Pageant Photo Help PLZ!

[Kerry taylor]

How do I retouch a pageant photo to get the glitz look? I have played with several photos and can't seem to get it right. Any suggestions would be great. If anyone know how to do this and wants the pics to play with plz let me know I would be more than wiling to let you play, I am extremely burnt out on trying!

[Gary]

Kerry.
Post an image and that way, we'll all get a chance to play. I'm sure that we will all learn something from it too.

Cheers!

[Cuervo79]

From what I've seen the "glitz" look is using lots of different techniques to achieve it.
Some of the techniques are :
using Blur and a mask to get all the texture out of the skin
Play with curves layers and mask to get the eyes to pop
Paint the eye whites white to get all the blood vessels out
Either paint, desaturate or use selective color on the teeth to whiten them
Add makeup and eye shadows
Sometimes select the model take her out of the original background and put it in a new one.

[garibaldi]

what is the big thing about pageant photos, I mean, to each his own, but seriously I wonder how people look at them and say "yeah, thats what Im talking about"

Its just my opinion, but they look awfully cheesy. maybe its becasue Im from NJ and that sort of thing is hot out in cow tipping country where Budweiser is considered a fine spirit and you aint a baller unless you have a pickup truck and youre jealous of your neighbors new double wide lol

[Cuervo79]

Yeah well, sometimes you've got to do what its needed to compete, even if it doesn't fit your tastes. I've got to admit that when I searched for "glitz" look on pageant kids I got a bit surprised and not in a good way as to what the retouch makes the children look like

[garibaldi]

hahaha so you mean to tell me that if everyone started wearing assless chaps and chinchilla shrugs and cowboy hats, you'd throw a similar spicy little outfit together for yourself to strut around town in? lol

[Cuervo79]

We're talking retouch not lifestyle. There are lots of people making money with the "glitz" retouch as well as with lots of blur techniques. If you're interested in making money its good to know how to make those looks even if you don't like them.

[garibaldi]

oh contrayre!!!! retouching is a lifestyle, and if you are a true retoucher, then it carries over into your way of life. My toothbrush I use everyday I actually made out of an old wacom tablet pen. I dont have a tv, I watch CNN on an Eizo display. I actually have a real life clone stamp.....its awesome! I always carry around some soft of exacto knife and a lasso and will make selections of things as i go through the day. the other day in target, I lassod some ladies 9 year old kid that was being a pain. and in this meeting i was at the other day, i actually gouged a rectangle around a stack of papers that were on the conference table and said to the secretary, fax these please.

So you really have to live it, anything less is mere childs play

[studioeShane]

I wouldn't mind using some selective color on those spray-tan people so maybe they won't look so ridiculous in December.

[Cuervo79]

LOL, you've got me beat then cause I'm a photographer first, retoucher second. I'm envious of your eizo though. lol I'm not seeing getting my tablet pen and converting it to a toothbrush lol the ergonomics would suck!

[mcole]

The irony is, the glitz photos are for the so-called 'photogenic' part of the pageant. To me, if it's suppose to be about how photogenic someone is, they wouldn't allow any retouching.

Here's one I recently did for someone, and it's still not fake enough for the judges. See comment #28 http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/pho...hed-photo.html

[studioeShane]

Originally Posted by mcole

The irony is, the glitz photos are for the so-called 'photogenic' part of the pageant. To me, if it's suppose to be about how photogenic someone is, they wouldn't allow any retouching.

Here's one I recently did for someone, and it's still not fake enough for the judges. See comment #28 http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/pho...hed-photo.html

That one still kind of resembles a photograph after the retouch (one of the better ones in my opinion). When they look like dolls, it makes my skin crawl. Not looking to debate the issue, its just my opinion that I do not care for retouching children in such a way.

Children are beautiful just as they are and I won't do anything to make my children think anything differently. If I photoshop my daughter, it's to put her on the back of a dolphin.

[hotshots]

Originally Posted by garibaldi

what is the big thing about pageant photos, I mean, to each his own, but seriously I wonder how people look at them and say "yeah, thats what Im talking about"

Its just my opinion, but they look awfully cheesy. maybe its becasue Im from NJ and that sort of thing is hot out in cow tipping country where Budweiser is considered a fine spirit and you aint a baller unless you have a pickup truck and youre jealous of your neighbors new double wide lol

I am from south Jersey originally and you are describing the neighborhood I grew up in, and I am proud of it , far better than being all cramped up in the city like I am now. I am going to give you a link to a pageant photographer, and a link to my daughters proofs from this pageant photographer to show you what you need to begin the process correctly with. Sometimes you just have to pay for it. I held out for 7 years before we finally got these mainly because I did not want to pay. This was a big mistake looking back.
here are the proofs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIGN-5OqfN4

here is the photographers website

http://www.myspace.com/kapturekashay

[garibaldi]

My point excactly. Nuff said

[Cuervo79]

talk about reviving a dead thread... I'll help as well.

To hot shots, as I said in my original post, the retouch consists of a liberal use of different techniques and although not anyone can do it, if you know the techniques I listed you could certainly could...