That Soft Dior Look for Portraits

[Olof]

How do you find this tutorial?

[rnbluvva]

Olof: you can find the tutorial here:
http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=209

Enjoy!

[ray12]

Hi all.

Thanks for all your kind comments here! I'm the author of this tutorial and I have a question...

Several acquaintances have suggested that I consider doing a full video version of this tutorial. It would be much more detailed than the written version and would obviously be easier to understand and much more visually interesting.

Im thinking I would cover strong Photoshop skills and the Dior retouching skills at the same time. I would go from basic to advanced and cover each of the major steps in a separate section. What I would end up with is what I call the "infinitely adjustable portrait" - where all adjustments would be dynamic and adjustable so that the end user could adjust each retouching aspect to their own taste and degree of intensity.

I was asking on the main forum how to market this. I do photoshop great but how to produce the video DVD from a marketing standpoint is something I am new to.

I was thinking of how long (2 hours maybe)? Subjects (from levels, to blemish removal, to porcelain skin, to digital makeup, to hair retouching and overall balance)? Format (DVD primarily - good quality - so users could see the steps and settings easily without the web blur). And naturally, price ( who knows what the marketplace would bear... for a full treatment of glamour portrait retouching process, and the necessary Photoshop steps and skills...all from beginning to end - Maybe $49.00 USD to maybe 79 or $99. The more I make from it the happier I'll be - but I have to price it smartly for the user too.

I also have a library of special retouching and makeup brushes and textures for repairing skin, painting in hair, hair textures, different kinds of eyelashes and lip glosses and even eyeshadow and lipstick palettes. I also have a Dior color palette. I was thinking that these might be separate - some would not need them?

The time frame might be late spring early summer.

Does anyone have any suggestions or comments or expertise that might help me along some?

Thanks for your help in this.

Ray 12

[ducasse]

wow, some the besto tutorial about retouching. thanks.. well if you produce a DVD, is good, but im from mexico and here dont arrival stuff, you can put online the lessons and option for suscribe to the site..

[pixelzombie]

you don't have to make a dvd in order for it to be of high quality, lynda.com makes their tutotials movies at only 5 fps as anything more seems to be overkill and they use .mov files as opposed to those aweful .wmv files...

[pixelzombie]

Originally Posted by ray12

Let me give away a very hard won skin texture process. The most polished way to get that specific Dior looking skin texture is to make that high pass version first - and then - run it through the Menu> Filter> Sketch> Bas Relief filter. Use a detail of 14 and a sharpness of 1 - and here is the best part- light the texture from the Top Left. Now you have the highly accentuated pores that you see in the magazines - with the correct lighting angle to go with it! You can also try other lighting angles to fit your needs. Note: This technique can produce very pronounced yet natural pores - so you have to use a layer mask to control it or a much lower layer opacity setting to look great.

Ray

the bas relief filter really worked well, i found it too difficult to use another shot for the pores and no matter how much high pass/USM I used it didn't look like some of the images i've seen in fashion magazines or any of the images from some of the porfolios on this site....i still think there's room to improve the final texture even further but i doubt the pros will reveal all their secrets...

[Mike Nykoruk]

Ray Good Tutorial, for a skin texture paint in, one could use the highpass, tech etc, and make a pattern patch to use as the texture source to add the texture with the Pattern sampt tool,where desired. On seperate layer set to Soft light, addin the texture were needed and fade the opacity to adjust. Probably not as good as the full face tech, but sometimes you just need a little tex here and there, and is much quicker. It beats using noise, for sure. To make a pattern patch ref.: new doc, 64x64pixels-300dpi, transparent, BG, drag a skin texture - Highpass'ed and sharpened, to the New Doc, set layer to softlight, Flaten and save as "Define pattern", then use the pattern stamp tool (Under the Stamptool) and drop down on the Blue bubbles pattern in the tool bar to choose the new pattern you just made. On New layer set to soft light, Paint in texture where you need it ( Opac 50%) and then fade it to just enough. Qucik and simple, although not as refined as your procedure, but good to use on 140 retouches tonight. You're right that the suggestion of skin texture is all that is needed to make the RT more believeable. Mike

[singlo]

thanks for new idea. I am yet to try that. I have never used pattern stamp tool.

Question: If you paint in texture, you have to paint a given area only once not twice or more, otherwise the texture gets smudge. Or if the opacity is low enough, you can get away with several strokes of painting texture on the same area? How do you blend different painted texture areas on a face seamlessly togethor? I don't know if my question makes any sense?

[ray12]

Hi All

Thanks for the comments and questions. I have been traveling.

Im just now beginning to work on a training DVD (about time) that shows all the exact steps of adding accurate skin textures back into cleaned up skin.

There are about 6 different kinds of skin textures on a face. They all have different characteristics, directions and patterns.

The six different skin textures are: forehead skin texture, under the eyes skin texture, cheek texture, nose texture, under the lip texture and chin texture. Each of these texture patterns are uniquely different from each other visually. The most professional looking results come from adding the correct texture withinin each zone.

Once you develop a good "Master Section" of this skin texture pattern...it can be successfully used over and over again on many different models. The texture, the pattern and the direction are fairly much the same across most people.

My experience is that low opacity layer masking is the most predictable and controlled way to get perfectly placed and nicely blended textures.

Ray12

[robotdevil]

This is one of the most helpful tutorials I've ever done. I've approximated this effect in many ways for a while but the highlight/shadow soft light thing is something I've overlooked. Far better than the 50% Overlay Dodge/Burn method. That's of course useful, but none too flexible or artful.

Ray - write more tutorials or a book! I'll preorder today!

Scott

[robotdevil]

Oops - missed the dvd discussion, reposted from the first page. Ray about the DVD, I don't think a dvd would be overkill but you could accomplish much with cd content (much lower production costs). PhotoshopCafe and their Wacom Graphics series are excellent. I (personally) do not like the cumbersome interface of the Lynda.com menus. Photoshop cafe's approach is the best I've seen.

Although Scott Kelby is the 'master' at such hot selling dvds, I think his narration is too simplistic. Your market would be much more narrow, being advanced/professional photoshop users but these individuals (I believe) would easily pay for the quality level of your detailed guides.

The most impressive thing about your tutorial is to take an already acceptable image and create something masterful out of it, there are FAR TOO many of the quick/dirty/fast/neato type tricks/tips dvds out there. Avoid that, as I'm sure you would already, but just something I've been thinking about.

You might want to try and partner with something like UK's Advanced Photoshop magazine, which already produces excellent tutorials using high level photohgraphy and industry renowned professionals to gauge how your tutorial work is received. They also regularly distribute custom brushes/fonts/etc on their dvds but you should definitely save those for your own distribution. Contact them and publish a feature in their magazine, for which they already distribute a rich and professional cd in every issue. It would give you an opportunity to step into the tutorial production with someone else's backing and also see how much interest it generates.

This may sound dorky, but you might also want to do this with NAPP's magazine, Photoshop User. Katrin Eisman, Deke McLelland, Scott Kelby, JP Caponigro among others regularly do excellent in-depth tutorial work in that mag and it already has a huge subscription base for people who do photoshop work on a professional level. It would get your name out there and only help in garnering attention if/when you do create an entire dvd. Might pay pretty well too.
I sincerely believe that the best ways to get your dvd noticed and actually make some money would be to somehow partner/write for/advertise in/get reviewed by PHotoshop User or Advanced Photoshop UK, and above all, get it distributed for purchase via Amazon.

Does that help at all?

Scott

(Photoshop - if you do create this, i'd be thrilled and most eager to pony up for a purchase.)

[ray12]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for the comments. You are highly creative. I like many of your suggestions. I may have some contacts in those areas, and I think you are brilliant for suggesting that approach.

Right now im working on producing some High-Resolution "Hair Brushes" to be able to repair a models hair that doesn't cut out cleanly using Adobe's selection tools. Its always tough to extract a model from the background via a cutout because the hair never looks right in the small details. What I have done is to photograph actual hair in studio conditions that cuts out cleanly and drops right in place over the existing damaged hair areas. This hair repair brush set can be made any color to match existing colors. Im also working on some Lip Gloss Brushes, Eye Lash Brushes and Eye Catch Light Brushes in order to spice up a retouch. Im hoping that these extra dazzle brushes will add value to the package. They all add a nice sparkle to a portrait and since they are brushes - they apply real easily.

Im still working on developing a price point. Everybody has their own range of what they consider good value for the money they part with. If anyone has any suggestions in that area... its one area that i havent finished thinking about. What is that magic number for "Too high = fewer sales, down lower in price = brings in more quantity".

Im going to do full retouches on 3 models it seems like...and show all the steps in full motion on the DVD and explain how-to and why im doing each step. Im working on the script.

Thanks for your input. Ive wanted to update this tutorial here several times but just got busy. I appreciate your comments and insights. They are real helpful.

Ray

[cdsmile]

Excellent tutorial. Thank you.

[ray12]

I am trying out something NEW.

I am Now doing Live Glamour Retouching Seminars On-Line. I broadcast my live desktop and sound... right into your web browser live.

I will be teaching students the Techniques of Glamour Retouching... plus some of the hidden secrets of the NYC Retouchers.

I will cover correcting levels, balancing exposures, color correcting, blemish removal, wrinkle reduction, skin smoothing, adding pore detail, electronic makeup techniques, facial contouring, sparkeling eye retouching, lip retouching, lip glosses, eye lashes, adding interest and focus to portraits, and hair repair.

This is in preparation to creating a new 2 hour retouching Training DVD.

You can contact me here using a Personal Message if you have questions...

[Macmagoo]

Great tutorial Ray. Much appreciated time and effort.

Thanks

[r3v6n]

Great tutorial

[ray12]

Im considering the possibility of updating the content on this tutorial...does anyone have any suggestions or desires on what direction I might take it?

Thanks Ray12

[pixelzombie]

can you get similar results without blurring and expand the section on adding/making texture as that seems to be the one step that is difficult to do right...

[The Baron]

Just been through the tutorial. Fantastic! Thanks for sharing.

[ray12]

Thanks for your kind comments.

Ray12

[SteveB2005]

So basically in high end retouching, art directors don't want to see nor allow any blurring filters to do a basic "smooth over" to get more of a gradient look before a texture mask is applied? Are there exceptions to this? I have seen ads in LA that are looking for high end retouchers that stipulate, Absolutely NO BLURRING! hehe

Anyway, I would assume that high end fashion images shot with 39 MP Hassys capture skin pores so well that there must be some type of smoothing to even things out. I doubt images at those resolutions would need added texture masks.

There are some decent retouching lessons on Lynda.com, but it probably is not focusing on more pro techniques that would work for pre-press, but a good place to start.

I have shot some fashion type models with my Canon 30D and I can get very good pores and skin textures and I always have a makeup artist. Of course an 8MP DSLR is not going to capture the quality that the Hassy will, but for decent shots, it's not bad.

It would be cool if there were more high end retouching classes at adult education schools or weekend seminars available to pick up some techniques and tips. Some more DVD's that cover this subject are definitely needed. Just some thoughts

[ray12]

Thanks for the comments Steve.

Art directors are interested in the LOOk and not how you got there necessarily. Blurring and transparent curves are used to even and smooth colors throughout the face area alot and to get skin-tone evenness (like applying foundation in makeup)...then as long as its applied non-destructively and transparently..then you can still see the pores and it doesnt look so plastic. Some of the older 1st generation techniques I shared here are being enhanced with adjustment layer techniques.

If you dont use non-destructive or transparent methods...then skin pores are added back in afterwards.

Shooting with a Hasselblad or Phase 1 is the way to go. With a 39mb image you CAN get down to the skin pore level at reasonable magnifications and do some incredible work.

One of the most exciting advances ive seen recently is makeup artists using an airbrush to apply foundation. If you dilute it with water alot, the coloring is able to go into the pores themselves and to color inside the skin texture...rather than sitting on top of the skin and clogging it up like regular drug store foundation. It only costs $50 a shoot...but talk about getting perfect skin texture!!

Ray12

[Brownie127]

Ray12, you said you may update your article.

I am particulary interested to learn a little more in Step1 regarding using Curves then using Levels. I cannot understand why Curve midpoint adjustment should be used first to get corrected mid tones. I am confused because then using the Levels mid point slider (the next stage of Step1), appears to do the same thing. Could you let me know how to examine and adjust for the differences of this two adjustments?

[inspiredarts]

Awesome tutorial - I'm giving it a try ASAP. Thanks so much for the great tutorials here.

BJ

[EJG]

I would love Dior skin!

[Brownie127]

Originally Posted by EJG

If anyone wants to practice on a pic of my face your very welcome! I would love Dior skin!

OK, email me your pic.

[inspiredarts]

send me a copy of your pic as well

[EJG]

Originally Posted by Brownie127

OK, email me your pic.

What's your email address? Thanks

[EJG]

Originally Posted by Brownie127

OK, email me your pic.

Picture sent, thanks

[ray12]

Ive been away from RetouchPro for a while...I now have some freed up time.

Hope to get back to answering some questions.