Can anyone point me in the direction of some good articles on post processing portraits - particularly interested in the technique of smoothing out skin as seen on fashion shoots etc.
Thanks for the pointers. I was already using similar techniques but dont seem to get quite the same effect as seen in fashion mags - thought there might be more to it.
I personally don't like techniques that use Gaussian Blur--I don't like the unnaturaly plasticky effect.
I've had much better luck with the Dust and Scratches filter set to 11 and 11. The Dust and Scratches filter seems to identify the underlying texture of the skin and erase everything that isn't real texture (like blemishes). I follow that up with a small amount of USM to tighten it up.
I mask out major areas I don't want changed (large features) and apply it first to a separate layer, then reduce the opacity.
My difference is to use the Dust and Scratches filter (set at 11-11) instead of Guassian Blur and then adding noise.
The difference is that the Dust and Scratches filter will replicate the real texture of the skin--how the texture curves around features and over contours--instead of just laying down an even distribution of noise.
RDKirk wrote:
I personally don't like techniques that use Gaussian Blur--I don't like the unnaturaly plasticky effect.
I've had much better luck with the Dust and Scratches filter set to 11 and 11.
There is no plasticky effect if you do it the proper way, which means using proper opacity.
Btw, gaussian blur is not the proper way to do it. Most professional retouchers I've met prefer Lunacore's method, which is "median" since it avoids "bleeding colors". I've tried your method but all I can say is that it's difficult to control and you easily end up with "blocky" textures.
great links/tips to all who posted them. As a photographer, the idea of everyone having the same perfect skin and airbrushed look is tiring, but it does indeed make clients happy... and they pay the bills
Alright, I just ran a test where I took a shot of my girlfriend, I cloned her face only without the eyes etc.. I did one with the G.blur, I had to then add noise to it, so it didn't look so fake... It turned out extreamly well, er so I thought...
Next I used Dust Noise removal or what ever, everything the same just on the layer, and let me say I was REALLY impressed with it, I thought holy cow it left so much detail esp in the noise, it didn't flaten out the bridge one bit, but it got rid of everything. I was so impressed I tried it on another picture, and low and behold it didn't work as well, not at all, the other picture was slightly on the dark side, a little moody for the filter I guess
Anyway, on to Medium or what ever the other guy suggested, same deal same layer, and boy I was blown away, at first I thought the dust noise thing was better..... But no after reviewing it, I realized it took away spots better, however, to make it look unrealistic so to make it look realistic, I had to addnoise...
anyway, thats just my opinion... I'd post images, but they're all large tifs, and I cant seem to make tiffs into jpg files in photoshop without doing that nonsense convert for web, and that just takes the colors and bends them over and....
Anyway, yeah so my vote is for Medien er what ever its called...
