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DPChallenge Forums >> Tips, Tricks, and Q&A >> Model Editing and why i suck at it
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Showing posts 26 - 50 of 50, (reverse)
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 06/06/2009 03:12:22 PM · #26
Originally posted by Kelli:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
ok so i need an opinion or two. should i just order the bundle package from topaz? it seems like everyone loves it, and im sure its something i would use massively if i bought it. heres the link


Why don't you try the 30 day free trial first? Personally, I love it.


im waiting for the serial numbers to arrive in my inbox right now. is it possible to keep creating new emails to just have constant 30 day trials? just wondering, not like i would actually do that:]
 06/06/2009 03:28:52 PM · #27
I am very busy and did not read every word of people responding to you ... but I think the lighting and ESPECIALLY the focus was not right on.

If you want to send me a high res (less than 9 meg) version of this to Greetmir@yahoo.com, I will give you my opinion and try to edit it and give you MY personal look at this image.

... just in case you want another opinion ...
06/06/2009 03:31:57 PM · #28
Originally posted by Greetmir:
I am very busy and did not read every word of people responding to you ... but I think the lighting and ESPECIALLY the focus was not right on.

If you want to send me a high res (less than 9 meg) version of this to Greetmir@yahoo.com, I will give you my opinion and try to edit it and give you MY personal look at this image.

... just in case you want another opinion ...


ok, i shall do that. i know the lighting sucks, but theres not much i can do, as the rodeo board wont let me use external flashes
 06/06/2009 03:38:01 PM · #29


Here's one of my edits. Quick run through portrait professional, then virtual photographer (cross) applied. What exactly are you looking to get out of this picture? What direction do you want to go?
 06/06/2009 03:44:13 PM · #30
Kelli
Yeh i guess my aim might have been a good thing to include in my original post. this isa photo from my job as the rodeo pageant photographer, so i wanted to make the photo something beyond noral, something that the parents would want to buy. so smooth(er) skin, no face/skin blotches, reduced grain. and i know im not starting with that great a photo, but im going to try and see what i can do with it, as it seems like evveryone is doing some great edits.

so there:)
 06/06/2009 03:58:15 PM · #31
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Kelli
Yeh i guess my aim might have been a good thing to include in my original post. this isa photo from my job as the rodeo pageant photographer, so i wanted to make the photo something beyond noral, something that the parents would want to buy. so smooth(er) skin, no face/skin blotches, reduced grain. and i know im not starting with that great a photo, but im going to try and see what i can do with it, as it seems like evveryone is doing some great edits.

so there:)


Keep playing, you'll find what you want. Have you updated virtual photographer lately? They've added some pretty cool stuff (and it's free).
 06/06/2009 04:01:40 PM · #32
Originally posted by Kelli:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Kelli
Yeh i guess my aim might have been a good thing to include in my original post. this isa photo from my job as the rodeo pageant photographer, so i wanted to make the photo something beyond noral, something that the parents would want to buy. so smooth(er) skin, no face/skin blotches, reduced grain. and i know im not starting with that great a photo, but im going to try and see what i can do with it, as it seems like evveryone is doing some great edits.

so there:)


Keep playing, you'll find what you want. Have you updated virtual photographer lately? They've added some pretty cool stuff (and it's free).


i dont have virtual photographer. sadness?
 06/06/2009 04:06:39 PM · #33
So you had a difficult shooting situation with the lighting and no flash allowed. When that happens to me, I revert to some "salvage" techniques :-)

First, I goosed the exposure levels (which seemed about a stop too low--meter probably fooled a bit by the bright background) and did a little contrast adjustment, and just a bit of softening--crisp/sharp was not going to work well, so opt for smoother, softer look. I did a little local lightening on the face. And I played a bit with the color balance--but it looks like a mix of daylight streaming in and artificial light (you can't really help that much when constrained as you were), so the color was not coming together for me.


When the color isn't working, and even if it is (!) I like to try a b/w treatment. In this case, I applied the "antique plate" preset in Silver EFX and then reduced the grain and made it softer to keep a smooth tone.* Then I played with the color sensitivities in the conversion to bring the plaid back to life. I moved the black level and exposure to expand the histogram some. This is what I got.


*I blew dof big time on this shot (really clear image of the door latch area!) so applied a similar technique--the antique look, a bit soft and grainy, masks the problem reasonably well (and the guy posted the image on his profile, so he liked it) "I mean't to do that..."
 06/06/2009 04:28:12 PM · #34
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Originally posted by Kelli:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Kelli
Yeh i guess my aim might have been a good thing to include in my original post. this isa photo from my job as the rodeo pageant photographer, so i wanted to make the photo something beyond noral, something that the parents would want to buy. so smooth(er) skin, no face/skin blotches, reduced grain. and i know im not starting with that great a photo, but im going to try and see what i can do with it, as it seems like evveryone is doing some great edits.

so there:)


Keep playing, you'll find what you want. Have you updated virtual photographer lately? They've added some pretty cool stuff (and it's free).


i dont have virtual photographer. sadness?


Here's the link. //www.optikvervelabs.com/. It's free! It's fun! Play with it, you'll probably like it.
 06/06/2009 04:30:43 PM · #35
Originally posted by Kelli:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Originally posted by Kelli:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Kelli
Yeh i guess my aim might have been a good thing to include in my original post. this isa photo from my job as the rodeo pageant photographer, so i wanted to make the photo something beyond noral, something that the parents would want to buy. so smooth(er) skin, no face/skin blotches, reduced grain. and i know im not starting with that great a photo, but im going to try and see what i can do with it, as it seems like evveryone is doing some great edits.

so there:)


Keep playing, you'll find what you want. Have you updated virtual photographer lately? They've added some pretty cool stuff (and it's free).


i dont have virtual photographer. sadness?


Here's the link. //www.optikvervelabs.com/. It's free! It's fun! Play with it, you'll probably like it.


thanks! ill elt you know how it goes
 06/06/2009 05:24:31 PM · #36
heres the most recent edit. minus any topaz, as they havent emailed me my serial numbers yet

06/06/2009 05:50:56 PM · #37
hey I did a more advanced edit of the image, maybe went a little too far with it but I was bored.

Not a member so I have to host the image on photobucket

I'm finding a lot of the images posted here are over edited when it come to softening the skin as well as just going over board as a whole. I find that when I edit a portrait the best thing to do is a lot of little step, instead of a few big steps. It creates a more realistic looking image. Also lots of practice. Saying that my image is admittedly a little over the top as well.
 06/06/2009 06:45:46 PM · #38
Lately I have not been taking photos, hopefully you won't mind playing around with yours. I left the scar, it's part of who she is. But I should have cloned the spot below her left eye, and the shiny spot on her lip.

06/06/2009 11:32:56 PM · #39
i watched this demo video in which parts of the face were selected and stretched to make lips fuller, eyes bigger, eyes moved, etc. does anyone know how to do that? i wasnt able to make the connection between the photoshop the video used and my photoshop
 06/07/2009 12:33:24 AM · #40
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
i watched this demo video in which parts of the face were selected and stretched to make lips fuller, eyes bigger, eyes moved, etc. does anyone know how to do that? i wasnt able to make the connection between the photoshop the video used and my photoshop


Yes its called liquefy. Its under filters, near the top.
 06/07/2009 12:36:31 AM · #41
Originally posted by bradshaw:
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
i watched this demo video in which parts of the face were selected and stretched to make lips fuller, eyes bigger, eyes moved, etc. does anyone know how to do that? i wasnt able to make the connection between the photoshop the video used and my photoshop


Yes its called liquefy. Its under filters, near the top.


ooo fun. i shall go play now:)
 06/07/2009 04:55:57 AM · #42
Originally posted by JDubsgirl:
Ok, ive read countless articles and tutorials on the subject, but i still seem incapable of basic "model" edits.
heres my recent multi-hour long edit that i hate

original edit


yaa what the heck i will also play.

i changed the white balance. Her face angle and made her look few years younger. (these girls love it when i do this).
could not decide between black and white or colored version so i settled with something in between.
have a look.

//www.flickr.com/photos/30481251@N04/3129875200/

PS: Relax its just a joke.
 06/07/2009 05:05:19 AM · #43
Originally posted by chromeydome:
First, I goosed the exposure levels (which seemed about a stop too low--meter probably fooled a bit by the bright background)


just a small note - this is probably correct... I personally prefer using a spot meter or manual if things aren't constantly changing.

The 5D has an excellent spot meter if I'm not mistaken. Still worth being familiar with skin tones and exposure compensation... I led a small beginners 'class' with a few new shooters with the photo club here and we discussed the importance of comparing existing skin tones to 50% grey for more accurate metering. I enjoyed the process since it helped me to pay closer attention too.

In this shot, dead center is her hair, so if you had used simple spot metering, it would probably have been overexposed about the same amount. yay. :)

My ex-roommate who taught me some stuff from his wedding photog days told me to pay close attention to the balance of light and dark in the pic.

In this case, I'd push the hair darker and brighten the face a bit to help increase the attention on the subject.

Also, for the softness/sharpening issue, this is one that often works quite well with simple layer mask based on the pic.

Try this:

Create a new layer from the BG (after you correct exposure as chromey said), control a, control c, then go to the layer where you are doing your softening. paste it right in, then adjust the contrast by about +20 or +40 or so.

This will simplify the process of hand painting the mask and may strengthen the 'soft focus' look that can help cover a multitude of focus error type sins.

In this pic, her eyes, hair and clothes will not take the softening, but her skin and the background will. Then it will be a simple matter to use a brush to hit the broad areas of the BG that can always benefit from more blur.

Give it a try. It will work great with the topaz tools that have been mentioned earlier.

Sorry about no examples, I'm in the middle of a couple of huge projects.
 07/18/2009 09:39:41 AM · #44
Hi Katherine

Just looked at this thread and with the portrait challenge, I too have had to learn some stuff quite quickly. Fortunately, I have Nik Software Complete Suite which really helps - I did this edit in about 2 minutes (albeit using a workflow I'd already worked out over about 10 hours on one of my images!!)



Basically, I used a brush to soften the skin and background, lightened the cheek and neck, cloned out the arm scar, converted to black and white, upped the exposure a little, added selective sharpening to the face and (less so) to the hair and then changed the coloration of the monochrome a little.

Obviously, access to the RAW file would have yielded a better result.

The Nik suite does seem expensive but it does a really good job (other than Pro-sharpener which always seems to introduce unnecessary noise in my hands).

I hope this is useful and that you like the image.

Paul
 07/18/2009 03:05:04 PM · #45
Am I missing something color related? Here's my take:



Someone please tell me if I'm mistaken...
 07/18/2009 03:09:35 PM · #46
Originally posted by C_Steve_G:
Am I missing something color related?

Someone please tell me if I'm mistaken...


I think it's me that is missing something color related! I think your version is a really great color edit; and more accomplished for it.
 07/18/2009 03:13:04 PM · #47
Originally posted by paulbtlw:
Originally posted by C_Steve_G:
Am I missing something color related?
Someone please tell me if I'm mistaken...


I think it's me that is missing something color related! I think your version is a really great color edit; and more accomplished for it.


Oh! Thank you very much!
 07/18/2009 09:13:07 PM · #48
I'm not trying to be critical of the young lady....but... doesn't there appear to be something goofy between her lips that needs attention? I doubt it is a flaw in her beautiful face, rather something going on with the lighting.
 07/21/2009 01:53:20 PM · #49
Originally posted by LadyK:
Ok, ive read countless articles and tutorials on the subject, but i still seem incapable of basic "model" edits.
heres my recent multi-hour long edit that i hate

original edit


I always edit my images in Bridge at a relatively large size and use my gut reaction to the subjects facial expression composition and attitude. I start to mark those that are appealing to me from a distance. I do an initial edit of those first takes. I then take a closer look at those chosen and get in to them with greater detail. I then place all of the final images together to see how well they marry together i.e how well they flow. Closely cropped images next to landscape full shots etc.
That is how I approach editing.

Message edited by author 2009-07-21 13:54:04.
 07/21/2009 02:20:48 PM · #50
I do all my editing in photoshop. I also use non-destructive editing, meaning I never touch the original file, so I can easily scale something back without erasing everything Ive done.

Flickr with Edits

If you scroll through my flickr, there is an image of a black girl...one is PRE-EDIT and the other is EDIT.

That took about 10 minutes, and I also did all of her make up in post.
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