Is this too sharp?

[mschiff]

This is a picture of the beautiful Jenni from Rolando's Orlando workshop. I am wondering if the face needs to be softened more than I have already done. If so, what would you do to soften it?

Thoughts?



-- Martin

[kgphoto]

I don't know if "soften" is the right word. The skin looks mottled, but not rough, so blending of tones is where I would focus my energies. A diffuse glow would help blend it together, just don't over do it.

[Hdvannjr]

Martin,
On my monitor the skin definitely looks porous. I would add a gaussian blur and a layer mask.
David

[Stecyk]

On my monitor it has an artificial plastic look. Look at the transition zone between the hairline of her scalp and forehead. The forehead has been heavily retouched. The inside of her eye sockets toward the bridge of her nose also appear retouched. Given that she's young and beautiful, I'd like to see her natural look without the retouching.

[PhotoDave1]

This is a good learning example for those of us who are not as strong in PhotoShop as we might like to be or for those of us who want to learn more.

It would be nice if someone would put together a tutorial, possibly with screen shots, and post it in the Forums on how to use the Gaussian Blur tool and Layers to accomplish the sort of look and effect that is being referenced in this thread.

Thanks in advance.

[Hdvannjr]

Dave,
I would be more than happy to provide a tutorial, but I am unable to post attachments according to the "Posting Rules." At least I think that is what the problem is. I've been trying to figure out for the last hour how to post screen shots. As a moderator can you give me permission to post attachments?
David

[That_Look_Photo]

I would do this to make it look better. Put a * copy * of the image on the screen. And make sure the layer palette is visable. Clean up any lines and scars before this. healing tool and stamp tool.

1. select just the face in photoshop. use the lasso tool.
2. hit ctrl +J on the keyboard to copy the face to a new layer.
.3 to blurr the skin go to Filter >blurr>gaussian blurr. increase the Radius until all the texture on the face is smooth. don't go overboard with it. try 15px. and click apply.
.4 select the eraser tool with the opacity set to 100%. And remove the blurr from the eyes and mouth and anyplace you don't want smooth. Set brush size to the size that will do the job.
.5 Now to bring back texture go to Filter>Noise>Add noise. put a check mark in monochromatic and Gaussin boxes. enter 2 for the amount and click ok.
.6 Now go to the layers palette and adjust opacity to around 50%

That should get you started.

[PhotoDave1]

Originally Posted by Hdvannjr

Dave,
I would be more than happy to provide a tutorial, but I am unable to post attachments according to the "Posting Rules." At least I think that is what the problem is. I've been trying to figure out for the last hour how to post screen shots. As a moderator can you give me permission to post attachments?
David

David:

Thanks for your response and your willingness to help others on this site. Unfortunately, you are probably asking the wrong person about screen captures. I have attempted them before and failed. Supposedly you do a "Ctrl - Print Screen" and then Paste it into a program like Photo Bucket or PhotoShop but I have never been able to get it to work for me but maybe others here can point out the error of my ways and help all of us.

The information posted by That Look Photography looks good and I will try it out the next time I do a shoot (which is this Saturday) and see how it goes. I'll post my results here for you to review and critique.

Thanks to That Look Photography for his assistance.

[mschiff]

The best way to do screen captures is with Snag-IT. Great program and well worth the price.

http://www.techsmith.com

-- Martin

[mschiff]

How about this one? Better, worse???



-- Martin