I dont have much experience dealing with portrait photography. After looking though hundred of good portrait photos and trying to capture it in detail with a basic classic composition, I still have no idea how to create good after retouch images using Photoshop.

For example



Her skin is so smooth, and the tones are decent and not over done, theres some texture too, which is amazing. How did he do that? I tried asking the photographer but he said it was all natural. Is there a tutorial where I could learn the basic and advance of portrait after retouch?

Thank you.

He say's its's all natural...... I think not. Anyway try this for a start : http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/

Thanks man. Any more?

be very careful using anything you find online. that site is full of button pushing silly-ness (retouchpro). the image you posted looks blurry. just because some skin texture is showing doesn't mean it's not blurred. retouching is an art and takes many years to master. those looking for retouching help online are generally looking for buttons to push (actions, etc). You have to put the time in and do it right to get real, respected results. what you posted just looks amateur. But, if that's what you want, go nuts with those tuts you find online.

This photo looks extremely plasticky to me. This is not a photo anymore, it is a hybrid between a photo and a painting. Probably achieved by a despeckle/denoise filter on everything except the eyes, mouth and steel button.
Unfortunately magazines tend to offer this style as the 'real deal', especially magazines showing more skin than clothes.
Please do not turn living people's pictures into plastic monsters unless you are paid for doing so.

No reputable magazine makes images look like what was posted by the thread starter. No Vogue, no Harpers Bazaar, Nylon,l'Oficciel, no Elle, W, the list goes on and on, no no no. Some hip hop skin mag maybe, but not real magazines.

(I get paid well to do beauty retouching in NYC)

Yes there may be a lot of button pushing on retouchpro but there are also some good ideas in between. Pick and choose what works best. I know you are a working pro and know the methods for high-end skin retouching but he has to start somewhere.

Wolfman,

Yeah, definitely. The starting somewhere though could just get him in trouble is all I'm saying because if he learns all these wrong ways, he'll never learn the right and train his eye to accept yuck. Just saying he should be careful because while there might be some info for him there, those that practice and give examples on that site are horrible for the most part. Quite astoundingly so what with the amount of time and interest.

btw, what is your username there? Obviously you could guess mine, but please keep it to yourself.

I was in the same situation a year ago when I did my first real portrait shoot. I read some of the tutorials on retouchpro, tried some plug-ins, and thought I got decent results. I looked at the photos just a few days later and ewwww... You really need to take a step back to appreciate just how difficult it is to make believable but "flawless" human skin and retouch portraits. I'm somewhat proficient in getting my non-portrait shots to look ok, but we're so used to seeing faces that any mistakes or overdoing it is readily apparent.

I'd like to point out the obvious: get the lighting right, choose models with good complexion, and hire a make-up artist and a hair stylist. There's only so much you can do in post.

A makeup artist and hair stylist should be the #1 concern over 'how to retouch'. Without them, you will never ever get really good results.

but you've got to understand that not everyone here is a working photographer and would be willing to pay about 500 bucks or more just to hire a make up artist to get good results.

you haven't thought about those who just want to get some experience and shoot for the hobby sake.

I'm sorry, but with all your comments. I haven't seem to found a decent solution to solve my problem from you yet.

Try this http://www.christyschuler.com/retouching.html

I pray that that model never ever seas this video

Michael

wow, never saw this coming. But thanks.