|
| Original |
Final |
Ashley and the Dirty Bird
Here are the original and the batch-processed versions of our first photo. Ashley is wearing a very cool rainbow mesh bikini from Dirty Bird Bikinis
www.dirtybirdbikinis.com.
|
Step 1
Click to view a larger image
|
Step One:With border and sharpening
The border and the increased image sharpness are obvious.
This is a typical McFarland pose: hands in the hair, kneeling, facing the setting sun.
Raising the arms lifts the breasts and shows off the model's abs. And it is easier for a model
to pose in a kneeling position. Issues of leg and foot placement are removed and the model is free
to concentrate on expressions.
|
Step 2
Click to view a larger image
|
Step two: Smoothing the skin with blur and noise
From the tool palette (or using the corresponding key), enter Quick Mask mode (Q) and select the
Brush tool (B). With the brush set to normal, 100% opacity and 100% flow, "paint" over all skin
areas, being careful to avoid any edges. Here is where it is handy to zoom in on the screen image.
There are judgment calls to be made here. In general, you want to stay away from the edges of her
body. The "pop" in the image depends on those contrasty edges and you don't want to soften them,
so stay away from the water and the bikini. Facial features have to remain sharp so don't mask
the eyes, mouth, or the shadow that defines her nose. And don't touch that belly button.
Photoshop's default is to indicate the masked areas in red.
Exit Quick Mask mode (Q) and the red mask will be replaced by "marching ant" outlines.
Invert the mask with Select/Inverse, then select Filter/Blur/Gaussian Blur and set the radius
to 2.0. Add noise with Filter/Noise/Add Noise with the distribution set to Uniform and the
amount set at 1.8%. This combination smooths the skin but minimizes the overly-smooth waxy look.
|
Step 3
Click to view a larger image
|
Step three: Enhancing the details
Really sharp eyes are a requirement of this glamour style. So zoom in on the image, enter Quick
Mask mode (Q), select the Brush tool (B), again with 100% opacity and flow, and size the brush
to exactly match the diameter of her irises. With one click, select each iris, avoiding the whites
of her eyes. Exit Quick Mask (Q) and invert the mask with Select/Inverse.
Sharpen the selection with Filter/Sharpen/Unsharp Mask. The settings here vary with each shot but
for this picture use 100% with a radius of 3.0 and a threshold of 7.0. then deselect the mask with
Select/Deselect. You’ll notice that this technique enhances the contrast in her eyes.
As with most beach images, there are flyaway hairs here. One advantage of having an out-of-focus
background is that it is easy to invisibly remove such details. This isn't mandatory but
if you wish you can use the Clone tool (S), set at various diameters, to clone-out stray hair
with adjacent background data. While you are at it, clone-out the hole from her bellybutton
piercing.
|
Step 4
Click to view a larger image
|
Step 4: Body contouring and saturation
Given Ashley's physique, not much contouring needs to be done. But the line of her right hip
protrudes a bit, and you can even it out to match the other hip. Choose Filter/Liquify.
Liquify will pull in her hip and draw the adjacent data into the vacated space. In this case the
adjacent data is out-of-focus water, so the edit will be unnoticeable. To do this with a sharp,
detailed background would require the Clone tool and a lot more work.
In Liquify, set the brush pressure at 50, the mode at stiff, and the brush size at 50.
Centering the brush on the outline of her hip, draw it in toward her body slightly.
When it looks right, click OK.
Next we'll add saturation by adding contrast. This is where careful exposure of the original
photo pays off. Andy overexposes most of his photos by half an f/stop, so they can tolerate
a bit of darkening. Choose Image/Adjustments/Brightness-Contrast. Leave the brightness untouched
but bring the contrast up to +15. Depending on the image, this setting can range from 5 to 20.
|
Step 5
Click to view a larger image
|
Step five: Adding the logo and saving.
Finally, Andy opens the file with his logo and drags it into a corner of the current image.
The logo contains his website address so anyone who sees the image knows where to go to see more
photos or to contact Andy.
Flattening the image with Layer/Flatten Image fixes the logo to the image and readies it for saving.
Since this image is intended for display on the Web, a compromise between file size and image quality
must be made. Using File/Save for Web and a quality of 60 yields a roughly 60kb file with minimal
loss of quality.
Download the full-sized original and the final edited image. Click Here
NOTE: You may experience a "Corrupted Archive" error.
This is due to anti-virus or firewall software installed in your computer. Simply right-click the link above and select:
Save Target As or Save Link Target As.
|
|
|
|
