Bikini Shot Retouch

[KudzuQueen]

Disclaimer: I am a rank amateur when it comes to retouching. That's why I'm here - to learn from the best!

OK, I took this photo of a local model last summer. The only time she was available was during the worst possible time of day for photography (around noon to 1 pm), and there wasn't even a good cloud to block the midday sun for me. My biggest concern, then, was trying to fix the exposure.

I used Paint Shop Pro 9 with the Topaz Adjust plugin. First I used Topaz Adjust to correct the exposure and then used its Simplify preset. Then I created a new layer to correct some remaining overblown hightlights and to even the skin tone and fix some problem areas (like some mild stretch marks on her hips, and the strangely glowing hair on her left arm) by using a soft, translucent brush. After merging the layers, I then added some more color to her lips and eyelids (again using a separate layer and a soft translucent brush).

I know that the original photo is far from perfect, and that my retouching is even more so, haha. But I'd like to know how I did with what I had to work with, and what suggestions you lovely people might have for me. Thanks in advance!

EDITED TO ADD: Apparently, I have a lot to learn about compressing jpg images to upload here. The attached photo is far too low-quality - I apologize for that. For the high quality photos, go here:
Cropped Side-by-Side Comparison of Original and Retouch
Full Original
Full Retouch

[TommyO]

Again, welcome and hopefully you will receive some good constructive criticism.

Quickly on attaching thumbnails.... your limit is 100K per file. You can split up the before and after if you like, each ~100K. Many programs (PS included) allow you to see your file size when saving in jpg format. Just alter the compression slightly until you get below the limit. But, we always prefer another link to a larger file just to have something better to play with !

I think your image has good potential. You still have a little work to do though. I would also be interested in seeing your workflow. The workflow is as important (if not more so) as seeing the after shot. My comments will concern the retouch, not the composite.

A few items (not judging the lighting/shadows):
- the tonality of her face is not similar to the rest of her body;
- the tonality of her legs is a bit orange, and not even;
- the stretch marks are still apparent;
- there are blemishes on her chest (acne maybe);
- there are stray hairs and shadows on her face that should be corrected (I know... no shadow comments.. but the face is more important);
- the amount of hair still showing on her stomach may be too much (maybe not), but her arms are fine;

The tonality issues are reminiscent of your previous post. So, that may be one area to read up on and focus more on.

Good luck with it !

[pixelzombie]

lol, a $1 per photo...