Mom was MORPHED!

[solitear]

Craig..... hehehe..... I always make things more difficult than they ought to be...... Here's what I should have done in the beginning..... post the original and the morphed.... but when I started this thread, I only had the 'morphed' photo...... since I wanted people to know what she really looked like, I posted a snapshot of her along side the morphed version of her.....

Below is morphed mom on the left and it's original on the right.....

oxoxo

[Kraellin]

ah, ok. with ya now

ok, i went back up in the posts and looked at your work against this last post. looks great!

it's always a bit of a question mark when retouching older folks. do you remove the wrinkles, reduce them or leave them alone. i tend to like how you went, reducing. good job on re-lighting and good job on the teeth. nicely done all around.

[Gary Richardson]

Originally Posted by Kraellin

it's always a bit of a question mark when retouching older folks. do you remove the wrinkles, reduce them or leave them alone.

Gotta disagree with you there Craig, I don't think its a question at all, unless the client requested a "touch up" you leave the pics exactly as is.

OK a general levels or colour adjustment to correct any exposure problems is acceptable, but most definitely no "enhancements" to the appearance of the people in the shot.

[Kraellin]

gary, generally i agree. but in this particular case, this is family and a gift and in a way, beth here IS the client. so, she gets license to do it how she thinks is best. i do the same thing when working on family shots. they are my gift to the family. so, i'm both the agent and the client, so i make the call.

the exception is if family comes to me and says 'i'd like it this way or that way.'. when working for clients, it's exactly as you say, though.

[Gary Richardson]

I haven't read through all the thread, but as I understood it the original "morphed" shot was produced by the photographer not by Beth.

He probably meant well, but was acting without client consultation as I read it, with the result that Beth was rightly annoyed.

I agree with you that if it were Beth doing things, then she is both retoucher and client and can act as she wishes, but I didn't think that that's what we were talking about.

[solitear]

Hi Gary and Craig........ you're both right..... this is just convoluted because my mother-in-law didn't hire the photographer..... my hubby and I did..... it was a gift for their anniversary......

The reason I asked the photographer for the un-retouched photos on a CD is because I know my mom-n-law and 'picky' doesn't begin to describe her.... she is wonderful but, to give you an idea, when I told her we'd scheduled a photographer for the group photo and their portrait, her only comments were, "well, where's he going to take the pictures..... he isn't going to be there the whole night, is he......." so...ya see what I mean.....

I knew she would pick those pictures apart and I wasn't going to put the photographer in that position after he'd come to our rescue...... I knew, too, that she'd want to look as if the pic was taken on her 'best' day and not made up since she doesn't wear much makeup..... I think she has beautiful features.....

Now, having said all that, I still was unsure how to go about retouching her photo..... it would have been easier if I hadn't known her.....

BTW..... I showed her 5x7's of the retouched group and of their portrait for her to pick out the ones she liked so I could have larger ones made and she said, 'are these all you have.... I thought he took one where my hands were in a different position'....... Wreeeerrr... thank goodness she has some other qualities that balance this out.... not like me who only has good qualities..... hehehe

........ where's my rifle....... you may want to move this thread to something called..... um..... Photoshop Psychiatry Pforum....

Here's the one they're getting.... like it or not...... (Craig, this was what I was referring to in the other thread when I said I was taking my toys and going home)....

Thank you all for your help and your insight.... I love the direction this thread turned with emphasis on how much to do/don't do..... thank you.

Beth

[Gary Richardson]

Beautiful picture Beth, I'm sure they'll love it.

If not send em to live with me for a week, they'll be begging for forgiveness when they come back.

[solitear]

Thanks, Gary...... you made my day!

...... and, um..... hubby and I are taking you up on your offer..... their plane lands at 4 and we've told them they're going to Walt Disney World.....

Beth

[Gary Richardson]

we've told them they're going to Walt Disney World.....

Sorry I blew it up last night, there's gonna be none of that frivolous enjoyment stuff if they stay with me.

I hope you didn't tell them they were gonna be fed or anything, otherwise that's another nasty shock that's coming their way.

[solitear]

...... hehehe....... yeah, they're probably gonna wanna eat... I wonder if Craig has any room 'somewhere over there' cuz this whole idea is really sounding good.....

[Kraellin]

*starts closing doors and locking them* sorry, no room here!

gary, you're right about the photographer. was looking at beth's side of it re the in-laws.

looks great, beth

and yes, i thought that's what you were talking about (taking toys). just wanted to make sure

[solitear]

*banging on those doors*......Dadnabit...... I just knew you'd have room.....

....... hey.... I know..... maybe we could swing by Autumn Hills Nursing Home..... just for a 'visit'...... ..... I'd better cut this out..... you never know when I might run for a political office......these things have a way of showing up at the worst possible time..... like that time ..... nevermind....

Thanks, Craig
oxox

[Alison]

What a delightful lady. I just gave her an ambient glow in virtual photographer and reduced the layer opacity till it seemed just to lift her. Did a bit of dodging and burning in the eye area also.

[solitear]

Hi Alison..... what a nice job you did! She would have liked your verson.... clean and natural looking..... she really is a fun person but does like to run the show... hehehe... thanks.... and, thanks for reminding me about virtual photographer...

Beth

[Conan138]

Nice job, indeed.

[unimatrix001]

I think you did an excellent job. I think you are right about the loss of richness in color. I hope you dont mind i tried to add back the richness but i believe i added a touch to much red. Would like your opinion on this. I looked more natural before i changed settings for save for web

[solitear]

Hi Unimatrix..... I really like what you did..... she has more of her real color.....

I tried using that 'recipe' in RGB color where you go:

Image > Adjustments > Levels > Blue Channel
Center Slider to 0.90
Image > Adjustments > Hue/Sat > Red Channel
Saturation slider to -7

On my monitor this recipe lacks a little 'something' but I guess it helps keep me closer to what most people like..... but I do like yours because it gives her warmth without being too red.....

Do you have a sort of formula for skin tones?

Beth

[unimatrix001]

there are 4 images at the bottom it might be easier to look at them and try and follow the explanation. not very good doing that but here goes
dupe layer
image mode lab
dont flatten
channels pallet
select lightness channel
click visibility eye on lab channel
apply image
choose A channel
blending mode to overlay
hit ok
click on A channel
apply image
leave setting as they are just hit ok
click on B channel
apply image
leave setting as they are hit ok
this saturates the colors quite abit
then just use a hue saturation layer to reduce the amount of the individual colors.

[unimatrix001]

You can also use the apply image in rgb mode
dupe layer
Image > apply image
select green channel (this usually holds them most skin detail and color)
mode to normal (this creates a b/w layer from the green channel)
in layers pallet set blending mode to luminosity
here are a couple of images using the green and blue channels in this manner

[solitear]

First, forget what you said about not explaining things very well.... I've come across this method before but couldn't 'get' it.....

You did an excellent job of explaining it!!!!! I'm copying this and can't wait to try it..... Thank you.... thank you.....

The results are great and I'm just so glad to have your nice, clear steps!

Beth

[unimatrix001]

I dont claim to be a professional by no means. But i do get lucky every now and then. I have found that these procedures dont work with every photograph especially the older one where there is a lot of noise in the green and blue channels but i use them on most newer pictures from the digital era. I am glad that you could understand the steps i tried explaining this to a friend in an email and they couldnt understand what i was saying.
Thanks again for your kind words.