Becoming a retouching god? How?

[ThePhotographer]

Hello.
I'm a student in Photography wanting to work in Fashion and Beauty photography one day and I have noticed that many photographers aren't great at PP or retouching. I don't want to be that guy, I want to be able to do everything by myself.

The problem is I have been using Lightroom 3 most of the time since I started and only recently bough Photoshop CS5 as well. I experimented a little with a Dragan Effect, I did a bit of 'surgery' by replacing a left eye with a right eye because it didn't look right but other than that I don't know much. Books aren't very helpful to me because I just don't get it unless you show everything to me. Some tutorials by Sean Armenta have been really helpful!

Here is some retouching I did recently, I'd love some input, since I don't know much I know that I probably suck and my edit is awful, anyway:

- Original Image:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5022/...001160cb_b.jpg

- Edited Image:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2069/...5708e812_b.jpg

How bad is it doctor?

What are some good (free) video resources and tutorials to improve and learn new techniques? Thanks!

[lunaxxxxxx]

hey patient ! you need a surgery ..... - now

[creativeretouch]

I do have a printed copy of french Photo magazine with Adrzej Dragan's portfolio (full page images) and I wouldn't say that all images were adjusted with Photoshop. Some of them look like hand colored.

[RobertAsh]

The best way to start is to take some Photoshop training. Since you're a photography student, take a Photoshop class then a take retouching class as part of your coursework. That would be your best bet by far.

Other than that, check out Meetup.com and search for Photoshop meet-ups near where you live. Also, check out YouTube, there are lots of Photoshop videos uploaded there that don't cost anything. I'd suggest starting with videos about Layers. Layers are the foundation of Photoshop, you can build the rest from there.

The real problem with a free approach is that you have to hunt around, go through videos that show you pieces and parts, and figure out the big picture yourself. A course or seminar of some kind organizes the material for you step by step in a planned, thought-out manner. It's much more efficient and you learn a lot more a lot faster. Just like with your photography courses that you're taking in school.

Or if you're about to graduate and don't have any classes left to take, figure out what you can actually afford to spend (your budget has to be more than $0 if you own Lightroom and Photoshop already) and take some reasonably priced courses or seminars.

[0lBaldy]

Originally Posted by ThePhotographer

How bad is it doctor?

Welcome to RetouchPRO! Hope you enjoy your stay here and make lots of friends.

I'm far from a Doc and just a hobbiest... but I did notice some strong "Halos" around your subject.. which could be easily be corrected by using the Clone Tool @ the Darken setting ... sampling from the background

To improve some of your other God like attributes try the following:

Use the built in help in CS5 and play with all the tools to get used to them and learn.. then try:

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-photoshop-cs5/

or

Youtube>search>photoshop CS5 + (your area of interest)


(After clicking on the thumbnail.... give it a couple seconds to change)
Image removed by request

[ThePhotographer]

Thanks Robert. Free, indeed because I already spent so much and my finances are pretty bad now, Photography school + Equipment + Lightroom & PS5 etc all costs a lot of money, I think I spent like 12000 Euros already on my career as a photographer. Now I am trying to save where I can. While it is true that my school offers a retouching and PP expert module I chose the Studio Work Expert module because it's just something I really need. Then of course there are 'regular' PP lessons but these only start in the second year, the first year being dedicated to film photography. What I would like to learn PP wise is how to do HDRs (not the unrealistic horrible stuff most people do, the nice way, the Joel Grimes way http://joelgrimes.com/ because I just love his HDR technique, I am told there may also be some Dragan effects which I know how to do but I can't seem to get similar results...), how to get rid of Purple fringing and the like, how to work on skin without making it look like plastic and conserving what makes its natural beauty (for example freckles in some cases etc...) and giving more dimension to my images!

[ThePhotographer]

Originally Posted by 0lBaldy

Welcome to RetouchPRO! Hope you enjoy your stay here and make lots of friends.

I'm far from a Doc and just a hobbiest... but I did notice some strong "Halos" around your subject.. which could be easily be corrected by using the Clone Tool @ the Darken setting ... sampling from the background

To improve some of your other God like attributes try the following:

Use the built in help in CS5 and play with all the tools to get used to them and learn.. then try:

http://tv.adobe.com/show/learn-photoshop-cs5/

or

Youtube>search>photoshop CS5 + (your area of interest)


(After clicking on the thumbnail.... give it a couple seconds to change)

Thank you 0lbaldy, yes the Halo is an after effect of me using a Dragan technique on this one. Incredible how easily you fixed that!

One thing though guys, please don't edit my stuff and repost it, I usually like to remove images from forums after a while, because in this case for instance I have an agreement with the model to remove it in a couple of days.

I'd appreciate if you could remove it in a while! Thanks!

[RobertAsh]

Originally Posted by ThePhotographer

Thanks Robert. Free, indeed because I already spent so much and my finances are pretty bad now, Photography school + Equipment + Lightroom & PS5 etc all costs a lot of money, I think I spent like 12000 Euros already on my career as a photographer.

Didn't know you are in Europe. Ok, in that case I'd recommend going through the free resources that people here are pointing you to. Also, check:

• Lynda.com
• KelbyTraining.com

They sometimes have free lessons (one of them has a new one each month, forgot which one). Also try:

• RussellBrown.com
• PlanetPhotoshop.com
• Abuzeedo.com

and Google for "free photoshop lessons" or for the topics you're most interested in. The YouTube videos mentioned above can be really good, as can Adobe TV per OlBaldy's post above.

There are thankfully plenty of free resources out there, but finding them and organizing them takes time and effort. Don't get frustrated by that

The really coolest resources you're going to have to pay for, most likely. But that's a way off yet, learn what you can free in the mean time.

Another idea -- get together regularly with some whiz-kid classmates of yours, or other students, who are good at retouching and have them show you some things. Make it a regular study group where you can help them with photography and they can help you with retouching.

[0lBaldy]

Tis a shame that in the future when someone perchance happens upon this thread while searching how to become a Retouching God... all they might find is a thread with broken links and no samples..

for HDR links try;

http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/hdr-hdri-tone-mapping/

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/

http://revision3.com/pixelperfect/hdr .. and ... http://revision3.com/pixelperfect/hdrpartii

[ThePhotographer]

Amazing guys!

[MacBurg]

The most expensive and valuable thing is your own time, invest it wisely into learning the basic techniques that all commercial retouchers use -

Making quality selections using luminosity, colour, channels, quickmask.

Dodge & Burn, many different ways to do it but the principal remains the same, takes a lot of time to master the visual nuances of micro and carving D&B, get to it.

Colour theory is important to understand in both photography and retouching, most images these days have a pretty strong colour contrast applied towards the end of the retouch.

[RobertAsh]

Originally Posted by ThePhotographer

how to get rid of Purple fringing and the like,

This particular problem is different from the others. No real way to avoid it if you use wide-angle lenses, it's a law of optics -- different colors of light don't focus exactly in the same place on a sensor, especially at the edges. You're really stuck with a small number of options:

• Lightroom camera/lens profiles (not very good, but better than nothing)
• ACR lens correction or Photoshop's Filter>Distort>Lens Correction (again, not very good but better than nothing)
• DxO Optics Pro (much, much better option than Lightroom, ACR or Photoshop, but costs extra)
• Hand-retouching it out (very tedious and not easy)

For newer photos I'm processing I use DxO Optics Pro. Best lens correction software on the market that I've seen. Does a very fine job on correcting purple fringing and other chromatic aberration problems.

For photos I've already processed I get as far as I can with Photoshop/Lightroom, then I have to hand-touch out the rest because DxO Optics Pro only works on raw files for the most part -- and that can be a truly ugly job.

[ThePhotographer]

Adobe sent me a nice gift with my CS5 CD, a code to get 30 days free of Lynda videos! I shall be watching those for now! Can anyone tell me if there is a way to download individual episodes? I can't find a download option on the site.

[RobertAsh]

I don't think you can download them. As long as you're a member you have full access to all their videos at any time you want. Same with Kelby Training. So for the next 30 days the sky is the limit for you

Also, one thing you might consider is month by month membership. When you're stuck, pay them $25 for a one-month membership and watch all the PS videos you want for the rest of the month. Check first if you find those videos helpful, some people do and some don't as much.

[Steve13]

Originally Posted by 0lBaldy

Tis a shame that in the future when someone perchance happens upon this thread while searching how to become a Retouching God... all they might find is a thread with broken links and no samples.

Must be the future already... neither one of his original links go anywhere.

[chinchillakilla]

Regarding the videos you can get a piece of software called an mpeg ripper which will save the vids to your comp for you in various formats to watch whenever you want give yourself some time and put all the ones that interest you on the comp then simply cancel with them as you already have what you need. to get this either google the above go to somewhere like download.com hope this helps.

[RobertAsh]

Originally Posted by chinchillakilla

Regarding the videos you can get a piece of software called an mpeg ripper which will save the vids to your comp for you in various formats to watch whenever you want give yourself some time and put all the ones that interest you on the comp then simply cancel with them as you already have what you need. to get this either google the above go to somewhere like download.com hope this helps.

There's a pretty basic problem with doing that -- it's outright piracy.

ThePhotographer, please don't start down that road. Respect other people's intellectual property the same way you want them to respect yours. The Golden Rule is the rule to live by in these cases.

[ThePhotographer]

Originally Posted by chinchillakilla

Regarding the videos you can get a piece of software called an mpeg ripper which will save the vids to your comp for you in various formats to watch whenever you want give yourself some time and put all the ones that interest you on the comp then simply cancel with them as you already have what you need. to get this either google the above go to somewhere like download.com hope this helps.

No, I'm no thief. The only thing I'll ever want to steal is a woman's heart.

[chinchillakilla]

sorry was just offering a cheap solution thats all with being on a tight budget here is a free ripper that is LEGAL

http://download.cnet.com/Kate-s-Video-Cutter/3000-2140_4-10637930.html?tag=mncol;5

hope this helps you sorry if it does not.

[RobertAsh]

Originally Posted by chinchillakilla

sorry was just offering a cheap solution thats all with being on a tight budget here is a free ripper that is LEGAL.
hope this helps you sorry if it does not.

Again, not correct, as far as I've heard and read.

From what I've heard and read, downloading copyrighted material that is intentionally made non-downloadable by the content creator is piracy, which is not legal, at least from what I understand from US law, not being an attorney. It doesn't matter how you do it. It matters that you do it.

Using otherwise legal software or other means to do illegal or unethical things is not legal or ethical either And posting that url here after that's been explained and otherwise rejected is not good form.

It's better to do with what you have and to do without for awhile than to do these sorts of things. Works better in the long run -- for everyone.

[chinchillakilla]

the link i provided was from cnet's download.com the software is freeware there is no problem in using this whatsoever if you actually looked at the link you will see this is a legit site with legit programs. I was just trying to help but since you guys just wanna jump down my throat wish i never bothered.

I even went out of my way to find a program for you well there is gratitude for you.

[RobertAsh]

Chinchillakilla,

We're not trying to jump down your throat. It's just that if you use a legal product in a non-legal way, it's not legal.

For example, if you have a fishing license and take a fishing pole and during fishing season catch a fish that meets legal criteria, no harm done. It's perfectly legal and ok to do.

If you take that exact same fishing pole and catch the exact same fish with it when it's not fishing season, it's illegal. It doesn't matter that your fishing pole was obtained legally.

Same with software. If you use legal software to make illegal copies of someone else's content, in violation of their explicit terms for your using their content, it's still illegal and it violates the copyrights of that content's author. And at its core, that's what piracy is, actually.

[chinchillakilla]

I am backing down on this as although the software uses the word ripper you are not doing anything other than saving the files nothing changes in anyway they give you the 30 day trial to use their videos so where is the crime in saving them to your computer you are not changing any files or anything just archiving them to view at a later date or when needed.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I am not saying anymore on this.

[Godmother]

Originally Posted by RobertAsh

We're not trying to jump down your throat. It's just that if you use a legal product in a non-legal way, it's not legal.

What if I screen grab it?

Don't be ridiculous.

If I'm not selling it, sharing it, or uploading it somewhere. If it's for personal use, what's the harm? Other than the harm to lynda's pockets because you don't have to pay twice for something you already paid.

I don't watch things in pages with subscriptions for this very same reason... I don't find it honest (Personal opinion)

[SilvaFox]

Becoming a retouching god? How?


Well. It just so happens that I AM a retouching deity. So you're in luck.

First. None of your work can ever be recognized, except subliminally or subconsciously. You will be worshiped for it, but no one will be able to actually SEE it.

Second. Don't look for work. It belittles you. Let it come to you through word of mouth. Or through prayers.

Finally. You'll have to retouch very well, for a very long time. If you do that, people will BELIEVE!

Amen.

[shift studio]

Originally Posted by Godmother

What if I screen grab it?

Don't be ridiculous.

If I'm not selling it, sharing it, or uploading it somewhere. If it's for personal use, what's the harm? Other than the harm to lynda's pockets because you don't have to pay twice for something you already paid.

I don't watch things in pages with subscriptions for this very same reason... I don't find it honest (Personal opinion)

The content belongs to Lynda.com (or one of the others mentioned). They are earning money by selling (time-limited) subscriptions to view the content. If someone copies that content to their computer, it means that person, no longer needs to subscribe and in effect, it nullifies Lynda.com's ability to earn from them.

Other examples I was thinking of are:
- you don't kidnap your teacher, keep him locked in the basement and consult with them when you are ready;
- you don't rent a movie, copy it, and watch it over and over;
- you don't rent a car, duplicate the key, return the car, and then come and take it again whenever you need.

Or if you do do these things, you would probably at least admit its illegal

Whats my point? Hmmm ... wether you do it or not is up to you, but at least admit its theoretically wrong to do.

--Shift Studio.

[shift studio]

Originally Posted by SilvaFox

Becoming a retouching god? How?


Well. It just so happens that I AM a retouching deity. So you're in luck.

First. None of your work can ever be recognized, except subliminally or subconsciously. You will be worshiped for it, but no one will be able to actually SEE it.

Second. Don't look for work. It belittles you. Let it come to you through word of mouth. Or through prayers.

Finally. You'll have to retouch very well, for a very long time. If you do that, people will BELIEVE!

Amen.

Very amusing and cheeky. I like it.

[RobertAsh]

Originally Posted by Godmother

What if I screen grab it?

Don't be ridiculous.

If I'm not selling it, sharing it, or uploading it somewhere. If it's for personal use, what's the harm? Other than the harm to lynda's pockets because you don't have to pay twice for something you already paid.

I don't watch things in pages with subscriptions for this very same reason... I don't find it honest (Personal opinion)

Not being ridiculous. At all. When is the last time anyone forced you or anyone else to watch that content?

If someone is forcing money out of your pocket for material you don't want, without giving you a choice, then you have a point. If not, then there is no point.

Their terms are clear if I understand them correctly. The viewer's license is to watch any Lynda.com video any time the viewer wants, 24x7, from anywhere in the world -- online. For 30 days. After 30 days the license expires. No harm done to anyone. And no need whatsoever to download anything.

It's like the RetouchPro videos here. They used to sell them. Now they rent them. For 3 days. If I understand their terms correctly you can watch as much as you want to for 3 days. Then the door closes. But no downloading allowed (unless I missed something in the terms).

Do I like that? Not really, I like buying DVDs better. Do I abide by it? Yes, I do. No one is forcing me to watch them, to rent them or even to want them. I can always Google around for free material if I don't want to pay or don't want to have the material on a time limit.

But I think it's outstanding material and worth renting. So if I want RetouchPro's material I rent it. There is no legitimate need for downloading it in any reasonably normal scenario, if downloading or ripping it violates their terms. Which it does, at least from what I've read in their terms.

[garnet01]

Gosh how funny.
To return to the original question I would highly recommend doing work experience with a photographer you like or in a retouching house you respect. It's the only real way to learn.
Gareth

[nebulaoperator]

In my own experience practice practice and practice. Ask people for critiques, dig in forums and knowledge as experience will follow you after. It won't happen over night just like becoming photographer. Good luck. Other thing when you advance from beginner sign for couple of we binaries by some ebooks(they are cheap) tehy will keep you occupied. Good luck