Do you have a set order when you retouch?

[tayconkel]

I do glamour-style retouching, for pageants, actors, and Miss America style photos. I just realized that I am really disorganized when doing my work, as I jump around alot, go back and forth on certain areas, etc. Do any of you have a set order in which you do your retouching? For instance, 1) cropping, 2) color correction, 3) hair, 4) skin, 5) eyes, 6) lips, and so on.

I think my work would be alot better, and I would work much more quickly if I had a set way of organizing each photo. I work from home as well, and my three kids are home on winter vacation, so I am really disorganized!

Thanks for any help you can provide!!

XOXO

Nicola

[Gary Richardson]

Hi Nicola, Organisation is fine if you're an organised sort of person. However if you're used to working in a certain way, I don't see that "organising" will necessarily speed things up. Images should be treated on their own merits and problems, therefore a fixed way of doing things is not really possible. Having said that, I usually rotate & crop first, then correct exposure, then colour correct. After that its pretty much do as needs to be done.

[Axleuk]

I have to agree with Gary, each picture on its own merit will require a different approach, however with that said, i always follow the same routine for every image i work on.

Open image, copy to new layer, crop, levels, colour correction.

[DannyRaphael]

No question about each image being different and requiring different types of corrections/enhancements.

That said I would think that following "a general overall plan" (a checklist of sequenced tasks, if you will), would be more efficient than a unique approach with each image.

This Luminous Landscape tutorial is beyond overkill in detail, but will most likely give you some ideas on tasks/sequencing that you haven't yet considered. From it you could come up with a checklist of tasks that works for the types of situations you encounter. As time goes on you could fine tune the process as needed.

http://luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/workflow1.shtml

Hope this gives you some good ideas.

~Danny~

[Gary Richardson]

Danny, great tutorial, covers just about everything. I agree with you, it's serious overkill, but can definately be abbreviated and customised to give a useful working model.

I did'nt mean to give the impression in my earlier post that no work order was needed, just that it was'nt really possible to have an all encompassing structure that worked for all images.

Also that if you are a "disorganised" person, you are unlikely to keep to an order of processes, and much more likely to work as your nature and the image requires.

[Axleuk]

I have to agree with Gary, that link is fantastic, agreed overkill, however it covers everything that is really needed to cover the majority of projects, another link for the bookmark club.