What kind of technique is this?

skydog · #61 07-29-2006, 06:48 AM

Nancy,

I appreciate the time you took to find and make this post. Information like this is what I seek. It provides me some guidance on some of the basic tools and approaches that I need to learn and practice. I always sent my son to the best guitar teacher in the area to learn those "little things" that would take him to a new level...then he would practice ...practice...practice...

thanks again..

Arandel · #62 07-29-2006, 09:45 AM

Thank you Nancy for once and always crushing the myth on mysterious techniques and magic retouchers. I agree with you, Amy and Flora that every image requires a unique approach. There are definitely no shortcuts to getting good results. I remember an ad from Klinko & Indrani where they explicitly were looking for a person willing to spend weeks on a single image. That alone ought to tell how much work is invested in a single project. It's all a matter of creativity and patience - as well as an intimate knowledge of Photoshop. Mastering the tools completely are the basics of any craft, really.

singlo · #63 07-30-2006, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Singlo.. how did you get that picture on the previuos page so white with out being too B&W looking.. Very nice can you explain..

Hi Snook

Sorry sorry for the late reply. i have not checked out this forum for a while..i thought nobody is interested in this thread. With regard to your questions. I thought I answered it already but maybe I didn't explain it in details. So here is my workflow specially for you ( i am sure there are half dozen variations to get the same effects):

1. Duplicate the original and desaturate the copy partially using Hue/saturation adjustment layer.

2. Create a layer mask "reveal all" and brush back some skin colour "locally" using a low opacity black brush. Merged down.

3. Creat a curve adjustment layers. Sample skin tone control point for the curves. Fiddle with the RGB curves to make the skin pale.

4. Fine tune highlights and shadows: Dodge and burn with a grey softlight layer.

5. Subtle highlighting: Creat a new layer. Sample a fairly "white" colour using color picker. Airbush the white highlights using a very low opacity brush set to color mode. You build up the highlights slowly and carefully by brushing several passes as if you were airbushing. This gives the illusion of a porcelain shine. As I said before, the hardest part is to know where to put the highlights and that's creativity from Amy's mind.

Snook I love your photos and followed your threads in Dpreview. Your works are awesome!

Please don't be so harsh to Snook. He meant no harm or tried to cause offense to the retouchers here.

singlo · #64 07-30-2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

To prove thats its no conspiracy, no secret tricks that cant be shared, just hard graft and a hell of a lot of talent... here is a tutorial by Amy Dresser herself, included is a PSD of one of her images.

Great!!! I have only seen this now. Thank very much for sharing!!!!!!!!!!

I can see the differences and similarities between her and my workflow.

Quote:

5--this may possibly be my only "trick." This has to be done as a
final step or it will magnify any so-called-flaws that are white in
nature. Make a new empty layer on top of everything. with pure
white selected as the foreground color in the tool bar go to Select >
Color Range. The whites of the image should already be selected by
default. Move the fuzziness slider so the slightest dusting of
selection will be made (click selection radio vs. image radio), hit
OK. Fill this selection with white. Mask or erase out what is too
much. sometimes i blur this layer a bit.

This is interesting. I try to get my head round on what does she mean by white highlight flaws...patchy or blobby white highlights???

Really what she does here is to fill selectively the solid white highlights with fuzzy soft edges on the top of the final.

snook305 · #65 07-31-2006, 06:09 AM

Thanks all that is what I was talking about.. Seems I am not the only one that is Thankful...

I still think Patrick needs to take a Chill Pill and give 2 more to Nancy.. But I do appreciate the explaination..
Thanks guys(and Gals)
Snook

snook305 · #66 07-31-2006, 06:15 AM

Is the Carve Layer in the Highlight layer a Dodge and Burn Layer?
50% grey layer set to Overlay.. That lost me a little bit?
Looks to be....
Thanks for any information..
Snook
That is really cool.. I like the PSD.. Thanks!

singlo · #67 07-31-2006, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Is the Carve Layer in the Highlight layer a Dodge and Burn Layer?

The Dodge and burn layer is on top of the two curve layers. The two curves layer masks are to "pop" and "tune down" local areas selectively.

Quote:

50% grey layer set to Overlay.. That lost me a little bit?

That's straightforward PWL or dodge and burn..I am sure you used it a lot already in your car junk yard photos.You can download Kent Johnston's or whoever PWL action from somewhere called plug-in action central i can't remmeber URL. This method not only change the luminosity of the pixels but also causes small colour shift if you aggressively burn the shadows...yucky muddy colour sometimes you get.

snook305 · #68 07-31-2006, 07:47 AM

Singlo.. Yes I use PWL a lot or D&Bing a lot.. Just in the PSD that was given .. there is a layer (In the Highlight Folder)that is called Carve layer..
That is a D&B layer right.. Just never seen so much detail in a grey layer.. If you option click on the layer you'll see what I mean.. A lot of detail in the Brushing.. Or is it something else..?
Thanks Singlo,
Snook

singlo · #69 08-08-2006, 03:31 PM

Quote:

That is a D&B layer right.. Just never seen so much detail in a grey layer.. If you option click on the layer you'll see what I mean.. A lot of detail in the Brushing.. Or is it something else..?

The "carve" layer shows her B&D brush strokes with graphic tablet using fine to broad brush sizes...the details show a lot of B&D on eyes as well.

"Painted white " layer shows hand highlighting/airbushing with pure white.

"Sampled white" layer is her colour range trick with fuzzy edges and then she masked out those unwanted whites. The fuzziness slider adjusts the cut-off threshold and coverage areas of the selection. This final layer reinforces the spectacular highlights.

It is time for me to study human anatomy and revise my figure drawing skills.

diggnikon · #70 10-29-2006, 03:28 AM

Hi All - I worked in Hair and Make-up for 15 years before jumping head first into this world of retouching .

Alot of these looks start with great editorial makeup - they may spend an hour getting the base correct or using an AirBrush to apply foundation This changes the whole look of the skin and looks like porceline straight away .I will sift through some shots ive got and post to give you some ideas of manually applied foundations and airbrushed .

Stray hairs is just sloppy work alot of the time and that all comes down to the hairdresser on the shoot - sometimes you might see hair that has a sheen to it but not alot of detail - maybe its best to keep it that way as its a look they may be going for with the direction of the shoot .

last but not least -Lighting plays a major game in all this as a finished product.

Hope this is of some help

pure · #71 12-04-2006, 04:46 AM

i just discovered this a minute ago:

Amy Dressers PSD file is very nice and i appreciate her for sharing this file with us (how come??). i think you see how "human" and natural she is (right words?), as no other professional would do that sharing his/her own superprivate files with other people perhaps...

i will study the file now. i think thats big fun, besides, from reading the according text, i presumed some steps, she did what she did, but i didnt think its so much steps and its that complicate like it is.

i love that.

-------------------------------------------------

another difficult question please, maybe OT:

how is that done? i think its a blending method/diff. blendings and also painting with light, right? (pic taken from new movie "the fountain"
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/thefountain/)

http://i16.tinypic.com/34gt3s8.jpg

gun4hire! · #72 12-12-2006, 10:22 AM

You guys are all right in a way.
I do this type of work and it is a two part job. There is an extremely intimate communication between the photograher and retoucher.
It begins with concept, allot of thought to lighting and makup and plates.
Most of this is shot and composed. Bkg, fig1, fig2, element1, 2, etc.
The lighting and makeup are chosen not by how the photograph looks but often how it will react to Photoshop. Like in the case where Amy's original photographs are flat. That is on purpose and looks more so against her unrealistic painting. Not so much that she makes a crappy photographer look good, but that they know how to work together to achieve a united end result.
Most fo this is done on action layers and channels. The original aside from cleanup is never touched. It is most important to watch color breaks and total ink coverage. Other than that it's mostly hand work like the old days, just with a wacom pen tablet not a brush.
peace out

Calvinhollywood · #73 06-25-2007, 03:55 PM

Wow.... thats a nice move... great Amy*g*

lg Calvin

Bianca Carosio · #74 05-27-2008, 07:37 AM

ok this is a REALLY old topic but I thought I'd mention..(not sure if others will agree) but as a retoucher it's a bit rude taking our before images and trying to mimick our style. The photographers give us permission to manipulate the image/s not for us to do work on them and the public to take a shot at it. I just think it's a bit rude and against permission/rights of the photographer. (more rude to the photographer then retoucher, actually)