Need Your Input On My New Retouching Class Before It “Goes Live.”
I’m working on a new online course called “Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques with Adobe Photoshop” and I hope to have it “up live” on KelbyTraining.com in the next two weeks or so. Before I wrap it up, I hoped to get some input from you, to make sure I cover the techniques you think should be included.
First, some background: This is a class on portrait retouching, so it’s not going to cover color correction, or fixing lighting, or anything that’s not directly related to portrait retouching in Photoshop (both head shots and body sculpting). Also, there won’t be any retouching of nudie naked nakedness. In fact, there will be no nudity at all (other than my own, of course, as I usually record these in the nude. I’m kidding. You knew that, right?).
Anyway, here’s the list of individual lessons from the class, but it’s not too late to add a few more. Here we go:
» Eyes (making them larger)
» Eyes (whitening the eyes)
» Eyes (Enhancing eyes, and changing eye color)
» Eyes (Adding or enhancing makeup)
» Eyes (creating longer lashes)
» Eyes (Making them sparkle)
» Eyes (removing dark circles under, method 1)
» Eyes( removing dark circles under, method 2)
» Replacing closed eyes with open eyes
» Fixing reflections in eye glasses
» Teeth (Brightening)
» Teeth (Removing yellowing)
» Turning a frown into a smile
» Making lips fuller
» Removing Blemishes (Method 1)
» Removing Blemishes (Method 2)
» Reducing acne or freckles
» Removing wrinkles
» Reducing nose size (Method 1)
» Reducing nose size (Method 2)
» Reshaping Nose
» Smoothing Skin (basic)
» Smoothing Skin (advanced)
» Removing Hot Spots
» Sharpening skin
» Sharpening Female skin
» Making your subject look thinner overall
» Removing shirt creases and wrinkles in clothes
» Making arms and legs look thinner
» Reducing Jowels
» Adding highlights to hair
» Changing hair color
» Removing stray hair
» Digital tummy tucks
» Removing love handles
» Complete start to finish retouching Workflow 1
» Complete start to finish retouching Workflow 2
So that’s the current lesson list, but your ideas posted here on the blog can certainly have me adding to it. If I wind up using one of your suggestions in the class, you’ll get a signed copy of my upcoming book, “The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2″ and my sincere thanks for making the class better for everyone who takes it.
Thanks in advance for your input and advice. It’s most appreciated and it really makes a difference. 
Hey Scott, just wondered what was happening with this class. I’ve been dying to get into this and I know you’ve been super busy traveling the globe the last few weeks.
Thanks!!
I keep watching daily to find out when this course will come online.
It seems to be taking a lot longer than you initially thought. There certainly seems to be some very good suggestions.
I hope this will be online soon
Reducing or eliminating the “stuffed shirt” look or bulging belly.
Looking forward to your tutorial/course
- Chalky-white dry wrinkly crumpled elbows and knees
- Armpits on women: black stubble, dark creases, and shaving spots right on on the black creases
- Modeling of cheekbones and arms & legs using alternative to D&B as apparently there are much better ways)
- Retouching and modelling dark and very dark skin tones without making them look overworked
- under eyes when they have shadows backs and pimples
- different options of workflow/order
cds dvd donot work for me have very tough learning photo shop have cs also elementts4o like to have ez home learnin for photo togs or picture takers ln3 ring notebook when photo shop updates ad ons could be bought give that job to handy cap or wheel person onthe idea no longer andiscontuned perfect way stept +next stept by kate binder que easeyadobey photoshop 6 on it cover see it yourself do it your self EASY below that on left adobt photo shop 6 in full colors suure hope you again picture takers an photogs consider thanks basil
Mr. Scott.
and your books have been the best source of education I have been having since I made photography my Life Passion. Thank you for this amazing books, and Video Internet tutorials.
Thank you so much, you are my # 1 writer Not Kidding. Of Any subject photography is my reading passion (and action too
Thanks for your dedication.
i had to replace part of someones missing lip due to a childhood accident. i had to create my own idea to resolve the issue. would you have a technique that would make this easy if working from from a photo or in the middle of the shoot. i often do parties for special needs children and i try to give the parents a different view of there kids.
I realy enjoyed your 2 part tutorial on photo retouching. This course, as well as your 7 point system and CS3 for digital photographers is some of the best investments I have made. I’m a young 76 but am serious about photo retouching. I only print 8.5x 11. As you suggested, I bought a 6×11 WACOM. I am wriing because I hope Corey Barker gets his tutorial on using the WACOM in the class lineup. I printed out all the instructions that came with it, but I believe I will get much more from seeing his lessons. I recommend your course and NAPP to everyone I know who takes pictures.
Hands appear a lot in portraits so making hands appear slimmer or more graceful, removing/disguising veins/bones, improving nails, removing/de-emphasising jewellery/watches/friendship bands that distract the eye.
Conversely, probably for the male portraits, exaggerating that ‘lived-in’ look adding granularity, deepening shadows….
Hi Scott,
I’d love to see a thorough tutorial on how to shape/sculpt a face with dodging and burning (not the liquify tool, please). Analogous to what an expert makeup artist would do to create the illusion of depth, the impression of cheekbones (if they’re not very visible), to de-emphasize sagging chins, protruding noses, etc. A makeup artist can’t liquify anything away, but a good one will do wonders with shadows and highlights — an art that can be replicated with the dodge and burn tool (or the paintbrush on a 50% layer above the image). It’s one thing to know what tools to use, quite another to find a good tutorial that shows how to do this well, and with subtlety.
Many thanks!
Sunburn on the body, shoulders with strap marks showing etc.
Not much space so this will be very short… Have been teaching Photoshop since Version 2. I started the DTP program at SAc City College in 1988 with 1 mac and 8 students. Today we have over 700 students and a staff of 19+. I am interested in converting my Photoshop classes to a direct NAPP connection. Your books, your tips, movies, etc. I want to make our program one of the most progressive DTP program in California. No room for details here but if this is of interest to you, reply to my email so we can talk further. Carl Winther winthec@scc.losrios.edu or wintherc@mac.com. We moved into our new building last year—a building built just for our program—a program that a VP said would never make it in 1991. Macs rule… Photoshop rules…
How about cleaning up crusty noses? I do a lot of kid portraits and am constantly battling the runny or crusty nose!
Great stuff….we always need to know more to speed up our workflow. One thing I often have a lot of trouble with is intense red blotches on older men’s faces….across nose and cheeks…sometimes none of the usual techniques work….new layer….clone, bandaid or even isolating and using curves etc. I’d love to know an easier way.
Thanks so much!
I would like to ask, how to get rid of reflections in glass/mirrors? Thanks. Hope you could help me…
Ear Resizing, retouching blemishes (hair, warts and other growths
Please hear me on this one ! Ears. My daughter hates her ears, they are too big and stick off the side of her small petite head. So please come up with a way to resize ears; smaller, or larger, to reshape and soften the ears.
reducing or taking away completely the smile lines and crows feet
I wear glasses and whenever I have someone take a shot of me with my camera, the photo is either really dark or (and most frequently) my glasses are so glared that you wouldn’t know I had pupils. Any way to fix this?
Portrait retouching is a very good topic. Suggest 2 tracks: techniques that can be done in either lightroom OR Photoshop and a second track for techniques that are only possible in Photoshop. Such as the Liquify command.
The specific how-to s would of course be different for LR and PS but the what to do s would be the same.
Using portrait plug ins . Some of them are doing great job
How to handle two bright yellow eyes due to a P&S flash.
After reading all of the above enhancements and improvements that everybody wants it may be better if we all just wore paper bags with a perfect image printed on it.
Scott:
Would like to see more techniques for those of us who do restoration retouching. Some topics: how to eliminate unwanted texture from scanned photos on textured paper; how best to get rid of dirt and mildew spots that won’t wash out; best way to replace large areas of a photo that are missing, such as edges and corners that contain part of the image; how to eliminate large ink spots or discolored areas; and the hardest, in my opinion, how to fix old b&w or sepia photos where the shadow areas are turning negative.
Thanks,
Judith
Hi, care to change haircolor in a photo for me? Don’t own Photoshop and am horrible at such things. Shoot me an email and let me know. Would love to see what you can do. Thanks.
Hi Scott,
We live in the boondocks, so I really appreciate your books. Until I can learn Photoshop, I need, but but have been unable to find, a Photoshop expert to “fix” some of my photos. Do you know of a source where I can contact them, hopefully in northern Michigan? Many thanks.
Katherine
Hi Scott,
Biggest problem I have when re-touching portraits is what to do with a “turkey-neck”. Not just a double chin, actual flesh hanging under the chin. I have worked hard trying to eliminate this facial flaw and find it the toughest part of the human face to work on. I look forward to taking the class!!
I’ve been able to grasp most of your retouching methods but I’m still struggling with the cheekbones. I could benefit from a tutorial on adding depth and definition to the cheekbone areas, what tools to use, etc.
Hi,What if a person’s eye is partially obstructed with a heavy clump of hair. I can imagine a selection and inverting of the unobstructed eye. The big picture is there but the details escape me.
Thanks,
Joe
What about adding some skin toning to the list. Sometimes its hard to get this right on the right person. What do you think . . .
Please please please consider leaving out any and all mention of keyboard shortcuts and just assume the use of a tablet. The constant injection of keyboard commands (always said twice– for Mac / PC ) just clutters and slows the flow of your instruction and can always be included in an appendex. More helpful would be for you to share how you customize your tablet for this kind of retouching. Thanks Scott!
Charlie
Hi Scott!
I’m looking forward to your new online course.
I take many family group photos, and sometimes one person will get distracted and glance away from the camera. I’d like to learn how to easily scootch their irises to the left or right a bit so it appears their eyes are looking straight ahead.
Thanks, Kate
Scott,
Have followed you/napp since i saw you lecture when your son was a baby > you showed new photos of the new baby, iam a big fan.
Retouching double chins can be a challenge.
have a great day.
respectfully Lynn Parpard