tutorial is sponsored by the generously donated pinup images of Kelly @ Bay Area Pinups

This is some of the fun vintage effects achieved with the Vintage packages, video guide after the jump:

Would you like to bring a truely vintage and artistic look to your boudoir photos?

Well start out with a great photographer like Liesl Cowley, Kelly Hsiao and use the finishing tools linked below in these video tutorials:

Leave a comment if you would like to hire Neil to retouch your images for a vintage effect!

The Make Light Real Create cart has these products available to help your boudoir retouching and vintage photoshop retouching:

	Vintage Master Kit Vintage Master Kit – 18 Postcards + 30 Textures + Multiple Choice Action Set You want to master the vintage look – bring that soft, worn lovability…	$89.00 … more info
	ONE ACTION: workflow and training Available for Immediate Download The complete ONE ACTION Photoshop workflow action with training video. Set includes: ONE: lightroom preset/camera…	$79 … more info
	Vintage Multiple Choice Action Set Vintage Multiple Choice Action Set The Vintage Multiple Choice action produces 11 layers for you to blend into your vintage style. The action does…	$39.00 … more info
	Vintage Soft Color Faded color, bleached negative antique vintage styling The vintage soft color action will gently desaturate your image with a soft chocolate antique…	$4.00 … more info Max: 1
	Golden Touch Monochrome Sunny Golden B+W Toning Photoshop Action free download Part of the Golden Touch Series Golden Touch Video Tutorial = training + inspiration Golden…	$9.00 … more info
	Skin Smoothing Photoshop Actions Skin smoothing for perfect portraits description	$9.00 … more info
	Draw a soft vignette action Draw a soft vignette action This quick photoshop action helps you draw attention and focus to an area of the image you select with one of three…	$4.00 … more info

The classic illustrated pinup styles are commemorated in the work of these artist if you’re looking for tone and style clues:

• Edward Runci – Google Search
• Alberto Vargas – Google Search
• Gil Elvgren – Google Search
• George Petty – Google Search

First we retouch the skin to taste, consider the light when you do (opensextensive skin retouch tutorial)!

After skin retouch we have a richer and more directional feel to the light.

A Black and white conversion using L*A*B* color mode for luminosity.  A very classy B+W conversion.  Once we’ve shown the client the expected results we can easily proof them something more artistic, and unexpected using Beautiful Blurs, or Lighting Overlays.

Here a basic texture file from the Bleautiful Blur Overlays – Volume 2 gives the picture a little blue juice which contrasts the warmth of the skin with a Photoshop layer mode of soft light.

the Lighting Overlays Disk 1 streaky image, gives the image a funky modern splash on the left side when I used a Photoshop Layer mode of screen.

There are two answers to why to be creative – one is from your own motivation, the other is to sell more to your clients.  With the ONE ACTION workflow you could complete this whole series in less than 3min simply saving out a JPEG at each stage.

 .  . 

• Understanding the suggestive power of darkness
• Eye of the muse : photoshop retouching deconstructed

I know these are written to a more abstract level and so today I’d like to provide a more hands-on experience and so I have posted this L*A*B* colorspace photoshop file for you to download.  There are eleven layers in this file, from the starting image, on up through the finished look.

Let’s dig in

The original image was posted in a retouch thread I was participating in and was not shot by me. Sometimes I find using an image in which I am not invested so heavily in it’s creation, frees me to respond more clearly to the image elements for retouching.  Consider a stock image, if you are doing the assignment:

Self Assignment:

Take a high key image, and manipulate it to a low-key image.  Then revel in your new understanding, and sense of accomplishment for such a dramatic change.  Reflect on your feelings about the image in it’s differing stages…. your resistance to some changes, and your acceptance of others – this is the path of your creativity.

The Retouch Tutorial in LAB colorspace

So to begin we have a high-key image.

I start my image retouching workflow with the ONE ACTION, that gives me a ’shaping step’ allowing me to manipulate the overall contrast and the contour of any of the various sized shapes in the image.  The action also loads up a basic set of adjustment layers because specific dodging and burning with image specific curves are how I get at the heart of my retouching goals.

The shadow side of the subject’s back seems blotchy and too dark so I duplicate my layer, apply spot specific retouch with the healing/clone lasso and adjust the layer with a lightening curve.  I mask the layer out using +F6 (for those using the ONE ACTION set) and paint in the area I need softened.

Meditating further on the overall tone, the lips seem too light.  I would like them to balance closer with the cheeks so I create a curves adjustment layer and darken the dark point and light point.  That looks too flat so I put two points between the endpoints giving it an S curve.  The pink was added by inserting a midpoint in the A* Channel and raising it a couple points.

As I started out my retouch without any big assumptions, I wasn’t intending to completely reverse the tonality of this image.  But in the moment I was in, I didn’t appreciate the coldness next to the pink of the cheeks, it seemed to add coldness to the image.  So I went about giving the image a warm tint by editing the B* Channel. I added a midpoint to the curve and raised it a few points,  I changed the endpoints of the curve to lower overall contrast in the B* Channel so that the yellow created was by no means a saturated hue.

To accentuate and smooth the highlights for the glamourous look I used a basic Gaussian Overlay layer. To get the effect, start a new layer – Photoshop Menu item “Image –> Apply Image” with the settings:

• Layer: Merged
• Channel: Lab
• Target (double check that it’s your new layer)
• Blending: Normal
• This will have created a layer that looks like everything you’ve done
  • Photoshop Menu “Filter –> Blur –> Gaussian Blur”
  • Select a size of 10-20 pixels

Change the layer mode to soft light and pull back the opacity 80% or to taste for your image.  The F1 command in the ONE ACTION workflow, will set this up for you – you should run it after you’ve retouched the majority of the elements of your image, as the final smoothing kiss.

The warm, golden touched image above is nice, but the bright highlight on the side of the subject’s face and shoulder seem to be distracting me. The ‘presence’ of the image flows from the subject’s penetrating eyes.  SO, I go to my collection of textures looking for answers….

Grabbing a quick Beautiful Blur, I drop it in and change the layer blending mode to COLOR, allowing for the luminosity (lightness or darkness) to flow from the underlying image – but all color to emanate from the COLOR layer.  Above is a close up of the resulting look.  One layer is not regularly enough when it comes to achieving sophisticated color, so I dove back into my collections and grabbed a darker image from the Organic Vignette set (still being developed) and applied it with a layer mode of multiply.

The result of the blurry and colorful image set to multiply is seen here.  To help you visualize what kind of images work well as texture overlays, shown here is the image used in Multiply mode.

While interestingly flat in contrast, I feel the urge to give it a slight boost, and so I follow that creative urge with another adjustment layer.  As I paint I paint with the intent to make light real.

Notice the S curve adjusting the highlights – painted in with my pressure sensitive Wacom tablet I achieve a touch of contrast across the subject’s near cheek, forehead, eyes, near shoulder, and nape of the neck.  

The light becomes real as I have understood the suggestive power of darkness – my creative urge feels calmed and satisfied.

Here’s a good look at it in a screen filling size:

Thanks for reading, I hope this tutorial enlightens your understanding and creative path.

These Elements were used in the making of this image:

here’s our finished image for this discussion:

Now you’re right that’s not the EXACT same image, but there’s just a moment’s difference – I couldn’t find the un-retouched version.

I did find a smaller resolution version – again the point of contention is the vanishing point in the composition.  You may compose this while you’re shooting – and it may be proper as you’re composing the environmental elements in your image – but what is the compelling ‘moment’ of the image?

His EYES!

So the main point I want to communicate to you when processing your images in Photoshop is to FOCUS on the best elements in the pictures you’ve shot and highlight them using both the known principles of design & art – as well as keep your tools from distracting your heart of personal inspiration.  I’ve designed the ONE ACTION set as a professional grade retouching workflow for creative expression

The difference between ‘toning’ an image and expressing it is that toning comes from a preset outside your image (applied into it). The goal of toning is to reach into your image and pull more expressive power from it with the inspired use of tonality. The emotional element of the photograph is emanating from the groom’s eyes – the environmental element of the strong line created at the ceiling corner is drawing our attention away from those eyes.  Let me refresh your memory:

As I say, I understand the darkness to experience the light.  The light of love is emanating from this groom’s eyes and I have darkened the distracting elements of the frame with a vignette from  the Veritas Vignette texture pack found in the Create Cart.    

The vignette accentuates two design principles: 1. Light colors attract our attention 2. Continuity (of the background line and window lines) is broken leaving the remaining in-tact shapes as the highlight of our attention.  Notice the gentle darkening of the groom’s collar – by no means an accident, quickly and simply controlled with the ONE ACTION’s automated layer masks and an Wacom tablet.  I restrained all the highlights in the image except for the ones accentuating the groom’s facial expression using the texture file as a vignette and basic adjustment levels in photoshop.

So what do you understand about the suggestive power of darkness?

Darkness says: “There’s nothing to see here”, “Nothing going on round here”, or “Maybe something beneath the surface, but nothing you can see”.  So darkness is your assistant when it comes to hiding elements that are distracting!  That is why we ‘Hear the Shadows‘ to listen to our creative impulses.

After:

I used textures that I designed to provide a gentle and organic vignette feel to an image to darken the edges and focus the attention on the focal point of my composition. Those textures are available for purchase as the Veritas Vignette texture pack from the create store.  

I then added a little edge border to fancy it up just a little further….  I work in LAB color mode using my ONE action that allows me better control over burning down unruly highlights, and bringing out the colors with saturation control!

The ONE ACTION set is a professional grade retouching workflow for creative expression. 

I’m grateful for you interest in my work. I was teaching in the UK back in June and joined the BPPA.  I hope my work continues to take me around the world. I’m disappointed to tell you that no filter set will help you achieve a unique look – in fact quite the opposite will occur….I’ve a strong opinion on this, so sorry if I come off well – opinionated!

You can listen to some of my theories from my creative journal, try out: http://makelightreal.com/blue-photoshop-tutorial/ as a start.

You’ll find that my philosophy is to approach each image as a blank canvas, respond to the elements and develop the picture to the highest emotional state I feel possible. Some images receive careful raw conversion for color and contrast, but no more alteration:

Some receive a greater amount of attention, usually to help get at the emotion/effect I’m feeling:

Much of it simply has to do with basic doge and burn, which accomplish with a simple workflow that operates in lab color mode: http://makelightreal.com/one-action-photoshop-workflow-tutorial/ So the premise of my action set is to make the basics of art theory/color theory as close to possible to my fingertips to be able to reach for the tool, and have it as close to my subconscious artistic mind as possible.

The trouble with filters are they encourage you to push a button instead of stretch your inner vision abilities

The goal I reach for in my photoshop workflow actions, is the quickness to achieve the look that resonates with my heart – but also avoid the pitfall of escaping from true artistic resonance.  Let me just type out the inner dialog that might occur when I open an image into my workflow.  First off as I open an image, I’m often distracted from the focal point and emotional resonance by some feature in the photo, most often the response is to doge down (darken that element) – this is one of the biggest reasons I work in L*A*B* as you need to dodge to color.  Removing a distracting element is a negative action, so I will often look next at what needs to come out – or be highlighted – in positive response.  The automated adjustment layers in the ONE Actionset are not the solution, they are a starting point that is at my fingertip to customize.  As I open the layer I seek the specific curve that blends with the rest of the picture and resonates with the artistic vibe in that picture. Or I do one of a number of advanced curve adjustments that do everything from smoothing freckles to polarizing areas of the tonal scale.  This pause is not bad, it’s cause for careful reflection.  The adjustment layers can interact with texture layers, vignette layers, and be re-ordered to refine and define your intended result.  

The goal for the ONE Actionset is to put reflection without distraction at your fingertips.

Tao 46
There is no greater calamity

Than not knowing what is enough.

Ever wonder why blue is such a wonderful color?

Blue is the hardest color for camera sensors to capture, and the hardest color for CMYK printers to print.

So how we deal with it in Photoshop is of utmost importance.

We’re sitting here on this beautiful blue jewel hanging in the galaxy, wouldn’t it be great if you captured some of that uniqueness in your images?

If you’d like to continue learning about the possibilities to accentuate and control the blue channel, purchase the Beautiful Blues Screen cast Training video.

I saw these pictures, which look to be shot with a consumer digicam and on-board flash.

View the big one on flickr

Here is a before and after view of what I did with the image, finishing with a little texture overlay and warm B+W tone. I chose to abandon the color since the background was so bad and dark. I could have adjusted the skintones in color, but with that eye makeup – I would still have found it a difficult picture to like. By adjusting to B+W and using the fine tuned tonal controls over density in the Luminance channel, I was able to draw the attention straight to the eyes. The texture is a good way to add blur and interest over a nondescript and non-essential background. The texture appears visually as a surface element creating a sense of space between the print and the background. Thanks to the power of LAB color mode and the one action workflow I didn’t waste all day.

View the big one on flickr

Again here, I just want to emphasize that the ONE Action will always promote you getting to the essence of any particular shot. With the power of lab color, you can get at that essence more quickly and with less effort. As a point of discussion, I used the transform controls to level and improve the symmetry of Lilia’s face. After that I helped shape the upper cheek bones by lightening them, and providing a nice shadow under them to accentuate the and slim the face. Same process on the neck…. I applied a texture overlay here to help the head float in a luminous background that overlaps the shoulders. I only spent 5 minutes to achieve this affect with the ONE Action and my library of textures, but I’d charge my client at least $40.

Included in your purchase of the ONE Action set is a high resolution walk through video to help give you your bearings on using the LAB color space for your photoshop workflow.

Final image result:

Download the fiberglass insulation texture used in this tutorial. Visit Texture King.com

This photoshop tutorial attempts to mimic the traditional printing processes such as Daguerreotype, wet plate collodion, hand painted emulsion and filing the negative carrier for full frame prints. These traditional photographic processes created printing effect that were generated as light passed through the negative, or print material leaving artifacts of hand made imperfection. Modern printing papers such as Innova, Hahnemuhle Paper, and Moab offer the digital artist a fast and tactile solution for creating wonderfully warm pieces in Photoshop.

So the object in Photoshop is to use layers and blending modes to create the effect of light passing through an imperfect emulsion. To do this you will need at least two layers, one in a darkening type mode such as Darken, Multiply, Hard light, or normal mode with light pixels erased. To finish the effect realistically, a second border must be applied over the darkening border so that the two borders interact three dimensionally.

Other shot’s I’ve created borders for:

You can download some border and edge effects from several Flickr Groups….

UPDATE: 10/31/08 – custom borders can now be achieved with some control from within Lightrom using OnOne’s PhotoFrame 4

Photoshop Document tutorials included in the Light Touch Texture Package