Make sure you click on the image to see it full size.
Ok here is my questions on these types of edits. On my screen (laptop working from my reading chair) the original looks posterized around her nose and cheeks, ( I will look on my calibrated editing system on Monday) . Is that what you guys see? BTW I use guys a generic.
The edited image looks soft and blury, the skin looks plastic with no character. Is that what you see?
I ask this because my experience with these things many times is that the only way to really see them is to opem them in an image editor.
You are right on all counts. On a laptop it does look posterized-in the editor on a calibrated screen it does not.
The image is soft and blurry except the eyes, hair, and lips-by design.
The skin looks more plastic on laptop than in the image editor.
But: It Sells!
The point of this retouch is this: I have a high school senior this year and my home has been bombarded with brochures for senior photographs. Every 4-color piece that arrives is showing this style of retouching. I sat in on two webinars this week where this photo retouching style was demoed. Every kid I have shot recently has asked for this kind of retouch. Whether it appeals to us or not, our clients will ask for it and ask us to perform the retouch. We have to know how to accomplish the "look".
It is kind of like the red fire engine in the black and white photo. Selective Color, Grunge, Gritty, are all trendy things to do. Regardless of our affinity for or against them, we must be able to accomplish it if the client asks.
So, back to the webinar: After watching this tutorial, I searched the web and found virtually no PhotoPaint "High Glamor" retouching tutorials. It takes less than five minutes to accomplish the file on the right vs. the file on the left. All of the Photoshop instructions port nicely to PhotoPaint.
By the way, this makes a stunning print-particularly on an art-rag.
Rikk Flohr said:Selective Color, Grunge, Gritty, are all trendy things to do. Regardless of our affinity for or against them, we must be able to accomplish it if the client asks.
Agreed, and I'm glad that you understand that, I was not criticizing, I was acknowledging what I saw. We all have to sell what the client wants, what we create for our own satisfaction is anothe thing.
Rikk Flohr said: By the way, this makes a stunning print-particularly on an art-rag.
I understand we do it all the time. What we are seeing is that many of the local photographers are buying their own printers.