1st Time Ever To Edit a Face (Blemishes et al)

[PicOlio]

OK.... This is the very first time I've edited a photo in photoshop to actually do something to a human (I'm the WORST when it comes to people shots). Please critique the photo and photographer..but not the person in the pic... she can be sensitive and has graciously allowed me to work with her pics to try and learn with.

This is the image I chose to work with.... taken of her while she was floating in the pool today (the face after the flash would've been more fun though lol). At any rate... my challenge was to grayscale and to work on all of the blemishes...

http://www.picolio.com/Albums/album23/Absorbed_Original_072605.jpghttp://www.picolio.com/Albums/album23/Absorbed_Original_072605_001.jpg


This is what I ended up with...

http://www.picolio.com/Albums/album23/Absorbed_072605.jpg

Where do I go from here? I'm sure there is plenty to improve on..just need some CC to get me working in the right direction.

THANK YOU

[Radtech1]

PicOlio,

The biggest problem here is a couple of bad choices on your part.

First was subject and location. Why would you choose this? (That is an honest question, not just rhetoric.) What about this shot appealed to you? Blue, (the pool) and red (the skin blemishes) are highly contrasting colors. They tend to enhance the appearance of each other. All the blue water just makes the blemishes look all the more visible.

Additionally, water tends to be cooler than the body. Capillaries constrict, the skin takes on a more blue or white hue. Blemishes stay red. AGAIN, they seem more evident than they are.

For both reasons, you have your subject in the worse possible environment for her. Get her the heck out of the water into a yellow or golden environment. Natural candlelight would work better for her.

Second bad choice is the mono-conversion for part of the shot. Initially, it does not help the appearance of the blemishes. Contributing to the problem here is this: (Keep in mind that "all caps" is the Internet equivalent of yelling, ok, here goes.) THIS TYPE OF TREATMENT IS OH SOOOOO FIVE MINUTES AGO!!!!

This has become a cliche! The novelty is gone! Spielberg did it in "Schindler's List" - that was 1993 my friend! Even then it was derivative!

But....

If you are hellbent on working on this shot, here is how to deal with the blemish situation.

First, the face. Do a magic wand selection of the face, then copy and paste that selection onto it's own layer. Gaussian blur (2 pixels is enough for this minimized image, but, correspondingly more for the full sized working version.) Use the Erase Tool (soft edged, about 10 pixels to erase the eyes, brows and nostrils of the "face layer". Adjust opacity and hue to taste.

For the blemishes on the chest, the cone stamp works fine.

If you want I could post a 5 minute version of the results, but I won't do so without permission.

Rad

[Jemmind]

Not a critique but just my opinion...
it's a nice picture. Your friend or whoever in the pool. It's not like you were trying for a studio shot. It's a picture that she might have said whoh, throw it away but you made her look flawless and beautiful and ethreal and she may say wow. THat's lovely. I don't think it's a bad photo to work with. The only thing I don't like is the crop.
just my thoughts
Julie

[NickyBlade]

Great job cloning out the blemishes. I find myself doing that with almost all of my shots, even just family snaps... I like the effect you added too. I bet she'll be thrilled with this one. One thing, it looks like the hair is a bit over sharpened, I like how soft it looks in the original. (Soft as in texture, the focus is terrific)

[sorashell]

I'm a total layperson so I don't have too much to say, except the hair so sharp looks unnatural. Underwater hair is supossed to be soft and cloud-like...that's part of the appeal.

[Big_B]

To be honest, the very pale skin make it look like she's drowned. I'm not sure if that's what you were trying to achieve. As radtech says, it may be better to try with an 'easier' photo.