Spring is definitely here and it was a perfect day to adventure in the Santa Barbara mountains. Aside from the radiant sunshine and fresh air we found a great banana slug and some amazing natural light for the portrait at the end.
I have really been feeling the pressure of my final semester in college this last week. With only 2 weeks until grad review and 3 until graduation my To-Do list grows by the minute. I linked up with a local designer this week to shoot some really magical looks. The image here is the clean shot I started with and have used as my perfume assignment for my beauty course here at Brooks. I wanted a look that was natural and not over the top. I wanted it to apply across all fields and connect with a broad range of perfume customers.
Over this past week and a half we have been diving into the world of outsourcing our work. Although my career at this point does not demand that I send my work out to be retouched by others, it was a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and communication skills for the future. The first image is the file my retoucher did for me and the second is my own work.
Communication and clarity about what I expect from the beginning is really crucial in this kind of relationship. The gentleman that I worked with had great skills and was great at quickly touching up any additional adjustments I wished to have made. I typically enjoy a cooler color palette when it comes to my beauty work. In this instance you can see my skin tones are slightly cooler with a bit more contrast. Again, this comes back to communication and building a good relationship with your retoucher. As our working relationship grows and we do more work together, the more cohesive our final products will be as we both gain understanding of each others skills and style preferences.
Hey everyone!
I hope all of you who caught my last post were able to take away some skills to enhance your own postproduction processes. It has been difficult putting together a creative team for projects like this. From having models bail last minute or make up artist who don’t quite come through on the look you are aiming for. But these are just bumps along the way of the creative process. A fellow photographer friend of mine uses a local artist for his make up and it is always right on the money and looks so great. I brought her in and also had the chance to work with aspiring actress Lauryn Harrington to create this beautiful look. Berenice, the makeup artist was incredible to work with and the environment was so light and fun on set.
Wishing you all a beautiful and creative week. Keep your eyes peeled for some upcoming motion portraits and video from the JadeNow Mermaid party I attended over the weekend!
This week we were given the assignment to shoot a beauty image with the intent of selling a cosmetic product. I wanted to do a real natural look so I went with a subtle eye shadow and kept the rest of the styling very minimal. I also thought this would be a good opportunity to go over some basic retouching techniques that I like to employ on images that require minimal work.
I apologize for the difficulty of the layout causing you switch back and forth between the text and images above. Tumblr doesn’t have the best options for in line image inserts.
In the first image you see above I just want to emphasize the importance of beginning your retouching with with a copied layered. There is nothing worse than forgetting this step and being stuck with adjustments you have made to the locked background layer. On my journey working in the digital art world flexibility is key.
In the second image I have created a blank layer to retouch on. This will minimize damage to your file as well as give you more flexibility for going back on any adjustments you may not be happy with. On this layer I used the clone stamp tool to touch up large noticeable blemishes on her chest and face. I will do more detailed retouching with other layers.
**Quick key** For adding a blank layer quickly use SHIFT+OPT+CMND+N
Moving onto the next image you can see I added two very important layers. The first being a ‘dodge’ layer which is just an unchanged curves adjustment placed on blending mode SREEN then inverted. The other being a ‘burn’ layer which is another unadjusted curves layer placed on blending mode MULTIPLE and again inverted. On each of these layers I have painted with a white brush at an opacity around 15-20% to even out skin tones. I often focus on the ‘dodge’ layer when working with blackheads and darkspot in the skin. Just zoom in nice and close and dodge those dark areas until you can balance the tonality with the surrounding skin. Note that the opacity of your brush may not always be in the range mentioned. Practice makes perfect and you will soon find the right density for each image.
Moving onto the next image I have merged all my previous layers up to one using a quick key command (SHIFT+CMND+OPT+E). This layer I used strictly for some light liquifying work. I used this tool to reshape her eyebrows as well as bringing in the squareness of her jaw line.
The following image consist of another retouch layer which I used to touch up a few spots I missed and another ‘dodge’ layer to add some shape to her neck and clavicle.
The next image is an added ‘dodge’ layer to accentuate the eyes and define the bridge of the nose.
Our final ‘in photoshop’ image is a contrast and color balance adjustment. The contrast was added by applying a black and white adjustment layer placed on soft light blending mode. I like to add contrast in this manner because I gives me more control and flexibility over the range of color channels I am working with. After bring the opacity of that layer down to preference I added a color balance to cool the skin and pull some of the magenta out of her skin. In the end the color grade of your image is really up to you and your own creative style.
Thanks for checking out the post and I hope this sets you on your way to improving your own work.
Hello all!
My blog is going to begin shifting gears over the next couple months. Although I am continuing to work on my visionary series and get ready for my installation at Lucidity 2013: The Totem’s Return. It has been a long and difficult path to get me to where I am in my creative career and feel beyond blessed to all those who have inspired and held me up along the way. I have just begun my final semester of college and am using this final time to get my foundation as strong as possible for my next leap. If you have been following me you know I am a people shooter. The next few months I will be pushing myself to take all my beauty work to the next level along with the help of my instructor Kelly Kirlin. Although I have fallen in love with the city of Santa Barbara I will be saying goodbye to this sunny coastal paradise and setting up shop in Los Angeles around late April. The following Images are from our first assignment. Kelly really set up our whole group with an incredible experience. Bringing in her personal make up artist and familiarizing us with what it takes to make a cohesive collaboration come to life. We also had the beautiful Christina from Pinkerton Modeling Agency spend the evening with us while allowing us to create some stunning beauty images of her. I have created diptychs of the before and after of each image to give some insight into the extensive postproduction this category of imagery demands. As this body of work grows I will be including short motion portraits and basic retouching tutorials as well.
Have a beautiful day!
This Parable is about the journey we all share, and the different levels of consciousness that we exist on today. We are all equal, and those who take the risk in letting go of the stuckness and go with the flow are often looked up at as great people. The Truth is that we are all great, and we simply need to see it, trust, and let go.
Beholder
© 2012 Edward Clynes
As you focus on the pronic geometry, allow the consciousness of its form to vibrate with the resonate receptor in the pineal. Taking you deeper and deeper into the ancient memories held within the libraries of your genetic codes.
As you journey back to the beginning…
Going beyond the confines of your race, creed, color and gender. As you shed the cultural interpretations that have manifested as your physical form. See yourself in many circles as the thread of your evolution has woven you through many tribes and many lives – spinning you with celestial magic - And linking you into the wheel of eternal existence.
As you sense your third eye - feel yourself submerge into that realm of your being.
This is the pathway to the pineal..
**Illustration created by myself. The text is from an excerpt of the air ceremony from the harmonious spirits at The Template
Visions of a Timeless Spirit
© 2012 Edward Clynes
Reflections
(via raiseyourvibration)
