Candace Lemarr wrote:
> ...
> Second to offer up an example of some "extreme retouching" of my own.
>
> Personally I only like to get rid of offensive things, i.e. hair in the eyes,
> zits, necklace connector in the front of the neck, holes in clothing, or
> stains on clothes.
Agree. And I agree with you about the teeth/smile.
> Then I typically try to brighten/sharpen the eyes a bit
Crucial to have sharp eyes. Otherwise the "people" connection doesn't
happen when viewing. And they may look like they are on drugs from the blur.
> and if people want that "soft" glow to their pics, I'll do that also with a
> little Gaussian Blur on a duplicate layer, then layer mask to keep the eyes
> sharp, sometimes nose and mouths as well (babies). The Gaussian Blur works
> wonders on baby acne.
>
I generally agree. In this particular case, enough gaussian blur to
clear up the acne and soften the birthmark just wipes out the look of
real skin.
> <Snip more detail>
>
I'm puzzled why the one they selected has the skin lightened so much. It
plays down skin imperfections, but looks quite unhealthy/unnatural to my
eye.
I've taken the liberty of doing an alternate version that is very
slightly warmed and with skin tones brought down just a bit. It's warmed
somewhat less than the catch lights in the eyes suggest, but I was
mindful of your comment that she has pale skin. On the other hand, we're
busy fixing other flaws, so why not make the skin a bit nicer tonally too.
Rather than soften and lighten everything to diminish skin flaws and
lines around the mouth and below the eyes, I dealt with them directly,
smoothing and healing here and there. And I sharpened the eyes a lot,
which I think makes the face come alive. Eyebrows sharpened too, as soft
brows next to sharp lashes look unnatural. I didn't bother with
necklace, etc.
The one she chose is also awfully contrasty, with odd contrast in the
eyes, compressed skin tonality and hair shadows gone completely black. I
didn't like that.
Here's all three of your versions and both of mine.
<http://www.moosemystic.net/Gallery/Others/Candace/Port1/P1449.htm>
> All in all it was a great learning experience for me to see what I could do.
>
You've been building your skills since you were last posting, excellent!
> But I don't advocate people making these kinds of major changes to themselves.
>
> And Moose...Hi backactcha!! :-)
>
Thanks!
Moose
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