DESCRIPTION OF ADJUSTMENTS MADE FOR IMG_1615.CR2 Canon 5D raw format image of Ila: lighting, main and fill: clamshell - softbox high = main, white reflector low = fill above and in front of camera 0 deg. circular, +- 20 deg vert ~2 ft. from face background: black velour 6 ft behind pose: facing directly at camera shoulders slight turn to camera right makeup applied quickly black sweater, to isolate face against black bkg camera raw: noauto temp 5950 (set from gretag-macbeth colorchecker grayscale) tint -1 (ditto) all other settings as default for noauto passed to pshop as 8-bit, adobe rgb 1998, 240 px/inch ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IMG_1615.psd Layers: 0 - Background image passed from camera raw 1 - clean up - catchlights (renamed from Backgrough Copy) keep top catchlight remove lower reflection and high right pin point 2 - 60 px blur, mask eyes etc 60 px gaussian blur layer copy from layer 1 then apply filter mask, to pass unblurred eyes, eyebrows, mouth blending normal opacity 45% 3- 60 px blur, mask eyes etc and hair etc 60 px gaussian blur layer copy from layer 2 mask, to pass unblurred eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and hair, bkgrnd, clothes only skin of face is blurred mask copied from IMG_1615 copy, layer: degrunge 17.3px+mask blending normal opacity 45% comments: gaussian blur gives a nice image, with inner glow; glow possibly enhanced if hair etc is also blurred and if only eyes etc are protected = unblurred; fast and gives acceptable, even good, result; unfortunately, not pc at this time (blur is out); with blur, by definition/intent lose natural look; ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IMG_1615 copy.psd [start with duplicate of IMG_1615] Layers: 0 - Background identical with IMG_1615, layer 0 image passed from camera raw 1 - clean up - catchlights+more start with IMG_1615, layer 1 i.e., only top catchlight then remove a few obvious imperfections to visualize changes difference blending layer 1 vs 0, then invert in adjustment layer 2 - degrunge 17.3px+mask degrunge method - from retouchpro.com member byRo http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=213 step 1: layer copy from layer 1 step 2: define radii for blur and high pass dummy run of gaussian blur filter find radius just high enough to blur out grunge from skin 17.3px dummy run of high-pass filter find radius just enough to show details, but grunge has disappeared or, if this not done or not easy to do, use 1/3 the radius for blur filter: 17.3/3 = 5.8px step 3: run high-pass filter at 17.3px (blur radius) step 4: run gaussian blur at 5.8px (high-pass radius) step 5: invert the result step 6: apply a hide-all mask and paint white to isolate skin keep away from outlines of face do not expose eyes, eyebrows, mouth do not expose hair, clothes, etc expose only skin to be degrunged step 7: set blending to linear light, opacity to 50% additional: not mathematically correct, but can vary opacity to taste can change blending mode find: best linear light opacity = 41% best vivid light opacity = 80% other blending modes not as good, imho; vivid light a bit better than linear light ? - possibly additional layers for testing one of which may be the best image ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IMG_1615 copy 2.psd 0 - Background identical with IMG_1615, layer 0 image passed from camera raw 1 - clean up - catchlights+more+more start with IMG_1615 copy, layer 1 only top catchlight some imperfections removed (healing brush, etc) removed more imperfections, found in course of dodge and burn, that were easily removed with healing brush, etc. to visualize changes difference blending layer 1 vs 0, then invert in adjustment layer 2 - Color Fill 1 layer->new fill layer ->solid color intent - change reddish area at camera-left corner of camera-right eye to have hue of skin found useful also for correcting hue elsewhere side of nose top corners of mouth camera-right cheek set fill color at rgb values for darkish skin near problem area (160,115,95) set blending to hue, opacity 100% hide-all mask expose areas to correct by whitening degree of whitening controls extent of hue correction i.e., use brush with opacity set low comment: limited to specific problem areas, as only one target hue to blend toward perhaps not best way to correct color 3 - lighten curves adjustment layer layer->new adjustment layer->curves double click on name to edit it adjust shape of curve double click on curves icon of layer add point at (x=.3,y=.6) [generally, use (x=.4,y=.6)] sets output>input intensity i.e., lighten image change mask to hide-all = black click on mask icon of layer edit->fill->black leave blending=normal, opacity=100% blending is controlled by the extent to which the black mask is whitened to lighten a dark spot of image, paint white on the mask use a brush size appropriate for spot paint only lightly and with control set brush opacity low set flow low use multiple strokes to build up change in the mask (build up whiteness) 4 - darken curves adjustment layer that darkens image as above, except set curve by adding point at (x=.4,y=.2) [generally use (x=.6,y=.4)] 5 - desat hue/saturation adjustment layer, to get grayscale image layer->new adjustment layer->hue/saturation double click on name to edit it double click on hue/sat icon move saturation slider to 0 leave mask white = pass all leave blending normal and opacity 100% turn on or off as may be helpful in finding where to correct 6 - contrast curves adjustment layer, to add contrast to image layer->new adjustment layer->curves double click on name to edit it adjust shape of curve want S-shape for high contrast over tonal range of skin or whatever is the region to be fixed double click on curves icon move (0,0) black point to (.4,0) on the x-axis move (1,1) white point to (.85,1) the tonal range of the skin is expanded into the full range of the output leave mask white = pass all leave blending normal and opacity 100% turn on or off as may be helpful in finding where to correct comments: in this file, the skin only has been corrected, and only to the extent of removing wrinkles and blemishes, with some rescultping by the light and shadow below the cheeks makeup has not been corrected - mascara around eyes; lipstick; eyebrows; foundation applied above eyes, above eyebrows, around nose, etc. (seen as lighter-color smears); rouge applied on the sides of the nose and cheeks; various colored areas not corrected, including whites of the eyes, dark areas on cheeks; hair, etc., not touched; ---------------------------------------------------------------------- COMMENTS ON THE DODGE AND BURN (D&B) RETOUCH METHOD the intent is to retain the structure of the skin (color and especially, pores) while smoothing it: removing wrinkles, blemishes, etc, and perhaps also reducing local contrast at the pore level and adjusting shadows and lighting; the retouched result ranges from a natural look, but younger and cleaner, to a vogue-style look, where the model's image is so perfect as to be unreal; one reads that NY retouch houses will not even look at work that is not D&B, i.e., no blur filter/tool allowed, even though the glamour (vogue-style) result from D&B might itself look very unreal. Hmmm... the local lightening and darkening needed to remove wrinkles and otherwise resculpt the face is achieved by use of images (lighter and darker) of the face itself to serve as the correction layers that are blended with the original; the blending is controlled by masks (hide-all = black) for each correction layer - the extent to which a region of the mask is whitened (uncovered) controls the extent of blending of this region of the correction layer with the parent image; the correction layers are curves adjustment layers - the curve is moved away from the diagonal, so that outputinput for a lightened image; the primary cleverness, imho, is using lighter and darker versions of the face itself for the correction layers, thus maintaining closely the color of the original - some other D&B methods use the variable masking of, in effect, pure white and pure black correction layers; also clever is the use of curves to generate the lighter and darker correction layers: (a) adjustment layers do not increase appreciably the size of the file; (b) the curve relating the output to input intensity can be tailored to the tonal range of the skin or whatever may be the primary target of the D&B; (c) the color output of the correction layer can be altered from that of the parent image - tricky, as must adjust the r,g,b curves separately (or the a,b if working in Lab), and the adjusted curves may have strange shapes (multiple inflections); other layers can be used for facilitating exploration of a problem region: a hue-saturation adjustment layer to turn off color; a curves adjustment layer to enhance contrast over the problem region (an S curve); the corrections are done first at the finest level (ca. one-pixel brush), then working up to wide brush strokes, as needed -- so one can remove a one-pixel-wide wrinkle, or lighten a broad shadow on the face, etc.; brush opacity is best kept low (10-20%), to minimize mistakes; mistakes can be corrected by switching from white to black paint color (foreground color); for a description of the method, concise but clear, see: http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/photo-retouching/15654-dodge-burn-smooth-skin.html?highlight=dodge+burn+method read the "Godmother's" comments, posting #3, which follow verbatim: Re: Dodge and Burn to Smooth Skin? I'll give it my best try. Once you have taken out mayor skin marks (Beauty marks, pimples, etc) with the patch tool (or what ever you use) You create the Dodge and Burn Layer Set (D&B) The dodge and burn is done with a set of curve adjustment layers. From bottom to top: Curve(LIGHTEN) lighten the mids and fill the layer with black to hide. In this layer, paint white at about 20% depending to lighten dark spots on the skin Curve(DARKEN) darken the mids and fill with black as well so that you can use this to darken light spots on the skin. HUE(DESAT) The HUE layer is used to desaturate the image and see better. CURVE(CONTRAST) is helpful to display the dark/light spots better - an S curve in it to bring out the contrast so you can see it better Both of them (Desat and Cont) can be turn on and off as you please. After zooming 500% to work on the fine points of the skin, zoom out and use larger brushes to change light. Then turn off the CONTRAST and HUE curves. This takes a lot of time, but the result is the best I could achieve. Hope this helps... More... Sometimes, I duplicate the set in case some dark spots are really dark and just one lighten won't do it. More2: English is not my native lenguaje... so sorry in advance __________________ http://nataliataffarel.deviantart.com/ ["Godmother" is a young Argentine, with a portfolio well worth your time to look at] other references: http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=272 dodge/burn tutorial - clear, good http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=209 soft dior look for portraits http://www.retouchpro.com/forums/archive/t-2496.html dodge/burn - good http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=213 degrunge method - fast, good, retains texture use in conjunction with D&B