Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore job

[hendrix5757]

A simple, straighforward, retouch of a pic of my mom with a very distracting red cast. I just did a quick and dirty technique of neutralizing the cast instead of my standard method (typically I manually adjust the color channels with a curves adj layer), and then accentuated the all the colors. I'm interested in any feedback this community may have to offer!

[hendrix5757]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

lol right after I uploaded the super compressed low quality images, I notice some glaring issues right away! Oh well... As I mentioned, I haven't spent nearly the amount of time I usually do with retouch projects, so small/glaring mistakes and/or improvements are bound to surface given more time and attention.

[stormyboy]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

Hello. Here's my try on the photo of your lovely mother. I lightened up things a bit and tried to repair skin color. I used Photoshop for painting, cloning, and the Kodak Digital ROC plugin. Then I used Lightroom to fine tune and export.
Tom

Haha...mine is a overly-compressed version of yours, and that's never good!

[hendrix5757]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

Interesting take on the photo retouch! Obviously, the over compression resulting from the size limitations for uploading attachments doesn't do any favors for anybody. I do like very much you executed her shirt with all the additional colors! Needless to say, the overall lighting in the image appears to be a bit blown out, however. Though, I do also appreciate the choice in background colors as well. Thank you for taking the time to share your approach on the project, it was very much welcomed and insightful.

[Gary]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

Like what yu did .... went in a black-and-white direction for a different look.

[hendrix5757]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

Here's an updated revision of my retouch of my mother. I took notice in StormBoy's approach with the colors in the shirt and applied a similar color into my project. I also accentuated the highlights in the hair, as well as the overall brightness in the entire photo. Honestly, I think the final result is pretty decent. I think the skin looks fairly real, as I applied a touch of redness to the cheeks, and adjusted the lips a bit because my mom was never one for lipstick. There was also a touch of dodging and burning to the skin. The teeth's color was also changed to a slightly darker tan color, so they didn't appear pure white as they did in my original upload. Lol I always enjoy working on older photos with inherent, strong color casts because when the original is compared to the final retouched image, the contrast between the two pictures are night and day, which in turn makes my work appear more impressive and considerably difficult than it really is!

[dodgenburner]

Re: Constructive feedback for this retouch/restore

looks good! I think you did well with the recovery.