New and need ideas/help retouching this photo!

[J Crew]

I'm just learning... I mean very new to retouching photos. I'd like to get some other's take on retouching this photo of a family friend. My Wife and I are getting into photography and I'm interested in the retouching process as well. Here's a photo that I took this past weekend. If you decide to take part, could you please post a short description on what steps you took to get the desired result. Thanks very much for your time and help.

ps - I'm personally trying to get a very natural looking result... but just want to give the photo that extra pop

[Frank Lopes]

Here are the steps that I could remember:

levels adjustment
color correction
contrast adjustment
slight skin tweaks
dodging and burning of the hair and background

Originally Posted by J Crew

I'm just learning... I mean very new to retouching photos. I'd like to get some other's take on retouching this photo of a family friend.
...
My ps - I'm personally trying to get a very natural looking result... but just want to give the photo that extra pop

[DCobb]

This imge may have more processing than what is desired.

-color adjustment
-airbrush effect on skin
-dodge-burn

dc

[Photo678]

really nice job cobb

@frank, i really dig the gradient effect you gave to the bg there...nice.

[Out_Of_Focus]

I'm still trying to learn retouching and have a question about DCobb pic

you did a nice job on airbrushing the face but shouldn't you have matched the skin tones on the body to the ones on the face {the face is so warm and pink looking and the body is pale and cold looking to me} or it just a matter of taste and how much time you want to put in a pic ???

[DCobb]

This reply is in response to the question by Out-Of-Focus regarding the facial tones vs. other body tones. If you will examine the original posted photo, you will notice that there is a redish tone to the face. I did not try to isolate any body parts and simply made all adjustments on a global basis. Rouge applied as facial make up would give the face more redness than the arms, etc. I did actually lower the red color using H/S, but probably more was needed. The extent of color correction is always the client's choice. This was a quick job and I didn't spend a lot of time on it. Also, I am not a retoucher. I do this just as a hobby. However, your observation is well taken. Thanks.

dc

[chillin]

Quick retouch using some plug-ins:
-iCorrect
-Portraiture
-Noiseware
Selective color adjustment & high pass filter

[J Crew]

Wow, great job everyone! My expectations were exceeded... really nice work. Frank, I really liked the burn effect you used on the background and the top of her hair. DCobb, excellent color correction! That was spot on for me atleast. I do think that the airbrushing was alittle too much for me, but defenitely a great job. chillin, really nice work as well. You were able to get your color adjustment very close to DCobb's and I really like that. Can you give me any info on that iCorrect program that you're using? Is it fairly easy/fast... has it helped you overall? I'm interested in the plugin myself. Thanks again and please anyone else add to what these others have done.

- Jason

[KR1156]

quick little fix…

[Syd]

Congratulations! You are new to photography and already you have an eye for setting up a shot and know how to achieve good lighting.

This is what I did:

1. Duplicated the background layer, desaturated that duplicate and turned its opacity down to 20%.

2. Opened a curves adjustment layer and put a marker right in the middle of the green curve and moved it up 5 points. This reduced some of the red in the skin.

3. Dodged the black rings under her eyes. Dodged and burned the face trying to smooth out the transitions between the highlights and shadows. Also generally emphasized the highglights and shadows with the same technique.

4. Opened another curves adjustment layer and darkened the shadows. Masked out the subject in the center.

5. Used Neat Image on the background and just a tad on the skin. This was mainly to get rid of the Jpeg artifacting that has resulted in the image been downsized.

6. Used Unsharp mask on the eyes, mouth, tip of nose and select strands of hair.

And apart from a few tweaks here and there, that was it.

Sincerely Syd

[Cassidy]

sorry syd does not pop to me this time, looks like a wonderful satin finish but blue on the shoulder

[Syd]

Originally Posted by Cassidy

sorry syd does not pop to me this time, looks like a wonderful satin finish but blue on the shoulder

You're right Cass. Sloppy work. Done in a rush and not much attention to detail. Apart from desaturating a bit (which worked against it and brought out that blue you are talking about on the shoulder) and moving the green curve, I did no other colour work. I appreciate your comment.

Sincerely Syd

[digikunst]

my "dark world" action

with adjusting a bit the color-layer.

follow the link if u like the action is on the board.

cs with shadow and highlight is a must have.

[Out_Of_Focus]

here my try at it

[dkcoats]

I suppose your friend gets tired of being told she bears an eerie resemblance to the actress Jennifer Morrison.