First attempt with new Photek Softlighter

[SoulfulRecover]

and some new post techniques. I am curious as to every ones CC

 

[Donde]

I would like a bit more action in the pose as everything is very vertical. Lovely subject. Bet it's nice before being converted too.

 

[Derrel]

I looked at it full-sized...looks good.The edge of the sleeve where it peeks around the shoulder is a tiny bit distracting, but I LIKE the sharp, clear, fairly real-looking skin and face detail...I dislike obvious retouching, and rpoefer to see the minor little skin pores, the teeth, the eyelashes, all that stuff: I LIKE seeing un-retouhced portraits that look like REAL people have always looked...not a big fan of a lot of smoothing and warping and retouching and so on ...

Pretty good for a first go with the new Softlighter! I've been using a similar umbrella box going on ten years now, and reallty like the quality of the light that the double-diffusion gives! For those not familiar with it, the Photek Softlighter is a modifier that Annie Liebovitz of RollingStone magazine has used on many,many shoots over the past decade or so.

 

[SoulfulRecover]

I looked at it full-sized...looks good.The edge of the sleeve where it peeks around the shoulder is a tiny bit distracting, but I LIKE the sharp, clear, fairly real-looking skin and face detail...I dislike obvious retouching, and rpoefer to see the minor little skin pores, the teeth, the eyelashes, all that stuff: I LIKE seeing un-retouhced portraits that look like REAL people have always looked...not a big fan of a lot of smoothing and warping and retouching and so on ...

Pretty good for a first go with the new Softlighter! I've been using a similar umbrella box going on ten years now, and reallty like the quality of the light that the double-diffusion gives! For those not familiar with it, the Photek Softlighter is a modifier that Annie Liebovitz of RollingStone magazine has used on many,many shoots over the past decade or so.

Here is a before and after of the skin/hair re-touching:

 

[Derrel]

GOOD work! Not "too much" retouching work! Just the right amount! *

(* and by just the right amount, that's just one man's opinion: unlike some people, I detest excessive smoothing and prefer this more-naturalistic rendering; other prefer the reverse).