Fashion Model - Skill Level?

[jakeparsons]

Hey there!

I recently edited a photo of a friend of mine who was posing as a model for me and I am very happy with the results. Due to the fact I have never been on one of these forums before, I have no idea if my edit is of a high quality or whether it is amateurish. I have been using Photoshop for a while (off and on), but have never really become serious about editing, until recently. The photo took me 3 hours(ish) to completely edit but it could of been faster since I stopped a few times. The model in the picture has no modeling experience and this was her first time doing it just to help me out.

If anyone wants to see more or contact me; flickr.com/jakeparsons

Before

By jakeparsons at 2011-05-22

After

By jakeparsons at 2011-05-22

All criticism and comments appreciated! Thanks!

 

[dv8_fx]

Think you could upload it directly here? lol.... I can't seem to view images from imageshack uploaded here in the forum (ONLY... from other sites, OK )....

 

[jakeparsons]

Done!

Before

After

 

[JgraphNet]

As a first of this kind of a job for you I have to say - very well done indeed !! You have avoided the usual pitfalls most beginners fall in.

As for amateurish vs HQ - I'm sorry, but I have to go for amateurish.... but mind you - with potential, so don't give this kind of editing up if it's of interest for you.

The amatuerism reveals already in the actual photography, not noticing that the pose produced a "crease" or "dent" at the inner side of her right breast that looks funny ...
The Cloning/Healing job looks OK, but her nose looks wierd in the left nose wing and nostril.
Color balancing is too much red and the colors are "burned" in the shadow areas, making the skin look blotchy and with an unflattering blueish cast - and the yellow in the dress looks faded in the edited version.

But please note I said there is potential.
If you want to develop skills there are lots and lots of tutorials and guides to find at places like YouTube, Google etc - and here, of course !!

If you have a particular interest in Retouching - as in Beauty Retouching - there are tons for that too, but in BR there are no set rules. Every retouch demands it's own specifics that varies with every image so you simply have to refine your own techniques, based on already existing ones.

So - I'm being straight forward here, but my intention is not to discourage you. You got something there so if you have the interest - please keep going at it !!!

 

[dv8_fx]

Jake..... Don't feel down with JGN's comments. Visit his website.... JGN's a guru in this line of model retouching.

You are just starting.... But like JGN said, you have potential. You have to develop the skill and eye for re-touching.... so don't stop... keep going.

And I'm sure JGN will be here and more than willing to help you out.

Well done for a first time touch-up work.....

 

[JgraphNet]

Thank you for helping me out here, dv8_fx.
No-no-no... Of course I didn't in any way try to down Jake here. Just pointing out the flaws I see since he asked if it was an HQ job and in order to be assisting with spotting the problems.

And no - I'm not planing on going anywhere... and : "JGN's a guru in this line of model retouching."
Well, thank you very much dv8_xf !!! Almost blushing here but since you said it ....

 

[dv8_fx]

Thank you for helping me out here, dv8_fx.
No-no-no... Of course I didn't in any way try to down Jake here. Just pointing out the flaws I see since he asked if it was an HQ job and in order to be assisting with spotting the problems.

And no - I'm not planing on going anywhere... and : "JGN's a guru in this line of model retouching."
Well, thank you very much dv8_xf !!! Almost blushing here but since you said it ....

I know you weren't putting him down.... you were giving him constructive feedback.

But sometimes a first timer gets turned off with what he's doing all because of first time feedback....

And I hope Jake understands this and doesn't give up that easily...... Keep Rocking Jake.....

 

[jakeparsons]

I really appreciate the input and feedback!

The colours are like they are because I followed a cross processing tutorial that I have used before, because I love the effect it has, I don't know if I succeeding with the Xpro effect though, haha!

I agree that the actual photography needs a lot of work, I have only recently had my camera and this was my first 'photo-shoot' so to speak.

The blotchy skin was an issue I picked up on too, but didn't really know how to correct it without losing her skin's detail. I did a few areas using the patch tool, but found that the areas started to become too soft and blurry if I used it too much.

I am definitely not discouraged, on the contrary I am very happy that my first ever real attempt as achieved some praise from others.

Thanks again!

 

[JgraphNet]

>I am definitely not discouraged...
That's the spirit !! Love that !!

>I followed a cross processing tutorial...
Experimenting is good. Noting happends without experimenting - but sometimes one must be prepared to "Kill your darlings" if they don't take you where you want to go ...

>The blotchy skin was an issue I picked up on too...
Retouching skin is a delicate operation no matter how you do it. Unfortunately both the Patch Tool and the Clone Tool tend to make things blurry when used to a certain point. You're also running the risk of repeating patterns...

I have no short and easy tip to give, but I can at least recommend you to have a look at Dodging and Burning using a layer in Soft Light filled with a neutral color (a grey tone). Works wonders when you get the grips of it.
Sometimes you have to allow a certain degree of controlled softening too and sometime you just have to sample skintone and simply paint in Color Mode with a soft brush on low Opacity and Flow - like 10% Op and 20 % Fl.

Lately I have picked up some really useful techniques from Gry Garness and if you Google her I think there are some free PDF's out there to get.

As for your Photoshoot - being your first more serious shoot I think you did just great. Lighting is a tricky thing to master but keep going and you will learn in notime !!

I'll repeat - you got something there so don't give it up.

 

[brandon skyy]

i think your spot healing was done very well. although when you removed those two groups of hair on her neck you eliminated those natural shadow castings and didnt re-create them. always recreate the shadowing if you leave the objects and lighting the way it is. im going to be honest and ask why you chose this location at all, its pretty cluttered and no real depth of field....but i think her eyes look slightly better, although her left eye is kind of over contrasted.

also about airbrushing, i have always been a fan of the ultra smooth skin, and can look really nice if you know how to recreate the shadows properly. not all people are fans, so ive been trying out skin brushes to recreate that certain texture, actually looks pretty legit once you get the hang of it. you may want to check that out!

keep at it yo.

 

[tmann05]

Way better than I could do!