like this kind of skin in my advertising...

bets regards...

http://www.disinim.com.mx/retouchpro/retouchchallenge.jpg

i just discovered that Flickr will size everything down to only 1024 pixels as the largest dimension even though it falls under the 5 meg size limit for standard members, which is %^&$#@ annoying as the original file is 11X8 inches @ 250 ppi and only 800k as a jpeg..i'll have to find another location for hi-rez images as i was going to post some architectural shots for people to practice on...

i just discovered that Flickr will size everything down to only 1024 pixels as the largest dimension even though it falls under the 5 meg size limit for standard members, which is %^&$#@ annoying as the original file is 11X8 inches @ 250 ppi and only 800k as a jpeg..i'll have to find another location for hi-rez images as i was going to post some architectural shots for people to practice on...

That would be great. Architectural would be something new in the mix. Thanks for your efforts and I hope you can find another location.

~Nancy

I've been working on a local-contrast filter - fun for revving up the texture. :bigthmb:

Rô

Hi, I thought this looked like a good image to use for my first post here:

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/1889/retouchyg8.jpg

I softened the skin using a dust & scratches filter and fixed the color with a curves adjustment layer. Then I used the dodge, burn, and sponge tool (set to desaturate) to get rid of the blood vessels in the eyes and used some selective sharpening and levels adjustments on the eyes to make them pop a little more.

here's my lunch time attempt.
after (http://www.morph-retouch.co.uk/test.jpg)
hope it's ok

At this time I'm practicing the easy, natural looking approach. On this version, no smoothing at all, just softened the lines and a very light blur, plus color balancing.

omg.... bluring a little it's as wrong as bluring a lot... don't you see it in the outcome? blotchy... blury... with EVERY SINGLE imperfection still there outcome?

This is just for you to think about it. If everyone here wants to LEARN why don't you? Why do everybody keeps bluring to "even out" skin???

I just don't get it, maybe Ant can help me understand?

KR1156, I really like your technique !! Great job. What tools did you use? And what did you do to create the 'skin' texture?

I just don't get it, maybe Ant can help me understand?

He already has. ;)

There is a big problem here folks and that problem is your problem with seeing. You are going to struggle until you learn to see what is right and what is wrong. This deficiency will haunt you even though you might have all the technique in the world. If you can't see well.... train yourself. Be more objective. Really look.

Godmother, I still use the clone tool to smooth out skin. I dont even use the healing brush tool even though I am working in Photoshop CS3. It was how I learned and so it works for me. After many years I can work fairly quickly. I use different brush oppacities, depending on what I want to acchive. 17 to 23 to smooth the skin and more for blemishes etc. I work on a layer and when I am done I pull the oppacity down to reveal the original layer and usually leave it at about 70 to 85% to allow for a few lines to show through. I know the healing brush tool is supposed to be the best but I have never really got the same effects with it, or mastered it for that matter. What do you use?

i really think people need to get off there high horse.
if it was the first time i seen a post like this i wouldnt have said anything, but iv seen a couple of posts since iv been coming to retouchpro where people think its ok to degrade someones image they posted.

just remember not everyone is into retouching/restoring like you might be.
you can critique and suggest they learn things but you dont have to make them feel dumb for not doing so.
some people just do it as a hobbie and dont take it as serious as others, and dont have the time to learn.

but i bet if you suggested things that they should learn they might do so

just my thoughts on people being rude :)

My submission is in high key.
Color and B/W

first post, first retouch

i'd say 9 out of 10 aren't really interested in what i am. at lest (least) the giants won the superbowl!!!

What are you?

lee_the_flea…nothing special from me here, from what i can(barely) remember, i did 5 min of healing/cloning on the obvious imperfections (eyes, eye bags, nose, skin etc.) then 10 min of d&b to smooth out the skin and facial shape (like jaw lines, cheek) then 5 min skin mask to even out my skintone and make it more uniform. no tricks. *remember i had a quick go at it, don't take anything i did for a guide, as there are imperfections left.

klassylady25, to put it simple, i am not here to learn any tricks. (i just like to kill time and help others out. i also like the local nyc conversation.) i know how to retouch and know what it takes, and it took a long time for me to get there. once you get over looking for quick fixes, and filters and actions, and take the time needed, you will be one step ahead of most.

I didn't use the quick fixes. I used the tools within my program. Retouch is not my baileywick, restoration is, but I like to keep my hand in it at times. This was a great shot to practice with. I think the outcome was good. Thanks for taking time to write and clarify.

best "tip" I learned over the last year or so as a retoucher…

"stop looking at the image as a retoucher, and look at it as the art director".

little things like that is what i'm here for.

best "tip" I learned over the last year or so as a retoucher…

"stop looking at the image as a retoucher, and look at it as the art director".

little things like that is what i'm here for.

I wouldn't do that if I were you, art directors, don't always have the greatest direction.
I'd consider the image from a point of view that as a retoucher it's your job to make the image look better, possibly better, than an art director could conceive. After all they're supposed to only give the image "direction". We can give the image a finish.

Having not been on this site long:
It makes me cringe how many people look for a filter, plugin or script to do what takes skill. There is no quick fix for photo's. You need to train your eye to what looks correct and find the methodology to give you the best result. Most of the greatest retouchers use the skills described on this site. Some people just need to get some finesse.

also...don't read into that quote too literally, but you get the point.

Don't cringe. In time, if it's not a passing thing, the artist will learn that the only way that skill grows is through lots of fanny sitting time!! I came to Retouch Pro, oh... about 5 years ago and I couldn't believe the skill that I saw. Filters, plugin, and scripts have their place in the learning process, but I agree with you, training your eye to see what needs to be seen takes time.

Flora once told me to just keep working because everyone is at a different skill level. To be patient, read, learn, and try what works for me.

I took that to heart and so should we all: Everyone is at a different skill level. Be patient, read, learn, and try what works best for you. After you have some knowlege and you'll know when that is - you won't have to be pompus or egotistical, but you will have to be a teacher. Our gifts keep on being passed around.

My two cents worth.

Hugs,
Candy

Hi guys & gals Rooster here have never posted before just read lots of posts thought I would give the headshot a go am using cs2 btw

Hey everyone,
Here is my version. Your comments are welcome.
This is my first post,
Thanks

I really like that look, you did that all in lab mode?

Care to share some steps you used if you remember?

Elo,

Yes, everything was done in Lab Mode in this picture http://ciebiera.eu/retusze/labdragan/.

In RGB I could achieve the same effect in 5-10 minutes. LAB mode was just for fun and took me about 1,5 hour. For sure I don't remember steps (many curves I suppose on channels, Soft Light). The only thing I remember was that one of those channels A or B is responsible for presenting proportion between blue and some warm channel.

My advice, don't do this in LAB mode, it's not worth doing it :)

First post and thought id jump right in.
Not sure if my picture ifs this topic ?

Ronnie

Hey guys didnt really spend too much time on this maybe 15mins still needs alot of work to get it right but heres a quick edit i did...

http://i28.tinypic.com/2hno0h0.jpg

Hi, I would really appreciate if any one could take a min or two to critique this retouch. I am just starting out learning retouching, although have done design for a few years previous, and Photoshop for many years, but my 'retouching' is in very early days and I'm very keen to learn...please do be brutal if necessary! I'll appreciate it!

Many thanks

Not to bad, i think the right pupil needs to be lighter but a part from that it looks ok.
Ronnie

Here is my attempt. I am always trying to perfect skin, to maintain texture while diminishing imperfections.

Retouched (http://thirdchild.org/malehead2.jpg)

Hello its my first post here so please make some comments about my retouch:

http://www.profabrika.pl/images/male_face/male_face.htm

Here is my version. Nice photo to practice on. I am waiting for your comments/critiques. :)

Now hes made of 600 playboy cover images.

Here's my try on a fireburn.
Hopefully i will get some useful tips :)

cheers,
Steve

best "tip" I learned over the last year or so as a retoucher…

"stop looking at the image as a retoucher, and look at it as the art director".

little things like that is what i'm here for.

That's funny my art director doesn't know anything about retouching; just gives basic direction. And I was told as much by the Marketing Director when I was hired. She told me they were not just looking to hire a retoucher but someone who had the expertise to tell them what is needed and then pick up the ball and run with it. Which is fine with me. I don't care to be micro-managed. They're happy and I'm happy!
~Nancy

I was sitting here and found this site. I figured I'd try one out. I'm not sure which of my monitors is color correct at the moment so if the background looks a bit peach I apologize.

http://www.roflsaurus.com/users/admin/guy.jpg

P.S. I couldn't find the larger version. The 'other sizes' link on Flickr was not there for some reason.

My version.....

I was sitting here and found this site. I figured I'd try one out. I'm not sure which of my monitors is color correct at the moment so if the background looks a bit peach I apologize.

http://www.roflsaurus.com/users/admin/guy.jpg

P.S. I couldn't find the larger version. The 'other sizes' link on Flickr was not there for some reason.

not sure what happened there..i won't be using flickr again, that's for sure...

Yeah, I've had that happen to me before. It seems it does it for the ENTIRE site when it happens.

Added some drama with a couple of contrast masks ...

Stosh

First post. Thought I'd give it a try. Not sure if it will show up.

my versions of this image
pls comment...

Hello
Heres my imagation ""
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q256/p517/hs.jpg

here is my attempt

:)

http://i25.tinypic.com/fxz38z.jpg

my two versions one clean and color, second bw