Glamour Retouch Challenge / All Advice Welcome !!

[John Brode]

This is my first post, so please forgive the newbie feel of my questions.

Below are two photos I took of a friend last week, and I'm in serious need of suggestions for different methods or styles to enhance the photos. Pick whichever one you'd prefer to edit. It would also be a huge help to know the Photoshop steps used. I like Jill Greenberg's work (please overlook the tiny detail that Jill has 20 years experience and a wealth of studio equipment, and I'm just getting rolling, but I have to start somewhere) anything that could move me in that direction would be great.

Enigma Photo's Tutorial is the best I've found in this forum on Jill Greenberg and her retoucher Amy Dresser - http://enigma-photos.com/AmyTutorial/ - I thought I'd give Enigma credit, he did a lot of work on that guide.

I've seen the variety of ideas and skill used by forum members on a couple other posted "Challenge" photos and was quite impressed. I'm not locked on to Greenberg's look - Any and all approaches and suggestions will be greatly appreciated.


Here are the Original Full Sized Photos - 3 meg:
Oiginal for Left Thumb Below - http://www.smugmug.com/photos/308966271_MXVhz-O-1.jpg
Oiginal for Right Thumb Below - http://www.smugmug.com/photos/308795228_xFgMn-O-2.jpg

Thanks much, John

[julianmarsalis]

Heal/clone
Highpass/G.Blur skin
Hue Saturation skin
exposure increase in eyes
dodge burn
add in sepia
selective color
Hi pass sharpen

[CaptainHook]

It appears neither image is in focus.

[TommyO]

John,
Welcome to the forum.
Do you have other shots as well ? These are cropped rather closely to achieve anything like Jill G's images. Glamour retouching of the facial area can be done, but we're a little limted on creativity for background, hair, etc.
Just thought I'd ask before we get too far.
Thank you !

[LQQKER]

Lovely lady.

I'll just post what I played with and you can tell me if this is remotely what you had in mind, it will save me from explaining.

Although Jill's photography is quite interesting and successful, did you ever wonder "how" she makes the children cry?

[dodezaine]

Good night, I gave a work above in the posts and for the that I saw you like Jill's style. Also like a lot of her, of Dave Hill, that has a style that reminds a little of her and, Amy Dresser, that for sign, if I am not wrong worked with Jill.

A thing is right, you will never get with the reotuch that will leave a picture similar to the of that personal one using natural light. Finishes thing that they use is natural light, they work with several flash, hard lights, to give the outline 3D. As same Dave said something more or less like this, in my work 70% is light 30% is retouch. I am not specialist in treatment but I tried to arrive to the close maximum Jill's pictures with that natural light.
I wait to have helped a little.

http://www.zero3design.com/retochpro/bafter.jpg

http://www.zero3design.com/retochpro/bbefore.jpg

[r_dg]

here is my try at it.. i didnt imitate the look, i just retouched the images and gave them a more professional look...
used healing brush
for smoothing skin added noise (dust & scratches) radius 8 threshold 5
dodge & burn
color corrections like the eye shadow and lip gloss
light corrections like the blue ones...
and some minor details

[RexChun]

Hi, everybody, Very first time here.
Retouch4.jpgREtouchpro4.jpg

[0lBaldy]

John, this is my version of your pic

[sabine_monica]

Thanks for the pictures

Here is my retouche of one of them

The retouching steps:
- desaturation
- some curve adjustments
- Highpass/ Gaussian blur for the skin
- Healing and clone tool
- adding of some highlights
- sharpening (all areas except skin)