Make me beautiful... - DPChallenge Forums

10/08/2005 12:51:43 AM · #1

Last Sunday I took pictures of this gal and her husband. As she was going over the "proofs" that I gave her, I was asking her what she would like me to do... I asked, did she have any special requests. Well, she said... In this picture of just me, make me look beautiful.

Aye... I already think she is gorgeous!!! But I gave it a shot anyway. Below is my very "plain" unedited original version of the image. It obviously needs a little tweaking even if we do nothing special to it.

Original

Now, here's my attempt at making her beautiful. I did several things... softened the skin, healed blemishes, added a little color, lightened the eyes, whitened the eyes and teeth, and finally a little dodge & burn (some to add a little more 3D form to her features, some to enhance eyelashes, eyebrows).

After

So... tell me what you think. Am I on the right track? Would you have done it differently?

All ideas / critiques / comments (even other edits of my original) are welcome.

Makka

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

10/08/2005 01:38:43 AM · #2

I think you've done a great job there! It really enhances the photo and I'm sure she'll be wrapped with it. I like the crop you've done too. It works for me!

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

10/08/2005 01:45:08 AM · #3

Terrific job overall. One thing I note is that her eyes need to be sharpened. Just the retina and pupils. The trick I read from Scott Kelby is to do an unsharp mask on the image three times, amount 85%, radius 1, threshold 4. Then use the the history to undo all three and the history brush to apply only to the eyes (or do it on a layer and use a mask). I tried it on this and it makes a big difference.

MAK

Leica CL

Leica 18-56mm f/3.5-5.6 Vario Elmar-T ASPH

10/08/2005 01:45:09 AM · #4

great job, the 2nd pic is way better, but as you say, she is already beautifull so an easy job for you but a job well done

Olympus 40-150mm f/2.8 PRO M.Zuiko

10/08/2005 01:46:35 AM · #5

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a shot.

Stagolee

Kodak Easyshare C180

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

10/08/2005 02:03:51 AM · #6

Originally posted by nshapiro:

This is a great tip and it does work well. I think you have done an excellent job and you got the skin perfect. Like nshapiro said the eyes just need a little more work perhaps the whites could also be highlighted and reduce the catchlight a little but see how the USM goes first.

Brad

Olympus OM-D E-M1

10/08/2005 02:04:30 AM · #7

Hi David,
I think you did great with the crop and giving it a softer feel.
Your edit seems to be a bit too yellow in my opinion.
I had a go at the original, and maybe it's just me, but I'm a sucker for black & white portraits.
Some cloning of stray hairs and rebuilding of the lower right corner were needed to hide the blue garment.

10/08/2005 02:06:38 AM · #8

Originally posted by keegbow:

reduce the catchlight a little

Interesting thought.

There are actually two catchlights ... the one on the left is the setting sun, the one in the middle is my flash. I bet it would look better without the one in the middle. So if I just fill in her pupils with black and keep only the catchlight from the sun it will probably look a lot better.

Thanks for the tip!

Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED

10/08/2005 02:12:06 AM · #9

Originally posted by BradP:

Your edit seems to be a bit too yellow in my opinion.

Hmm... I'll check it on another monitor before I decide to print. Thanks!

Originally posted by BradP:

I had a go at the original, and maybe it's just me, but I'm a sucker for black & white portraits.

I like the tones you came up with. Which B&W conversion method did you use? I almost always use the two hue/sat layers (first one to desat, second one in color mode to change the hues).

Originally posted by BradP:

Some cloning of stray hairs and rebuilding of the lower right corner were needed to hide the blue garment.

Yeah, been there! :) That one big strand of hair was a nuisance. And although I had cloned out some of the shirt, I didn't have to do much due to the tilted crop I picked.

Thanks for the comments and ideas.

Neil

Fujifilm X-T30

10/08/2005 02:39:24 AM · #10

BTW - I had the same feeling as Brad, so I used DCE tools to automatically check for color cast; I am not sure I trust it 100%, but FWIW it said it did not have a color cast.

Message edited by author 2005-10-08 02:39:57.

owen

Canon EOS-40D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

10/08/2005 02:42:43 AM · #11

I think your edit is great David, I also think BradP's is good although I'm not a fan of black and white. I followed the tutorial on DPC for for portrait touchup once exactly as instructed and worked a treat for me. It's worth a go if you haven't tried it though I think yours doesn't need any improvement that I can see.

Uusilehto

Canon EOS-1D

Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.4 Jena/Flektogon MC

10/08/2005 03:42:49 AM · #12

Here's my try: //koti.mbnet.fi/uuslehto/img/DPC/dpc05108.jpg

-Very small S curve
-colours corrected with R-G-B curves
-skin correction
-dodged the bg
-dodged the teeth
-warming filter
-USM
-Fixed link

Message edited by author 2005-10-08 03:45:47.

librodo

Nikon D3s

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

10/08/2005 04:59:36 AM · #13

Originally posted by dwterry:

So... tell me what you think. Am I on the right track? Would you have done it differently?

All ideas / critiques / comments (even other edits of my original) are welcome.

You did very well. I like the way you cropped the retouched version. I also like the way you've used the diffused glow to create more depth. The colors are okay. You're getting better.:)

Manny

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED

10/08/2005 05:12:06 AM · #14

Originally posted by librodo:

You're getting better.:)

Oh man... I'm on cloud nine now. Thanks Manny!

Pedro

Nikon D200

10/08/2005 05:19:53 AM · #15

10/08/2005 05:47:31 AM · #16

Okay, let's see if this is any better...

Original

First Attempt

Second Attempt

How about B&W?

Is the 2nd attempt too sharp?

Message edited by author 2005-10-08 05:53:20.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM

10/08/2005 08:38:40 AM · #17

*bump* for any last comments / suggestions

riot

Canon EOS-1D Mark IV

Helios 40-1 85mm f/1.5

10/08/2005 09:04:39 AM · #18

Just thought i'd give it a go since the black and white versions posted so far have been a bit lacking imo (sorry!)

Although i quite like dwterry's one i don't think a straight desat ever flatters in portraits. I used the channel mixer to simulate a green filter to accentuate the lips and flesh tones.

Steps: crop and rotate, slight cloning around the corners to tidy it up, tiny bit of cloning of blemishes on her cheeks, then channel mixer, contrast and intensity adjustment, bit more cloning (green filter brings out spots!), selective sharpen around the eyes.

I think dwterry's "first attempt" in colour is better though - he makes the fairly flat lighting look more flattering and downplays the shadow on her neck, which i couldn't manage in b&w.

undieyatch

Olympus E-10

10/08/2005 09:30:33 AM · #19

TomH1000

Olympus E-3

Olympus 14-54mm f/2.8-3.5 Zuiko Digital Zoom

10/08/2005 09:39:48 AM · #20

Originally posted by dwterry:

Okay, let's see if this is any better...

Original First Attempt Second Attempt How about B&W?

Is the 2nd attempt too sharp?

I like the B&W the best I think. The others seem to harsh and sharp. They should be more on the soft side for a portrait. Hope you don't mind but I took a try at it and here is what I came up with.

Apple iPhone 5

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

10/08/2005 09:42:14 AM · #21

Originally posted by dwterry:

Is the 2nd attempt too sharp?

Both the first and second attempts look too yellowish on my monitor.

mandyturner

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

10/08/2005 10:13:15 AM · #22

here is my try..

Auto levels, dodge & burn hair, eyes and mouth, added a transparent sepia layer for a warm look, cloned out wild hair on the right, removed blemishes, made lashes darker, lightened face, adjusted contrast, color saturation and crop.

Message edited by author 2005-10-08 10:20:45.

Stagolee

Kodak Easyshare C180

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

10/08/2005 10:16:15 AM · #23

I liked your second attempt which is on the left. All i have done is tried to correct the slight color cast and cleaned the eyes a little just a bit sharper and whiter.

10/08/2005 12:01:51 PM · #24

Originally posted by riot:

Steps: crop and rotate, slight cloning around the corners to tidy it up, tiny bit of cloning of blemishes on her cheeks, then channel mixer, contrast and intensity adjustment, bit more cloning (green filter brings out spots!), selective sharpen around the eyes.

Any chance you remember your channel mixer settings?

Originally posted by riot:

I think dwterry's "first attempt" in colour is better though - he makes the fairly flat lighting look more flattering and downplays the shadow on her neck, which i couldn't manage in b&w.

All I'm really doing there is dodging the top of her cheeks just a little bit. It adds a little more of a 3D look than did the original lighting.