Critiques - - my wife

mchawkes · #1 06-14-2006, 01:39 PM

I previously accidently posted in the wrong forum... im just looking for oppinions.. So I guess this is the right one.

This is a sample of some photoshop work on a candid image of my wife. I was going for the painted artistic look. Whadaya think?

Ziaphra · #2 06-14-2006, 01:41 PM

Wow...I really like it!

Cyber Cat · #3 06-14-2006, 01:44 PM

im with Ziaphra. love it!!!

KR1156 · #4 06-14-2006, 02:21 PM

looks awesome

Britsdad · #5 06-14-2006, 03:00 PM

Now I know we're not supposed to just say "I like that" and I also know that there are many more qualified members here than a meare novice like me, however, I really like that, How the hell do you get skin with a silvery look that good? if you posted here by accident, I'm glad you did, IT'S SUPERB.....John

patriciakay · #6 06-14-2006, 03:01 PM

Love it...just great...

Patricia ...

NancyJ · #7 06-14-2006, 03:06 PM

Artistically its very good but the pose isnt very flattering to your dear wife (up- nostril shots are never good

) I would try to make her nose look a little less prominent. Also, her eyes stand out a little too much, they dont gel with the rest of the picture.

mchawkes · #8 06-14-2006, 03:47 PM

Thanks for the criticism, when it comes to the pose, it is a candid shot, I tried to deemphasize the nose as much as possible, but my dear wife has a phenominal jawline, a beautiful neck and stunning cheekbones. I thought the shot emphasized these features rather well, I also like the mood that it set. So with all these going for it, I figured the nose thing wasnt a problem. As for the eyes being too white, that can be the moniter or gamut setting on your computer, I output this as a 4/c CMYK lithograph and the teeth and eyes are seated very nicely and not obtrusive or out of place. As im sure you are aware, lithography gives you much more precise control as to nuances of highlights, midtones and shadows, control you just cant get from one moniter to the next (not even close)... again..THANKS.. any further critisism is welcome. Does anyone else think the pose is bad?

As for britsdad comment on the sheen of the fleshtones, email me and i'll give you a few tips. Thanks for the compliment!

BTW, I have been a professional retoucher for 15 years working cosmetic, beauty and the likes. This is just a personal shot I was playing with.

NancyJ · #9 06-14-2006, 04:00 PM

I never said anything about her eyes being too white and I didnt mention teeth at all

I said they stand out a lot and dont gel with the rest of the image.
I think if you tone down the highlight on the nose it will look much better

mchawkes · #10 06-14-2006, 05:05 PM

I assumed "gel" ment too white/bright. actually on my monitor the eyes and teeth are too white, so I assumed thats what you were seeing. again it was corrected and worked as a litho, and it looks better when proofed. Even the blue eyes seem to "blue" on the monitor. Thanks though.. Ill go bury my face for a while.

KR1156 · #11 06-14-2006, 05:38 PM

mchawkes.......looking at the pic again at home, the only thing i notice that looks kinda weird or shouldn't belong is if you follow the bridge of her nose up into the forehead, you'll notice what looks like a line going through the middle of her forehead, which is in the original pic also, i just figured since it was done so fantasy like, almost airbrushed.....the skin on the forehead might as well be totaly smooth like the cheeks.

just my opinion.

also, what percentage do you pick up on the whites...like teeth and eyes.....bc we usually never go below 4% when printing 4/c.....i was just curious what color reading you have when u sample that area. the color looks pretty nice on my screen. i notice the teeth on the left side of her mouth or right look like they have a nice natural tone, the tooth to the left looks a little hot. same with the top right corner of her eye compared to the botoom right corner.

mchawkes · #12 06-14-2006, 06:11 PM

what percentage do you pick up on the whites...like teeth and eyes.....bc we usually never go below 4% when printing 4/c.....i was just curious what color reading you have when u sample that area. the color looks pretty nice on my screen. i notice the teeth on the left side of her mouth or right look like they have a nice natural tone, the tooth to the left looks a little hot. same with the top right corner of her eye compared to the botoom right corner.

lowest reading on eyes/teeth 5,3,3,0. But this is in the specular hl. I see what your saying about the ridge in the eyes. But if I get rid of it it seems to loose some sense of depth, and it is also a true feature of her forhead. Keep in mind this is ment to be more of a portrait/art type thing. I have some samples of beaty/glamour retouching where I can feel free to change prevalant features for the sake of "beauty" and not "likeness". Maybe ill post them later. Thanks for the critique.

KR1156 · #13 06-14-2006, 06:16 PM

thanks for the reply mchawkes, i look forward to seeing more of your work.

blue dog · #14 06-14-2006, 07:31 PM

Great effect! I think this is a great subject for a little Tutorial! "How to achieve that silvery finish on real flesh"

mchawkes · #15 06-14-2006, 08:00 PM

Thanks for all the great compliments and critiques. They are much appreciated. Im getting alot of response as to how to obtain the sheen/silvery flesh tones. Actually I have samples of cosmetic/beauty retouching that shows this better. I will post these images later. I would be happy to do a tutorial (How do I do that?? Im new here), but it is actually a combination of a few techniques.