Thread: First Headshots - Skin Smoothing Attempt Added post 10

Hello! My sister was looking for some head shots for some advertising and web pics for her store and I agreed to attempt a few. She wanted one more formalish with a backdrop and one a little less formal so I suggested going outside. This is my first try at head shots for PLEASE any and all CC is welcome. Don't go easy on me....I wanna improve! PTE as well. All are with natural light and edited a bit in PSE5 to adjust levels and sharpen for web.

Also, how do I check to know for sure if the white shirt is blown or not? I tried searching and could not find a thread on how to check that. I just recallibrated my monitor this afternoon after MONTHS (eek!) and things look so different to me now!!

Thanks in advance.

1.
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/4.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400


2.
Exposure: 0.01 sec (1/100)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 400


3.
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100


4.
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/2.0
Focal Length: 50 mm
ISO Speed: 100

no time for proper cc right now.. but these look cool to me- like a WB issue. However, I'm due to recalibrate soon.

ETA: just recalibrated and I take back what I just said LOL... anyway, they look pretty good. I would definitely smooth out her skin and see if you can take the shine off of her forehead, especailly in #1. I'm feeling like a couple are a little soft... did you sharpen for web?

Originally Posted by MollyDoll

ETA: just recalibrated and I take back what I just said LOL... anyway, they look pretty good. I would definitely smooth out her skin and see if you can take the shine off of her forehead, especailly in #1. I'm feeling like a couple are a little soft... did you sharpen for web?

Thanks Molly, good suggestion on smoothing her skin and removing the shine! I'll work on that. And yep...I did sharpen for web ...maybe my focus was off. I had to throw out a BUNCH cause they were super soft. bummer.

The outdoor ones are much better than the backdrop ones. The lighting for the backdrop ones is very flat and unflattering and makes these look a bit like a mug shot. Skin softening will help a lot.

How close was she to the backdrop? It looks like she may have been too close.

Yep, Amber, you are right, I had her too close to the backdrop (maybe 2 ft? oops!) . Was trying to get as close to the window as possible to get that natural light and forgot about the backdrop distance.

To check for blown spots, I usually use the raw filter when first processing. They have two little boxes at the top to check for highlights and shadows, and it really helps.

I agree, she's too close to the backdrop. But, out of the first two, I like the 2nd one better. When it comes to the outside ones, I like the 1st one better.

I really love the outside shots. Color looks OK (as far as I can tell on this uncalibrated monitor here at work) ... her shirt looks a LITTLE blue (but my monitor here SUCKS). Focus and exposure look really nice though. Good job!

And TFS!

Best,
GiGi

Originally Posted by blonderose

To check for blown spots, I usually use the raw filter when first processing. They have two little boxes at the top to check for highlights and shadows, and it really helps.

Thanks for responding...but I have no idea where to find the raw filter? Sorry if thats a dumb question. I don't shoot in raw...could that be my issue?

I did google my question and found this link below. It says anything over 245 in my info pallet for R, G, B is bad? When I hover over her shirt in #3 blue looks too high (255+) and in some spots green is too high too. Do I correct this through adjusting those individually in adjusting levels in a new layer? Gigi, maybe this is why you are seeing blue!?!?

http://www.ehow.com/how_4995221_chec...photoshop.html

Thanks for everyones cc! Here's my first attempt at skin smoothing...does it look okay?