just want to know if I measure up... how to get better.

[lwjphoto]

You guys have been so helpful with my last thread on my first restoration, that I decided to show some off photos for critiquing.... So, be brutality I can take it. I am also a photographer as many of you are and I just started retouching about 6 months ago.

[Pixel Pusher]

Hello,

The work looks clean but try toning the smoothing effects down. The images look TOO good. Look at fashion magazines. The model's skin looks NEARLY flawless but there is still texture and a randomness to it, which makes it believeable.

pp

[blue dog]

I agree with previous comment, just a bit too much skin smoothing. Beautiful brown skin tones.

Left pic: blacks are a bit cyan - see hairline; eyes too blue; teeth turn blue at corners of smile; under the top is a lacey thing that the retoucher should have disposed of. (Especially looking at the teeth transition from natural into blue, I think that might be your camera.)

Right pic: Photo needs simplified. Cluttered and confusing background - especially lights and ceiling - either reshoot or retouch. Maybe 'black' it all out but somehow keep separation from model. White wall on right disappears nicely but doesn't need that placard. Black of hat vs blackish shorts. I would take the shorts to black. Also, no texture in blacks here - decide about the background first, this might be OK.

Its not clear to me which way to go with the right pic. MAYBE it could be a low-key picture that suddenly becomes not high-key, but brightly lit, with the model right at the transition of darkness and light. Making that dark background work with the skin tones might be the hardest thing. Along those lines I might study it in B&W a while.

And for heaven's sake - everybody jump on me if you don't agree!

[blue dog]

LWJ here's a cut at one possibility. I am sure that its too severe for some tastes. Keep up the good work.

[Kraellin]

lwjphoto,

welcome to RP.

i'm just going to do the first picture for now. good picture, beautiful woman, winning smile. very nice. there's only three things that i find as distractions from that, all that blue in the hair, the pixelization on her shirt/blouse where the colors dont blend right (which could just be from the .jpg compression, so ok), and the poor coloring on, around and in the ear. those are the things that take my attention off the main subject matter.

there's always going to be a pixel or two that is off but i dont worry that much about those any more. what's the picture and what's not; that's what you want to ask.

craig

[lwjphoto]

I never thought about retouch ear.... I was on smooth the skin out... Thank for the incite. I working on trying to produce magazine quality photos...
p.s.
I that photo with cannon d30 or like to call it my dirty 30 because of noise.
I still love the camera beside it basically worthless to most photographers now....