7Dii resolution too good

I did not anticipate having this situation. I took some holiday photos of elderly people. The subjects are unlikely to appreciate the impressive detail. Their wrinkles are just a little too prominent. Any suggestions on how to handle this? I'm contemplating using a mild blur filter in post processing. I never had this problem with film.

There are lots of tools you can use. Sometimes I like to brush on some minus clarity in Lightroom or in photoshop I duplicate the layer, heal out a lot of the wrinkles and then drop the opacity of that layer till I get something that looks natural but less wrinkly. This is one of the things that I don't really get when people start discussing which portrait lens is sharpest. We take a super sharp portrait and spend all kind of time in post making it look less sharp!! Good luck....

Heya,

Use a soft lens and you won't have that issue.

The resolution isn't too good. It's just the contrast and sharpness of the lens relative to the resolution is showing more detail than you think is flattering.

This is common in fashion portrait photography which is why they often soften the skin or paint it, because even those 22 year old models have facial blemish and don't want to see that in their profile photographs nor do magazine or ezine portfolios want that. So again, even using an old low resolution camera with a junk it lens heavily stopped with with good lighting will produce something too sharp and show skin flaw that needs post process correction for display for a flattering look.

You could just use a minor blur on them as a layer mask and blend it so it's not too intense, it will soften it up without losing detail.

Very best,

They used to make soft focus lenses for portraits. Some were variable. Sometimes, on large format, we would do a "Grease Job." Take a look at post #5: Photos of soft focus filters? It works easier on small format because you can stop down & see what you're doing.

Next time use softer light.

Your subjects have features on their faces and skin that the lens and camera sensor recorded. If you want to go about changing their appearance to something more "flattering" there are all sorts of methods. Google "skin smoothing" or "skin retouching." Don't go overboard, be subtle.

kirk

Here's a Photoshop action I use. It works well for very subtle smoothing without destroying texture. It duplicates the image, applies the action, then puts up a mask. Paint over the skin to reveal the effects. Don't paint the eyes or the mouth or any substantial facial hair (like mustaches or beards). Skin only. Then you can toggle the new layer to view the effects.

http://bimmermail.com/​Export.atn

I guess we should know what program(s) Joe has at his disposal.

M_Six wrote in post #17838091
Here's a Photoshop action I use. It works well for very subtle smoothing without destroying texture. It duplicates the image, applies the action, then puts up a mask. Paint over the skin to reveal the effects. Don't paint the eyes or the mouth or any substantial facial hair (like mustaches or beards). Skin only. Then you can toggle the new layer to view the effects.

http://bimmermail.com/​Export.atn

Interesting action, I'm interested in trying it actually.

I opened it and applied it in CS5 to a JPG just to see how it looks on some skin. I can't seem to paint it on though, and it's probably user error... I tried paintbrush with white/black and eraser, no changes. Any tips?

Edit: Nevermind, got it working. Works nicely too. Not too over the top, soft enough to help, but not so soft that it looks totally photoshopped unless looked at 1:1. But at full view, nice touch for a dressed portrait. After painting I just adjusted to 80% opacity for a smoother transition and it seems to do quite nice on my salty mug.

Very best,

MalVeauX wrote in post #17838110
Interesting action, I'm interested in trying it actually.

I opened it and applied it in CS5 to a JPG just to see how it looks on some skin. I can't seem to paint it on though, and it's probably user error... I tried paintbrush with white/black and eraser, no changes. Any tips?

Edit: Nevermind, got it working. Works nicely too. Not too over the top, soft enough to help, but not so soft that it looks totally photoshopped unless looked at 1:1. But at full view, nice touch for a dressed portrait. After painting I just adjusted to 80% opacity for a smoother transition and it seems to do quite nice on my salty mug.

Very best,

Yeah, I'm occasionally not thrilled with the output and adjust opacity accordingly. It really depends on the skin and lighting and so on. Works better on some images than others. It works well to even out skin tones in harsh lighting, too. It's adapted from a Kelby tutorial, if I recall correctly.

Good feedback. I was mostly interested in determining if I was being too self-critical. Now I have the sense that skin smoothing is part of the standard palette. Using softer light is an option. But it's not always an option. Shooting a non-profit fundraiser with a few assistants carrying around light modifiers would be, well, problematical.

Thanks all.

Someone asked... I use Photoshop CS5 and DPP for the 7Dii raws. Soon Capture One Pro for raws (when the budget allows).

A long time ago I read that Bob Guccione, who publishes Penthouse magazine and is the chief photographer, uses an 8x10 large format view camera, but then puts a piece of glass smeared with thin coat of Vaseline in front of the lens to create the softening effect more desirable for the magazine.

I always chuckle about this story of him using a large format camera and lens, only to artificially soften the results.

aviography wrote in post #17839614
A long time ago...I always chuckle about this story of him using a large format camera and lens, only to artificially soften the results.

"A long time ago..." besides using a large sheet of film, there were other considerations, some of which we can now do with PS. When you have some time, Google view camera swings and tilts

Nik makes some great filters, one is a glamour filter, or a soften skin filter.