Retouching digicam pics with a grunge look: before and after
Neil April 5th, 2008
I found these pictures in a Model Mayhem thread where a bunch of photographers were trading retouching tips
I saw these pictures, which look to be shot with a consumer digicam and on-board flash.
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.
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.
