Before and After

[Granddad]

I'm slowly working through a shoot I did at the end of last month. It was a free shoot so no pressure and I can work in detail if I think an image warrants it - and I get to choose!

Here's one of my favourites - before and after a combination of Portrait Professional and PSE8.
As always C&C are very welcome.

My aim is to enhance but to keep it recognisable and credible.

 

[Forkie]

Very nice, subtle edit. Good stuff!

Excellent and flattering skin work, I see skin over smoothed all too often, but you've been conservative about it and it really pays off. The colours have been thought through, it has a Christmassy feel about it without being corny, it looks great!

There's almost nothing else to critique about it, so I'm just going to be ultra nitpicky and say that because it's such a clean shot, it might be improved even further by liquifying out the kink in the front rim of her hat and straightening out some of the wrinkles in her jacket. Apart from that, this is really nice work!

 

[Granddad]

Thanks Forkie, I missed the kink in the hat brim. The folds in the jacket I'm not sure about, I guess I could try liquify... Hmmmmmmmmmm...

I hate plastic skin! I used my tried and tested method here. Sorted it in Portrait Pro (making sure the face sculpt slider for face shape was at zero) with plastic skin and all. Then took it back into PSE, cut and copied the original face, pasted back over the PPd version, aligned it, and faded to about 35%.
Then I removed the lips and eyeballs from the over layer. I'm sure that's not what the experts would do but it works for me and is eminently simple.

How's this?

 

[Forkie]

Never used Portrait Pro before - cutting and pasting eyeballs and lips sounds interesting, but whatever it is worked!

Looks great!

 

[Designer]

Well done, Sir!

 

[tirediron]

Nicely done!

 

[Warhorse]

Good work!

 

[jwilly1]

Top shelf work, my friend! I have much to learn from your subtle use of the editing brush. One thing that does draw my attention is the piece of greenery coming up toward the chin. I would maybe try to clone some of the length out of it, but not all the way back. Then again, I'm the new guy that knows just enough to be dangerous... One to be proud of.

 

[Granddad]

Top shelf work, my friend! I have much to learn from your subtle use of the editing brush. One thing that does draw my attention is the piece of greenery coming up toward the chin. I would maybe try to clone some of the length out of it, but not all the way back. Then again, I'm the new guy that knows just enough to be dangerous... One to be proud of.

Thank you, I was aware of the greenery issue and debated cloning it out as it could be seen as a distraction. In the end I decided to leave it as is ... for now ... maybe.

On editing skin my philosophy is to keep the person recognisable and credible. How one achieves that is a matter of choice. As I said, my method probably doesn't get the pro editor's seal of approval but then I've never had a lesson from a pro editor and worked my method out over many years by trial and error - and listening to C&C here. Maybe one of these days I'll work on a tutorial if anyone else wants to give it a go; it usually seems to get results that meet peoples approval.

 

[The_Traveler]

IMO, the background is too bright.
It attracts my eye and spills over onto her skin.

 

[Granddad]

IMO, the background is too bright.
It attracts my eye and spills over onto her skin.

I do like my white backgrounds but I also like what you've done to it. That works. Well. I may have to do some rethinking. This old dog can sometimes learn new tricks.

I'd have to cut and paste onto another background to do that, do you have a simpler method?
(I know what I know but in some other areas I'm incredibly ignorant.)

 

[The_Traveler]

I selected the background, the inverted the selection so I selected only her.
Copy and paste so she is on another layer.
Then added a layer above the background and below her on which to do some patterns, fills, whatever.

 

[Granddad]

OK, and since it's a white background the selection isn't too complicated. That's pretty much what I'd have done so I guess I'm not too far off the beaten track. Thanks.

 

[Granddad]

Ummmm... Snowbear? I think you put this in the wrong thread. ... not that I'm precious about it being my thread or anything like that but I don't think you'll get many comments.

 

[snowbear117 48]

Ummmm... Snowbear? I think you put this in the wrong thread. ... not that I'm precious about it being my thread or anything like that but I don't think you'll get many comments.

I'm sorry, I sure did. I guess the bright lights outside blinded me.