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Shoot: Portrait, Beauty, and Avant Garde

Lesson 6 from: Retouching & Adobe Photoshop Techniques

Lindsay Adler

Shoot: Portrait, Beauty, and Avant Garde

Lesson 6 from: Retouching & Adobe Photoshop Techniques

Lindsay Adler

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Lesson Info

6. Shoot: Portrait, Beauty, and Avant Garde

Lesson Info

Shoot: Portrait, Beauty, and Avant Garde

So right now we've come over to the studio and I'm going to create to beauty images and one portrait, and then we working with that tomorrow So you could kind of see issue start to finish. And right now, what I'm gonna do is I'm going to talk. Okay? So I talked about you know, this I'm going to talk a little bit about lighting and some of the tools that I use, but I'm doing so to get sample images to use tomorrow. So for you guys, if you haven't heard me talk about studio lighting before, the most common light modifier that I use all the time is my beauty dish. And right here I have a 20 or 22 inch white beauty dish. That's what I use most the time. And the reason I like that tool tool is because it's so versatile and I can switch it up. I can add a sock in the front to make it soft. I can add a grid to make it harsh. If you think of it in the spectrum of lighting, you have a soft box which is going to give you really soft light. Will give you long kind of wrapping shadows, but you don...

't have as much control over it. Okay, so then the next kind of further end is you have these silver reflector dishes, which are on the back to lights there. That's going to be really, really harsh. It kind of rakes across the skin, but you definitely have control. You can have really, really crisp, tight shadows, great for defining features, but not so good for the skin. So the beauty dish tends to be a really beautiful in between. And there's lots of things I could share about how to use a beauty dish. Um, one of the things that I mentioned before earlier today I said, Okay, we can carve out the cheekbones and the jawline in photo shop and help with that, but we can also do it using our beauty dish. So one of the things that you want to think of it, it's the other beauty. This is kind of faced forward now, and she's a little bit further back. That's going to be more traditional, kind of flat beauty light. But if I want to carve out her cheekbones and jaw line, I'd bring her Ford Perfect. And now what we do is we angle that light down more hunger and break anything. Um, and so if you have the light coming from a higher angle, that's what casts the shadows under the cheeks and under the jaws. And so if you look at the light on her face to be able to see that, it's more to find the problem that you run into their can, either be. If somebody had bad skin raising that up a high angle, you're going to know. Okay, Anything that's not that kind of flat and centered on a subject is going to require more retouching. That's why one of the easiest things to retouch, which is awesome. I'm gonna show you a pretty easy retouch and have you stand right there, take 1/2 step back to see Rick there. And what have you grab that? Um, it's a variation on a setup that I'll do later where it's kind of like clamps relating and clams for lighting is when you have a beauteous your soft box, some light source above, and then you have a second light source from below, filling in the shadows and this clam show because the subject's head is like the pearl in the clamp kind of thing. Um, but what is really great about it is you have this kind of centered light source and then the two reflectors below that I'm going to use fill in all the shadows. And so there isn't raking light, and it's just even and creamy and smooth. And so if you want to make your job easy as a re toucher, if its beauty this is a great way to like, um, it's you don't have to worry about any detail being kind of, uh, raked across in a shot like this. So I'm gonna shoot one a little more dramatic. Um, so then then I'm going to do a portrait with similar light, and then we're going to switch and dio kind of by demand. The question that people always want to know is if you look at my business card on my site, the porcelain creamy white skin, so we'll take a shot like that so you guys can see it start to finish and how I do that, so I'll probably just shoot a little bit, so I feel I have a variety of images to work with, and I will show you tomorrow and was awesome is I'm looking at her and I can tell from her eyes are ready. Okay. I know in retouching that I can pull out more detail in her eyes, and it's a pretty color, but I know that I can in hand set in your eyes. And so what I'm seeing is I'll probably make her skin very pale. But pump up that purple so I can I can see that already. And I know that when I shoot a beauty image like that kind of have that processing in my mind. Um, also in a white studio space like this. One of the problems that you'll sometimes run into is, let's say that you only have one light for the background. Sometimes you can't get it white from Florida ceiling, so I'll talk about fixing that as well. Something's gonna make some pretty pictures of you, and I'll start like this first. Awesome. I will make sure tethers working. All right. So for beauty shots, I usually use my 7200. That's what I have on now. Sometimes I'll use my 50 mackerel ins, and I like that if the shot is all about like a really cool detail on the eye or on the lips. But it's also like shooting a 1 50 millimeter portrait lens. So it's good if you you want that type of compression as well. So studio. The two lenses I use are the seventy two hundred four close up shots and then usually the 24 to 70 from my mid length and fooling shots. So that's that's most of the time. Excellent. So I'm gonna take her picture and I'll tell you a couple of things, and I'm thinking of I'm gonna have you turn your shoulders a little bit that way. And the reason I have returned to her left instead of right is the way the hair falls. So I'm gonna make it easier on myself already, because if she was turning the opposite way, it's going to be in front of the face. There might be a shadow, so I'm trying to pay attention to All right. I want to cut down my retouching. Same thing I am not pretending that retouching is, and I'll be also I see when she turned her head. You know, maybe there's a couple of hairs. Go ahead, take the time to push him down because getting rid of hairs is a pain. But, um, it always is. So I'm gonna do that. Another thing for retouching are for posing that I like. So have you pulled a hair on the right hand side of your neck behind your shoulder? In general, for beauty photography? If I can expose the shoulder closest or the neck closest to the camera, that's great for beauty. It's beautiful, long continuous lines, especially with a very skinny, perfect model like this. It's just a lot of beautiful, creamy skin. So you have that and then we'll have a pop of color in her eyes. So it's just going really pretty. So take a few shots. Um, and we have you drop your front shoulder just lowered a little perfect. Just like that. So you'll see animal, have you? Perfect. That looks great. Um, except we'll see if the tethers All right. Good. And just be really serious and soft. Perfect. And see if the tethers working. Okay. Is it we're checking, huh? Maybe. No. Oh, yeah. You're You're you're doing the focus. It's working. We take another one, all right, I'll try another one to anybody just a little bit that way. Good. And have backed with me. Nope, It says Busy. You have questions. The meantime, when we figure this out, it's not working. It worked like, you know, a minute ago. All right, well, I do want to say that you have a shout out from Robert Gordon. Who's your favorite Web designer? Hi, Robert, To go in. Let's see. All right, question from Phil Birdie is Do you ever use a color check her passport or into a great targets for awesome question? I do. I have a passport. I think it's in my camera bag. Um, and I used to use it. If I'm doing a creative shoot, Um, and this is this is something really, really important? If it's a creative shoot, where the purposes I'm making a pretty photograph for myself, it's not as important because I usually mess with the colors anyway. It's usually make it cooler, make it warmer. I pull out the color in the skin so nothing's the true color anyway. But if it's for a client where it. The clothes need to look the correct color and correctly exposed. I always use my color checker. And also, when I do video many video shots that I have, I start off with that color checker contestant. Okay, that's cool. Do you have so many questions in the audience? I know we just got going. I All right. Well, how about a comment from Arley, who says just a comment? I have learned more about finish up today than I have in all the books and online tutorials I have read and purchased in the past 10 years. Great job. I use photo show all the time. Just wanted to say I'll be able to do so much more for clients from watching this just today. Can't wait for the next two days and great job. So thank you so much. That is awesome. I love to hear that. Thank you. And I think we're all set great. And what I will say is, I would say majority of what I've learned. Like I never worked for somebody. It's hot retouching. It was coming across the problem, meeting a solution and either just testing it were looking up on YouTube like. That's the solution to most things. You two really quick story tomorrow I'm doing displacement maps, and I was living in England when I wanted to figure out how to do that. I called my mom in the United States. Told her I didn't know what it's called, but she needed to figure it out. She went to Barnes and Noble went through every photo shot book. So she figured out what it was I was asking for. Bought it, scanned it anymore. That's makes so that's also a solution as well. Wow. You have a really cool mom, Adler. Okay, let me shoot a little bit here and just relax your jaw line. Good, good. And chin down a little bit. Perfect. And now I'm gonna have to do one. We kind of put your shoulder ford like that. Good. Perfect. Right there, then And relax your lips for me. Real soft. Good. Just like that. And I put that shoulder back one more time. Good. And as you can tell, I shoot a lot. I'm okay with that. Um, what will talk about tomorrow is the fact that probably in an editorial, I shoot five, but one day I shoot like 3000 pictures. I'm for an editorial. So I am going to talk about my editing process. As part of that I go through quickly. It doesn't take me forever. We're looking for impact. So I can tell when I look at 50 pictures pretty instantly, Which one's the best? One more or less. Okay, so just like that? Perfect. And that looks like a great expression. Put us back together again and give me that little half smiles. Chin down a little. That's perfect. 11. Okay, so if I'm looking at this picture, um, nice cheekbones kind of carved out their nice dolling. But when I look at it, how I analyze it is if I'm going for that pretty purple color and light skin, it's a high key picture. But it's not a high key picture because of the shadows underneath her jaw. So that's when I bring in my lovely assistance. Um, you don't have tohave assistance to do this. There are like she actually came in originally with this little stand thinking that attaches to them. I know that I have a last delight set up in my studio, which has one little triangular reflector, one underneath one to the side, and so it creates kind of a light trap. So what I do is I put a V in front of the model and what you need to do. You have to make sure that your beauty dish is pointed somewhat downwards. It can't be parallel to the face. Otherwise, no light is bouncing into those reflectors and kicking back into the face. So it's something I'm working as well. Keep your shoulders at, which is a little bit good. That's perfect. And chin down just a little. And what you'll see is you can actually look at the catch slits in her eyes if it puts, Come in. I click fast. I told you. Um, it's much more kind of glowing, but what I tend to do for Beauchamp's doing really, really tight. Get this is close to her as possible. I'm going to trap her. Okay, Sorry. You know, on your shoulders back, that was just a little bit all right. And you see this all the time. My city. I'm doing beauty shots. My model has no like nowhere to go like she's trapped. Literally backed us up just a little bit, too. Shoulders, that would just a tiny bit. Then we'll head back towards me. Perfect and shin down just a little. It's there. Perfect. And so you'll see these catch lights in her eyes, Which are you actually see three. Ah, question. I get nonstop from photographers is Do you photoshopped out multiple catch lights? I never d'oh it. Apparently, that's a thing with portrait photographers. Um, that, you know, is that multiple catch? I don't know. I always get that question in beauty photography. If you look at Avon and Revlon and all of that stuff you look at all those ads, they definitely have multiple catch lights. You'll see the main light and then reflector underneath. So yeah, we don't worry about that. So I'll probably just take two or three more and then I'll have you do I'll have her go do her change. Perfect. And then I straight to me and I'm gonna have you take one step back and then lean Ford. And what this will do is I'm short. First of all, so makes your shorter, which is nice, Um, but then also brings her eyes closer to me. So it'll make her eyes larger if I have a kind of leaned forward and bring her chin down just a little bit. Whatever is closest to the cameras. Biggest so perfect, trapper in their great chin Down a little bit Good. Right there and into your chin. Just a little bit to the sign. Perfect. And I had straight to me straight on. Good. A straight on as humanly possible. Lips together. Good. And now one happy one. Good. Perfect. Okay. Very last shot. I'm gonna do women as close as you can. Good. Turn sideways. Totally that way. Good. And really long neck and chin down Just a little bit Good. And like, a little half year. Good. And then one more serious. Okay, Perfect. So beauty shot one of the most commonly you set up. It's really nice, because if you look at those how easy I mean, the retouching is, like, kind of done ish. What I'll tell you about is when you have a situation like that, the things that I'm looking at, but it's really nice, simple retouching. So I'm gonna Oh, yeah. I'm gonna shoot a robin right now. We're shooting tethered for J Peg Because tethered. I am gonna shoot in Florida. One raw real quick. Let's see. Okay, I got a raw perfect. Here we go. I'm gonna be turned sideways. Roll your head back towards me. Good. Right there. Inching down is a little bit and done. Just a tiny lower. Good, perfect. Perfect. Okay, great. Awesome. So if you will get our next victim will be for some. And so the next time I'm going to do is a fortress shoot, and you can do a portrait like this. The biggest reason you wouldn't want to is if someone has a wider face, which she doesn't see. You're fine if someone has a wider facing. You're looking at this, your illuminating their entire face so their face gets wider. Even so, that's usually something that you want a light for, Somebody who doesn't need help from the light shaping their face. And that's how I kind of think of it. Beauty, Light Where your illuminating everything. It's kind of flat. Somebody's already have a house of good skin and good jawline. Question. Okay, Awesome. Hi. So now I'm going to do a portrait, and I'll probably just do kind of similar high key with a beauty dish. If you were a portrait photographer and you just wanna have one thing in your studio, you can have a beauty dish, but then throw diffusion on top of it to make it a little softer. So it's nice and versatile. Okay, I'm retouching. So if it's not as no offense, this is not a splattering. We can help it along a little bit, so she is a little shorter. So I'm gonna have you lower it. A tiny bit like maybe like three inches right there. Good. Perfect. With the beauty dish. If you practice in a room with no lights and you move it around, you can see the sweet spot. So when you actually move it around the subject's face, you see, when there's just kind of this perfect contrast on the face and it glows. So that's kind of what I was looking for there. Perfect. So I'm gonna have you do similar. I'm gonna have your turn. Do you have a better side of your face? Okay. I always ask people that and the other ways you can tell I often I'm friends with my clients on Facebook before they come. And I look and see which way they turn their head on Facebook. Because you know, when you're holding off your Facebook picture or when you turn towards that camera, people are doing it instinctually based on which side is there better side. But I asked them if they don't know typically as well. People part their hair. You can see she's parting your hair on that side of her face because that side of the face that you're gonna see so people do that as well Return your shoulders that way. Good. Drop the shoulder just a little bit. Perfect. And I'm gonna get a couple of shots chin down just a tiny bit and head towards me a tiny bit more good. So do you want to be serious or do you want to be happy? Okay, let's see if we're still working over here. Lovely. Okay, cool. So same thing. And we're happy to do a couple. Actually, Cathy smiled. Anything gonna laugh at me, get perfect. Everything okay? Good. I'm gonna have you come in with just, like a little bit of Phil on that side. Just a tiny bit, but I don't really need to do too much. Okay? Perfect and put up a little bit higher. Just like that. International is back that way, just a little more perfect and head back towards me. And let's get one couple vertical and relax your smile a little bit for people. When I'm doing serious shots, Um, I will have them relax a job because if I say someone be serious, they turned up, bite down on their jaw and flexes out the muscles on the side of their face that makes your face look heavier. You don't have that problem, but just as a tip. Thea other thing isn't heads and people smile. They raise their foreheads it like. Okay, so I have someone smiled. Relax your forehead, forehead wrinkles for someone who has a lot of them are huge pain to retouch out. So when I'm shooting, I'm kind of keeping in mind what's easy to retouch out what's not. So if somebody I can't get them to relax their forehead, I know maybe I'll have to reduce it in photo shop. But if I can much rather same thing with, you know, a wrinkle in the clothing and rather smooth it out, then have to deal with it. So let me close out in just a little bit, Do a couple more. Perfect. Terrific. And then one laughing smile. Good. And stay up just a little. Perfect. Okay, that's my name for head, gents. That's perfect. Thank you. Insulin raw. Okay, okay. Yeah. If you would make that change. Yeah, you're fine. Okay. So what we're going to do, um, I have the first model. She's throwing her hair back in a bun, putting on red glasses and red lipstick. No, I had her do her own lipstick. Who? I don't know how it will be, but I said it's retouching class, so it's okay, because we can fix it tomorrow. Will be covering how to add makeup in Photo shop is well, and house also to change makeup so it could be learning experience. Or she might be a pro at it. Not sure. Okay, could we? Just while we're waiting for her to come back over, maybe just review again. Sort of the lighting setup that you have here and some of the gear everyone always wants to know the gear. What you're using Sure, wth e camera that I'm using right now is the five the mark to have a couple of them. I've That's generally what I shoot in the studio unless I'm shooting something like a billboard campaign where they require larger. What's really interesting is Sigma has his camera that they let me, which is a 46 megapixel camera. The RAWS open up a 360 megabyte tips, so they're massive. So retouching on those is actually totally, totally different experience. And you work on little pieces and you never duplicate your layers like you duplicate parts. And it's just massive. Um, it's the 7200 the Sigma 7200. Um, I s and right now we have our pro photo lights and what it is. You have the beauty dish as the main light. How is it sure the British is the main light when it's when it's center? Here's how I think of it centered. Is beauty a little bit more? The more dramatic you want to make a portrait, the further you pull it off to either access left to right. So more shadow is defined when you move your light to the left or to the right and then also up or down. So as you bring the light up, it carves out cheekbones and it becomes a more dramatic photo. So when I'm thinking of beauty, photography is usually centered, and then we just have to backfill lights. They're just have the silver parabolic reflectors that usually come with the lights. Um, most of time that come with lights and they're pointed at the background. And usually what I do in my studio, as I have one pointed slightly higher to make sure I'm getting the top of the sweet and one point it slightly lower to make sure I'm getting the bottom so that I don't have to spend too much time retouching out If it's gray when I intend it to be white. Yeah. Uh, let's see. First, we have Vivian hyphen photo talking about the backlighting. Lindsay, I often try to do the same lining set up, but it's a challenge. Do you set the back lights on the white seamless One or two stops less than the beauty dish. Um, you will depend. Okay, So good question for how to set it up. Um, what I typically d'oh is an internal problem. She's saying she's running into it. She worried about the light spilling over and over, exposing that's kind of the questions and say, When you have a small studio space, what tends to happen if you want complete white back? If you have your subject really, really close, then that white bounces off and kind of pieces through the hair and goes over exposed and you get a little bit of flair. Now the easy answer is that you move your subject further out and put them in different zones, so your background is one's own of lighting. Then you move your subject forward, and so the two are interacting. When I am a portrait studio I had for 10 years, it was I think it was like feet by 17 feet and eight and 1/2 feet tall. So I understand that doesn't always work. So then the next solution often is. It's a little bit of experimenting, but usually it's a stop brighter. It's actually stopped brighter. It's just a matter of how much skill I have. One more question. Well, sure, what model is ready so we'll keep going. All right, so this is going to be my typical kind of white out skin porcelain effect. And I want the beauty dish more less centered, and that's totally fine. Have you step a little bit more in Great and to get that really even smooth, creamy skin, I'm actually going to create a box around her and she will not be able to move again. So, um, these glasses just cause it's fine I thought I'd let you guys know it's kind of like the fashion and flare technique is kind of my thing. Um, when I do a lot of portrait's fashion wise, I have a stylist. So have a Silas who gets my clothes. I have hair cells, make up artist. It doesn't make up, but it's also fun to kind of do stuff on your own as well. And I got both of these from etc. So this is, I think, 35 on etc. And this was 25 they're cool and funky. I was going to do this shoot because this is like, this is what I do like I love red and I love creamy skin. So can you put this on? She can't see out of those at all. So if I say turn your head this way, she'll have no idea what I'm talking about. Perfect. And I'm gonna have you guys take those reflectors off the reason that those they're actually pieces of foam core. The reason that they're up there right now was originally we had the lights pointed this way to give her rim light. And that's prevent flare in the camera so you can just take it off. Perfect. We have one more of those. We did. I saw it. Okay, Perfect. All right, So what, we're gonna dio as I'm gonna take a shot before I make any changes. So this is the straight shot without reflectors. Right? So head towards my voice. Okay, Perfect. Chin down a little. Great. All right. She believed it's nice. I literally looked at the back of my camera. I said, I think she blinked. Nice knife. Okay. I would have you turn your shoulders a little bit more towards me. That yeah, right there. Right there. Perfect. Because I'm trying to get this light is centered as possible. I want to be really flat. All right, So this is beauty box, will you Give me your hands. You need to hold this really close. Okay, Ready? Don't get frayed. Okay, Okay. It's gonna be right there. And you guys were gonna boxer and on either side. All right, so get as close as you humanly can and what you'll see. The difference between these two shots is now the light is going to be completely flat. And just relax your jaw for me. Just a little perfect. And chin down a tiny bit. Okay, let's take a look here. So you see the difference between the two shots when it pops up Now it's completely flat lighting eventually. Okay, so it's a massive difference, but this is how I do my creamy skin. It starts off 90% of the way there, and I just pushed it a little bit further. What I am going to do is I see Okay, A little bit of hair in the back. OK, I'm coming behind. You. Don't get freaked out. Don't get freaked out. He's gonna talk it. I'm saving myself effort as much as possible. Okay. Same thing. Take a couple more of these shots. Great. And what will have you do is can you put your shoulders a little bit more forward looking for So I'm popular clavicles a little bit more. I'll have my makeup. Artists often take the Juergens Schumer lotion if you put just a little bit on top of the clavicle that picks up the light more, Um, saves me time and effort in voter shop, but I can still do it. So perfect. It's boxer in a little bit more. Okay, lets tight together. Good. Chin down and lean. Ford. Great. Right there. Perfect. Was in real tight. Sorry. There. So short. Okay, good. I'll tell you, in my studio, I'd never I'm always on the box, okay? And we do one more. Give me Really Ah, long neck. Good. And let's stay together. Perfect. And so I'm shooting a little bit of stuff in the surroundings, so I'm gonna do some photoshopped, Emma. All right. And the last thing turn your body towards your left. Good. You're going a little bit more, and then your head back towards me. Good, Perfect. And drop your front shoulder. Good. And let's sit together and do one more. Really, really close. And that's all I need. Here we go. And then head back towards me and could come in perfect right there. One three, and had to your right a little more. I'll say one right there. One, two. Okay, perfect. So that's on Would need on that. And you will see tomorrow on. Make her skin totally white and then smooth it out. Pop the red color. But if you look, it's I mean, it really is kind of most of the way there for what I need to do. So questions from you guys so far, No. No questions, Okay. Can't all kind of questions you have. All right, let's check it out. Have you got anything? We had various people asking more details about your camera set up and like, you're 11 thing to your shooting raw. Plus J peg. And is that How do you How do you normally shoot I except for these classes, I never shoot J pack ever. Um, I shoot my raw images and the Edison and Photoshopped I'm trying to shoot, trying to work with 16 bit tips. Most the time I get the most like depths of information. The best color more I can work with goingto work an eight bit is usually when I'm on my laptop if it's crawling and it hates me for whatever reason. But I'm actually it's been being good. Not good. Would, um so I don't shoot. Rob pushed a peg. I only shoot raw. And how it works in my studio is I'm usually tethered Thio Light Room or to catch one on Lee. If I have a client there who requires to see the images when I do personal work for myself, I tend not to tell their couple reasons. One. It slows me down. You guys see how much issue. But the flip side of that is a lot of times kind of experimenting, right? I'm figuring things out. I'm trying to get it just right and it's the model or whoever sees a photo, and something's not perfect the way they want. I don't want them causing a hassle. I had this supermodel recently who we have this dress, and like the first post, I'm just testing the light shooter Summit cut out like this and she looks and she's like, Oh my God and I'm like something image and do it like relax, you know? So, yeah, I usually use light room tethered if the client requires. All right, uh, what's a question from silly questions? His Just wondering what the white black boards are. Stupid question, I know, but I'm trying to leave the photo journal Journalism world and moved a studio work. So I'm a newbie. No, that's cool. When they were up, they were blocking the back lights so I wouldn't get any lens flare if they were pointed back at the subject for room lights. So before there's a phone cord, just piece of basically cardboard, but white and black side, it's basically you get him from a Seymour Michael's for 3 99 Something really simple like that. Yeah, art supply stores and it. It tends to be more commonly used for studio shooters, natural eight shooters and people on location. You Jews reflectors In my studio, we have giant pieces of white foam core, really tall ones, like eight feet, and they're in the shape of a V, and they're called the Flats. So this light lighting setup that I did right here kind of the flat, even lighting, which I have, I'm gonna use an image tomorrow. That's that same lighting but full body. Well, you obviously can't do it with small pieces of foam core. So they're using Giant V flats. We have a couple more questions. Okay, Kim, photo ass is makeup important for the creamy style shoot. Does the model need to have fair skin? What if she's tan where she's what? Can, um okay, Tan is not ideal. Uh, it's just harder to photo shop and work with. They don't have to be pale like they don't have my color in order to get it to work. But what? How I'm thinking of this and then this is part of my approach is Okay, so I have, um, a model. Or maybe it's a client and they want that that creamy skin approach beauty to have to spend a ton of time in makeup to actually paint that on. And if you wanted to paint them like almost white and you have an expensive dress on, I mean, it's not happening on DSO. This is one of the examples where I know and photo shop. I'll take it the next step. And so when I'm talking with my makeup artist, we'll do something where sometimes we know that we wanted to change her makeup. Maybe two green in a look. You know, whatever, and she'll say to me, should take the time to change or you just wanna change in post. So it's a practicality thing if we have a client there and we're running behind. So let's take me aside and say we're changing our keeping it and then I know if I need to or not, so I'll change that tomorrow. But a lot of time she had a wipe that clean reapply. It would probably take an extra 25 minutes, and I can save that if it's going to be the exact same thing, just a different color, very commonly with lips as well. We'll just change it to match something. The question about the creamy light skin is to keep the creamy skin. This is from Michael told photography in Atlanta to keep the creamy skin look. How do you keep from overexposed highlights? Uh, all right, so in this example, there aren't really any outstanding highlights, right? I've kind of flat let the skin and there any bright highlights on the eyes, and so there's no place that would kind of peek out. The skin is definitely over, exposed from what correctly exposed skin is. But who cares what correctly exposes? It's It's, uh meant for creative effect. So it is technically overexposed but not losing details. So it's fine. No more questions, more questions. Oh, Jessica has a question from the audience. Can you use a black background and still achieve that same kind of lighting on the fees? Yes, you definitely can. I've done an example with that. What I wouldn't do if you're using a black background is I wouldn't keep kind of the slicked back hair. Um, I might do either rim lights on the hair so she pops out. Or if I didn't like that, I would pick bright red hair or some kind of color something so that it doesn't just blend in. So can we, Um, can you put those awful quick and we'll give it a try here and I'm like, Okay, when it passes back to you, all right. And so if I want this background to go black, which it's a white background, what I can do is I pull this back further so that the beauty dish does don't have any spill on the background. And so by having them, like I said before, two separate planes, backgrounds let one way, and this is going to be lit another. Then I can actually get the background, mostly black. The other thing is, the closer I bring her to that light. Basically, if you bring her in a couple of steps, it might make it, uh, instead of having shoot after nine, you can shoot at 11 or F 16 and in the background will go that much darker. So that's how I'm working in a small space where I don't want to change the black ground of black or something like that. Whenever you take one step forward, Um, I'm we'll see how this works. I'm gonna write, Okay? I tend to break stuff. Just saying okay and come towards me come towards you. Could look. Okay. Good. And take 1/2 step back and I'm gonna lower this just a little. All right? Perfect. Okay. Boxer in. Let's see how we can get this back. Black room back brightens up the background. Black. Okay. Perfect. Just like that. Take a look. All right. So it's not gonna be black. black, but it'll be close. It's definitely something we can fix in post and see Papa. All right, so that's overexposed. So I'll probably cut it down to, like, F 16. And so now the back would be pretty close actress again. Yeah. So now it's going to be almost black. Um, And what I think in my mind and this will this will be good. This to be almost solid black. Um, how a picture in my mind. What I kind of think is, um my first, like that I have on the subject is the light. The defines the lead on the face. It defines the mood of the shoot. So the main light and the reflectors say OK, it's late and creamy. The more extra lights that I add tend to make it look more produced a commercial. So if I point lights back at her giving her room lights on the side of her neck, it starts to look more like a commercial shot. If that makes sense of starting to define it so I might do one more shot. I don't know how we're doing on time, but I could just flip around and take one shot like that. Perfect. OK, so it's gonna flip these round to her, and I will have you flip it back on. Um, I know a question that people ask, Um, I will be totally honest most of time. I don't use light meters because I know my my own studio that well, I know if I'm movement light from here to here, it goes from, you know, maybe it's f 11 to F night, like I know what that well, but when it's a commercial shoot where I need to get that exposure straight on, I will. For this, she's overexposed on purpose. So she's already overexposed that that's the point. All right, so bring you a little closer. Yep, Right there. Perfect. Good. All right. And so you'll see it's gonna look more produce lips closed. Take a look here, all right, and you will see it looks more like have, like, an ad or more commercially produced or like an album cover something like that because you've added those highlights in beauty photography. One of the things that's good about that it see how it gives her the highlights along her jawline, so it's emphasizing those beautiful features. Um, can you bring that light a little bit forward? So they're even. It's a little bit before and perfect, and you can actually see what's happening. Um, right with the modeling lights. So shoot a couple of those and give me really long that could pop up the clavicles a little bit good. I mean, do one more like this. And have you do last? When we take your glasses off, you see it? One more shot with your eyes, and so I can change the makeup, because right now, if I look, her eyes don't match her lips. So maybe that'll be a good demonstration to show you the difference between what I might change. So perfect. Why have you turned your shoulders a little bit sideways? And this is kind of a pain? Yes. Good. And then roll your head back towards me and turned down just a bit. Perfect. It looks great. Perfect. Awesome. Okay, Ken, uh, how's that breaks out. Fantastic. Is that the very good? Yeah, it's doing its thing. There you go. So for that, maybe I want to change the color lips and match them to be purple or clean. up some of that hair. Maybe wanted to be a little bit of a cleaner shot, so I'll be working with that. But what's great about this shot from me or what I'm looking at when I'm lighting is this, You know, the nice highlight there. A little bit of the highlight along the jawline, the separation. And so when I'm looking, I'm thinking, OK, I'm gonna clean up the hair is there maybe even a photo shop out the dress That happens to me a lot. Where models Not comfortable, for example, wearing Maybe they can't get a shirt that's low enough for they didn't have one. So I photoshopped this out, clean up the hair, make the lips a little fuller, and maybe you have them be purple to match. Maybe make her eyes really crystal blue. So it's a really pretty, um, beauty shot all about color. Oh, yeah. The other glasses is that I can I can take a few minutes later, I'm gonna do one. Here we go. That on? Awesome. Okay, um, I do. How about just a silver reflector underneath and I'm going to raise this up? I'm gonna make it a little more dramatic. So dramatic. Late on face. Come in this way. Just a little bit. Come in here. Just a little bit right there. Awesome. Um, for these glasses, they have reflection on them. So what I'm looking for is just make sure that the reflector or the beauty dish isn't reflecting in them. So I can have it be kind of a clean shot. Send in my little box good and kind of Roll your head sideways a little bit and turn your shoulders at me. Good. And that's closed. See if you got to open up a little bit One more time, same thing, and relax your mouth. Let's do this. All right, then, for the heck of it, let me dio d'oh! When we're straight on, I'm going to really, really tight shots. Look straight onto me. Perfect. Just like that soon as possible. And I'm gonna probably try mirroring this and photo shop later and see if I could make her look like a cool alien. It's really funny. My makeup artist was joking with the other day. But when we're picking out models, we tend to pick the ones. This is not You were trying to put the ones that look like aliens because what that means really big eyes, really perfect skin and almost the really perfect jaw lines. But it tends to be really good blank slate, because you can do anything you want to bring out the eyes. We can do anything you want with skin. So we never pick models. And for our fashion photography that look like you necessarily recognize there, look down the street there just meant to be kind of alien esque, And we can do whatever we want. You'll see that tomorrow. Um, example of our favorite one of our favorite models that she changes no matter how we photographed her. So pretty fun. Great. This has been such a great day. First, filling our heads with all this information early in the day and then showing us a little action. Um, way switch and in a picture. Sorry. We're distracted over now. Okay, Come closer. Okay. Thank you. I know I'm gonna love this. Okay. You know, you look really tough. Way go alien for sure.

Class Materials

bonus material

Keyboard Shortcuts
Retouching Checklist
Beauty and Retouching
Creative Techniques

Ratings and Reviews

Sean
 

Fantastic Photoshop course. I knew Lindsay was great at Photography, Lighting, Posing and Public Speaking, but I am really blown away by her mad (great) skills at Photoshop. Lindsay really is a fantastic teacher. She turns what might be a more or less dry topic into a fun and entertaining topic. Thank you Lindsay and thank you CreativeLIve. You have a real superstar with Lindsay Adler.

a Creativelive Student
 

This is a great workshop for photographers wanting to learn and hone in on their retouching skills. As a photoshop user and photographer of 10 yrs I have been able to take away some further techniques to help better my skills and more or less tailor them. I would suggest you have some adv beginner knowledge of photoshop because I don't think some of the techniques you will be able to keep up with unless you buy it. There are two things that I wish she did better in her teaching and that is to teach new users to label all their layers and what they are as you are working. As you can see Lindsay ends up with 20 layers and unless your the one doing the editing you will have know idea what is what when you have to go back to it. So its best to teach this in the beginning so people get into the habit of organization early. Also I wish she used a Wacom. It really does cut your editing time in half and you have more solid movements in precisely selecting areas of a photo. From a photographer to other photographers. Use a wacom. You can start with a basic baboo for $89 and when the apple wireless mouse cost $69. Time is money, and a wacom truely save time! I used to use a mouse and my trackpad and once I switched I was like OMG what was I thinking before! So I wish she just emphasized that point more. Overall I think it was $99 well spent.

Christian G.
 

Not only is Lindsay very knowledgeable and a very good teacher but I REALLY TRULY appreciate her no-BS, straight-forward style.. No time wasted on long tangents talking about herself (or what have you), on cute remarks or on off-the-mark humor. She has showed us many great techniques, has presented to us various creative/different ideas AND she has also really been able to explain "how she thinks of a solution", how there is a bit of trial and error, "even" at her level.. All in a all, a truly excellent course and worth every penny!! Thank you Lindsay and thank you to the CreativeLive team for a great course!!

Student Work

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