Mastering Retouching DVD by Nick Saglimbeni.

[Hogfather]

Ha ha. This is fun. We are to believe this brand-new (joined to forum specifically to lob ad hominem attacks) anonymous poster who says he is a Vogue published photographer and flies to St. Barts....and how do we know this? Because this same self-congratulating anonymous "non-broke photographer" person says so. Oh right. QED. You got me.

Again, motive. motive. motive. My name is Michael Nebeker. I'm a health care professional in Utah. I'm not anonymous, what's your name Trendkiller so we can verify your claimed credentials? Who knows, maybe your story isn't all made up just for the purpose of character/reputation attacks. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

[Pari Retouch]

Originally Posted by Angela Perez

I agree,

it was the biggest piece of waste of my time ever. Repetitive of the same technique over and over. The whole series was based on the clone stamp. Which is by no means a technique made by Nick. So I don't know what he is smoking if he thinks is a new and revolutionary technique made by him. Changing the name to slick force those not make it a new technique. Basically clone stamping on a low opacity is basically blurring so it is not a high end technique at all.
[/url]

+100
Exactly same here

[amira]

Originally Posted by Pari Retouch

+100
Exactly same here

Same here, I've never seen such a waste in my entire life!
This is not mastering retouching, this is not even a technique, it's just a tool used in a wrong way, and I don't even know one good retoucher who would use it this way.
But I have to admit. the advertisement of the dvds are phenomenal!

[PhiladelphiaPro]

Originally Posted by Godmother

Not for everyone. I'm thinking of leaving this forums entirely because of my name being in this disgusting thread.

I still believe in honesty.

I appreciate Natalia and as I mentioned previously when UPS delivered you DVD to my house at around 7pm, guess what time I finally went to bed? The next morning at 9am.

It was tough to critique Natalia's DVD because it seemed like she did everything right! There was no huge PR machine behind the release and I almost didn't make the purchase because of the guy who did the series before her out of the same production house.

Natalia if you do decide to leave RP will you drop me a message letting me know where you're going so I can go too?

Thanks

[PhiladelphiaPro]

Originally Posted by PhiladelphiaPro

This is my review of this set. I have purchased other retouching tutorials as well as downloaded tons of tips and techniques from the internet. I have both tutorials from HighEnd Retouching, the first one sucked; the second one was very good!!!

If you're looking for an ass kissing glorified praise of this tutorial, this is not it. If you're looking for knock down drag out insult of this tutorial this is not it either.

Let's start with the bad:

1) Too pricey for what you get but if you ask any magician they will tell you that you don't pay for the trick, you pay for the secret. I guess a big reason why you pay so much is because of the packaging. The box DVD set almost too much and is a waste. You can copy the tutorials to your harddrive and run them from there and the boxes go away forever or at least until you need to reinstall the tutorials for whatever reason.

2) The demo window is too small. You're watching Nick retouch in a window that is about 5inches wide by 3inches tall. It's tough to see his retouching in detail.

3) A full retouch??? I doubt it! I never found it on the DVD. You WILL get hand held through most of the steps he uses to complete a retouch but I never found a "start to finish" image on the DVD's, at least not with the quality of what you've seen in magazines or even on the DVD shells. There is no way in hell you use the slickforce technique on only "parts" of the body. In the images I've seen in some of the magazines, especially SHOW, every part of the body has had something done, how do I know? I've shot some of the same girls or know them. The SHOW magazine would even get lazy OR short on content and publish a picture of a girl that wasn't retouched (for reasons beyond my knowledge) on the page right next to a flawless retouch so you could see what was done; not on purpose but by accident I guess. I have no idea what dude was thinking when he proof'd the mag before print. Again; in my opinion, there is no way you use the slickforce technique on only parts of the body and not others and I don't recall watching any of the tutorials that showed a full, top to bottom retouch. If I missed it, let me know.

4)His voice is no different than any of the others. I think people have a problem learning from others who have European accents. It's monotone and the same information is repeated over and over, he even once said, I'm beginning to sound like a broken record. I'm personally okay with that, I learn differently than most and as I'm watching, I'm taking notes so that later I can refer to "my" notes and then to the tutorial if It's not clear to me.

Now the good:

1)You've paid for the secret. It's pretty easy and the tool palette is reduced to a few common tools that any intermediate retoucher should already be familiar with. Nothing he did was new but, how he put it together is what makes it unique.

2) The actual on-screen tutorial layout is great, except for the retouch viewing window. It's very different than what I've seen in the other tutorials that I've purchased and while pleasing, there was useless information that I wish wasn't there, so the retouch window could be larger.

3) With practice you'll be able to get the technique and probably in no-time flat.

Overall Opinion:

Although we got the technique and covered a lot of basis. I still feel like some things were held out. The slickforce technique fixes troubled areas and keeps "shape" but not really texture, the question is; if you're only using the technique on "parts" of the body and not all, how do you explain the loss of detail in the areas of use. When you add "--------" back to the areas of use, those areas still don't match the areas of skin that the technique wasn't used on which leads me to believe that there is something being done to "all" areas of the skin.

The retouch window size should have been much bigger especially with displays having much higher resolution than in the past.

Nick mentions that he can do a retouch from start to finish in about 5 minutes. If that were the case; I think as a grand finale, he should have stopped talking and completed a start to finish retouch in 5 minutes. A retouch that he could send to a publisher for printing; that was never done in this tutorial. I've sat for over an hour watching D&B done, 5 minutes would have been a "cake hole" cake walk.

In my opinion, you're not getting the full picture. He often mentions that this technique won't stand up to scrutiny of a beauty retouch in terms of being used viewed at 100%, if that's the case, how do you explain the poster size prints at his booth?

( http://nicksaglimbeni.com/wp-content...booth-napp.jpg )

I doubt that you can use the slickforce technique on areas of the skin that has tattoos yet; images of THE GAME and others with Tat's match the quality and technique used on the models??

I wish I were still grounded in the glamour market because I would have requested to beta test this and would have raised this issue prior to release, maybe he would have listened to some of my concerns and addressed them, maybe not but; I assume many people will have the same concerns while others may not.

As with anything practice makes perfect.

Some facts were corrected; like the window size reference but everything else I still feel the same about. I'd like to add that whatever was going on with the retouching at SHOW 6 or 7 years ago, is not the same thing that's going on today. The quality of the retouching in the magazines from then until now is totally different, I happened to get my hands on an old SHOW magazine a couple weeks ago and the girls looked flawless! Not so much anymore..

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Wow, Trendkiller, tell me how you really feel. Holy crap, I should hire you as my anti-publicist. (And that's the first time I've seen the phrase "semi-porn ghetto slut mags" used in a sentence. Well-played, ol' chap.)

Hey for those of you interested in vigorous debates on the subject of retouching, I appeared on Scott Kelby's The Grid recently to discuss techniques, ethics, and making money in the retouching business as it pertains to photographers. Here's the link.

Please forgive my Crypt-Keeper-like appearance, it was a 6am live recording on the West Coast and my eyes don't wake up until noon. Now if I only I could find a way to retouch myself in live video. Hmm....

[Markzebra]

Quite a funny thread this. Saglimbeni from the link he just provided "when you get into these 8 to 20 hour retouches I think you can start to lose perspective. If you can get yourself 98% of the way there, then why not do that and bill for another job". If you honestly think that thats 98% of the way there Nick, then it just goes to show that the perception of these things is very subjective. Try 40%.

And from Kelby "if I was doing the cover of Vogue I would get Natalie." I think he means Natalia, but not quite sure if thats a compliment to her or not.

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Originally Posted by Markzebra

Quite a funny thread this. Saglimbeni from the link he just provided "when you get into these 8 to 20 hour retouches I think you can start to lose perspective. If you can get yourself 98% of the way there, then why not do that and bill for another job". If you honestly think that thats 98% of the way there Nick, then it just goes to show that the perception of these things is very subjective. Try 40%.

Well, then I guess here's what 40% will get you.

http://nicksaglimbeni.com/?p=944

[Quantum3]

My only complain with the Nick's DVD is that 8 DVD's could be just in 4, which is quite a waste of money and a non ethical use of marketing (too much rings and whistles for something which isn't worth of that and I think Nick should think more about balancing the packaging with the content inside the packaging next time). Of course, the Slick thing is not wow, but for intermediate retouchers would work fine and it would be quite impressive.

PS: Trend Killer post #344 really nailed it. A bit deeper than needed but nailed just right in the place with the proper words (like phrasology, lol!)

Btw, not 8 DVD's, I lost my counting... 7 DVD's that fits on 2. That's not ethic.

[Quantum3]

Originally Posted by Nick Saglimbeni

"Right off the bat, Nick states, 'This series is called Mastering Retouching. Not Photoshop for software engineers.' Now, the series is a bit pricey, but it's on par with other high-end beauty retouching series that I've looked at. If you're really into high-end fashion and beauty retouching then I definitely recommend Mastering Retouching as the series you go with."

A quick stab.

It's impossible to mix oil with water. As for the high-end beauty retoucher I am, I cannot consider as 'high-end' something that can be explained through plain English. It does make look the DVD's as some kind of auto-help book that pretends to be philosophy and in this case, high-end.

Also, the text in bolds is plagued of logical fallacies such:

1. "but it's on par with other high-end beauty retouching series that I've looked at". And we don't know what he looked at, so for him is what he subjectively states.

2. "If you're really into high-end fashion and beauty retouching then I definitely recommend..." Chicken with potatoes. Quite a non sequitur fallacy...

Just more non ethical marketing stuff...

To Monkey Father with green bananas..................

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Originally Posted by Quantum3

2. "If you're really into high-end fashion and beauty retouching then I definitely recommend..." Chicken with potatoes. Quite a non sequitur fallacy...

Just more non ethical marketing stuff...

LMAO it's a review from Photoshop User magazine that has nothing do with me. But somehow it's part of my "non ethical marketing" [sic] masterplan. You are hilarious.

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Hi guys,

As I've mentioned before, I am always grateful for the feedback you've given me over the past two years. It allows me to refine and refocus, and in some cases to address skepticism.

For those who have not yet bought or pirated Mastering Retouching, I wanted to let you know that it's the retouching system I've used exclusively to create the first commercial magazine entirely photographed and designed in 3D, World's Most Beautiful (WMB 3D).

Though 3D has almost completely taken over the motion picture industry, it is still in its infancy in terms of the still photography business. And since you, like me, are artists who want to stay on the cutting edge—and because I have such respect for the RetouchPro audience—I am announcing here first that the techniques taught in Mastering Retouching, including the Slickforce Technique, are the first retouching methods proven to work seamlessly in nearly all genres of 3D photography. For our first issue alone (100 pages), we used the techniques on 3D fashion, landscape, cars, watches, and glamour photography.

Think about what this means, as we are on the forefront of something amazing in our business. To learn more about the 3D medium where Mastering Retouching was used, visit WorldsMostBeautiful.com

WMB 3D: World's Most Beautiful is available August 8 in print, and for your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom, Evo, Thunderbolt, and most other Android phones. Get your FREE* 3D Glasses at WMB3D.com

*Plus shipping & handling

Check out a recent item from E! News about the world's first 3D magazine here!

Learn more about Mastering Retouching and Mastering Compositing here!

[women'sdesk]

Hogfather
Junior Member

Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 7
Re: Mastering Retouching DVD by Nick Saglimbeni.
I'm so confused. Why is Trendkiller writing such a lengthy, hostile character attack against a guy he has neither met nor has he even bought the product? What is the motive here? Did Nick steal your girlfriend? Are you mad that you haven't done the work to put together your own product? Are you mad at Brad Pitt for being super handsome too and getting Angelina Jolie? (Well, I'm a little pissed about that too...so unfair...the madness of it all!

So, I got to know Nick a few years ago because I saw his photo work and was impressed with his retouching quality too. This is long before he put together the DVDs...I paid a LOT of $ for a one-on-one session with him to learn the techniques. Now wouldn't I be in a position of high credibility to make a judgement about being fleeced? Or is the guy who has neither met Nick, nor has bought any of his product the "go to" voice of credibility? Oh wait, he heard some stuff, from people who know some people who know Nick. Probably couldn't be a disgruntled fired employee or envious broke photographer. Impossible. LOL.

Anyway, the more I interact with Nick, the more I like him and respect him. Is Nick perfect? No. Is Nick crazy? Probably, more than a little, yes. But he stands apart from the crowd (especially the armchair whiners sitting at home, uselessly talking sh&#) by creating and doing really cool stuff. Life is too short. I want to be able to learn some really cool stuff so I can look back and say, "I did some cool stuff."

In fact, I just sucked it up and signed up for Nick's April PhotoKamp...I'm sure I will be mocked by some. But I know from personal experience with Nick, it's not going to be boring, I'll learn a hell of a lot, it's going to be a blast— and it's my money, not yours.

You can clearly tell that this was written by Nick.

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Originally Posted by women'sdesk

You can clearly tell that this was written by Nick, also the name Hogfather, isn't very original sounds a lot like Godmother? Speech is exactly the same in all the fake posts: paragraph - joke - paragraph - gain trust - paragraph - plug new product etc. Just thought it was amusing is all! lol

Um...huh? Michael discloses his name in the next post. He even admits to having taken my retouching class and my PhotoKamp, so no one is pretending we don't know each other.

But I'll give you credit, y'all are getting more creative everyday!

[women'sdesk]

Um...huh? Michael discloses his name in the next post. He even admits to having taken my retouching class and my PhotoKamp, so no one is pretending we don't know each other.

But I'll give you credit, y'all are getting more creative everyday!

Who is Michael?

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Originally Posted by women'sdesk

What is Michael's last name? give us a link to his facebook, linkedin page or website. if the profile is created with today's date we'll know that you're not a very good pathological liar, which will be great for business right? lol

Are you serious?

(From 03-14-2011 11:22 AM reply)

Originally Posted by Hogfather

Ha ha. This is fun. We are to believe this brand-new (joined to forum specifically to lob ad hominem attacks) anonymous poster who says he is a Vogue published photographer and flies to St. Barts....and how do we know this? Because this same self-congratulating anonymous "non-broke photographer" person says so. Oh right. QED. You got me.

Again, motive. motive. motive. My name is Michael Nebeker. I'm a health care professional in Utah. I'm not anonymous, what's your name Trendkiller so we can verify your claimed credentials? Who knows, maybe your story isn't all made up just for the purpose of character/reputation attacks. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelnebeker
Unlikely I could make 73 connections on a page I made up today. His health care credentials are posted there and also a link to the company site—a business in Utah.

His other company, Got Lashes (which I note in on my Testimonials page, and is also listed on his LinkedIn profile) can be seen here: http://gotlashes.net

women'sdesk: Why would you call me a pathological liar when you don't even know me?

Though I'm happy to address even the harshest of criticism, posts have gone from legitimate product reviews & price concerns to downright mean character attacks. Though I may not have liked or agreed with some of the things Flashtones or Cuervo79—two very intelligent and respected members of this community—said to me throughout this thread, at least they stayed on-topic and encouraged debate. You new guys are off the rails.

What's most amazing to me is that no one even commented on the announcement that my retouching techniques—like 'em or not—work in 3D. I would think someone in the world's leading retouching forum might be the curious about that.

My greatest hope is that we can remove this negativity and divisiveness, and together we can usher in a new era of unprecedented creativity and freedom for artists. Wishing only the best to all of you.

[women'sdesk]

Good luck with your dvds and kim kardashian work, it looks like you are doing well for yourself

[garnet01]

Think this is getting a bit too much, at the end of the day we're all here for a shared interest in retouching. Some people are on here to learn, some to gloat and some to find extra business. The original point of this post has been lost along with courtesy.

[mistermonday]

Originally Posted by garnet01

Think this is getting a bit too much, at the end of the day we're all here for a shared interest in retouching. Some people are on here to learn, some to gloat and some to find extra business. The original point of this post has been lost along with courtesy.

I agree. If the only inputs that can be generated are personal attacks, then perhaps it is time to close this thread. Let's keep the replies on topic.
Regards, Murray