Wedding photographer and retoucher
extraordinaire Jessica Schembri shares just a few of the more advanced
techniques she employs to turn a run-of-the-mill bridal portrait into a work of
art.
Bridal
Masterclass
From skin retouching to judicious use of
the much-vaunted Liquify tool, there are a number of subtle and clever ways to
improve wedding portraits to a professional standard. Helping to intensify
facial expressions, adding volume and fullness to hair - and, yes, even
digitally shaping the face and body - all go towards wowing your clients after
their big day. Here's an overview of what's possible:
1. Assessing light and shadow detail
During my first assessment of an image, I
always look at the light and shadow detail. It's important to find out what
areas need lightening and darkening. Remember, lightening the image will
bring details out more and will also make those details appear larger.
Darkening will take parts of the image away. So always add detail where needed
by lightening first: Duplicate Layer > change Blending Mode to Screen >
add Layer Mask > Invert Layer Mask to hide layer > use a brush to paint
areas you want lighter > use a soft brush at 20% opacity, flow at 50%.
Lighten areas by changing blending mode of duplicate layer to screen
“We
can help the bride look slimmer without even using any digital slimming
techniques”
2. Darken layer
Once you've lightened the image, you can
darken areas you want to hide or re-shape.
Duplicate Layer > change Blending Mode
to Multiply > add Layer Mask > Invert Layer Mask to hide layer > use a
brush to paint areas you want darker> use a soft brush at 20% opacity, flow
at 50%.
In this image I darkened the dress to help
show off more detail (I do this in most wedding images) and then I also
darkened along her jaw line on the right-hand side and her nose where the
shadow was already present. By doing this, we add more contrast and start to
help this bride look slimmer without even using any digital slimming
techniques.
Before & after Liquify
3. Liquify to help refine face shape
When I use Liquify, I always approach it in
a minimal, natural way. Especially when working on brides - they're not models,
so we need to make sure they remain looking like themselves. Everyone has a little
bit of vanity and usually there's an area they wish they could improve upon but
retouching should not be approached as a way to change people - in particular
brides!
It should be seen more as a way to refine
things so that when the couple look at the image, they almost won't know what
has been done. To them, everything should look perfect because it was a great
day.
For women there are a few main areas I look
at: jaw line refinement; neck line; arms; waist; and sometimes nose, eyes and
lips, are all important.
For each Liquify area, I lasso the area I'm
focusing on with 0 px feather.
Lasso around head > go to Filter >
Liquify > use the Forward Warp tool to push pixels around slightly for a
better-looking shape.
I do this in small increments rather than
large stretching to a big area. That way I can make sure I'm not overdoing it.
Lasso
around head > go to Filter > Liquify > use the Forward Warp tool to
push pixels around slightly for a better-looking shape.
4. Liquify to slim the body
The same as with the previous step, we need
to lasso the area we want to work on.
Lasso around the body (mainly arms and
waist will be slimmed) > go to Filter > Liquify > use the Forward Warp
tool to push pixels around slightly to get a better-looking shape.
Lasso any problem areas then get ready to Liquify
“Retouching should not be approached as a
way to change people in particular brides!”
5. Skin retouching-remove blemishes and under-eye shadows
I remove all major blemishes and under eye
shadows using the Healing Brush tool.
Use this tool on the hardest setting >
no feather. I have found that it will not work nearly as well using a feathered
edge.
Remember that this tool samples texture
(not color), so you need to make sure that the texture you are sampling is
similar to the area you want to replace. Generally there's less texture in
lighter areas of the skin and much more texture (or pixels which create the
look of texture) in darker shadow areas.
First I remove all major blemishes, spots,
etc. I can do this quite quickly, as after this my next step is airbrushing
where I'll refine the look of the skin even more.
To soften the shadows under eyes, sweep the
Healing Brush tool along the bottom of the eye in one monition.
Select Edit > Fade Healing Brush >
50% (for women). I use 30-35% for men as I don't retouch men's skin as much as
I do women.
Select
Edit > Fade Healing Brush > 50% (for women). I use 30-35% for men as I
don't retouch men's skin as much as I do women.
5. Airbrushing the skin
This is one of the hardest techniques to
learn. Practice makes perfect! There are a few things to remember before you
rush into the technique. Mainly when you approach this, you need to remember
that it's like you're applying a thin veil of make-up onto the face. It can't
be heavy-handed.
Many other techniques used on skin involve
softening by way of blurring the skin. The problem with this is that will
flatten the look of the face because it's blurring edges of contrast at the
same time. It looks fake and it's very easy to see that retouching has taken
place.
Airbrushing the skin with the Clone Stamp
tool
The aim is to leave the skin looking like
real skin! With pores and texture just without blemishes and unwanted textures.
When you're doing this technique, always
duplicate your layer so you can compare before and after to check you haven't
gone too far.
The main point to remember with this is
that we now use the Clone Stamp tool to airbrush. This tool samples texture as
well as color. So you must be very careful that you sample the same color as
the area you're trying to airbrush.
Use the Clone Stamp tool with a soft edge
or feather, at 10% opacity and a flow of 65%. Then start sampling and clicking
very quickly, moving in a fluid motion in the direction of the shadows and
highlights.
Slowly you'll start to see an amazingly
clear face appear right before your eyes. It's difficult at first, but practice
does make perfect so just keep trying and you'll get there.
6. Final light and shadow/contrast additions
Repeat step one and two using Screen and
Multiply layers to add any further shape or to bring out any extra details. Then
Flatten > Duplicate Layer > change Blending mode to soft light and
opacity of that layer to 15% > Flatten.
This way of adding overall contrast should
only be used subtly, as every time you add contrast detail will be minimally
lost.
Then
Flatten > Duplicate Layer > change Blending mode to soft light and
opacity of that layer to 15% > Flatten.
7. Add grain
Duplicate layer > edit > fill with
50% grey > filter > noise > add noise > amount 10 > Gaussian
> monochromatic > press enter > change layer to soft light > change
opacity to around 10%
This will help to add texture and reality
back onto the ski, and adding a small amount of grain also helps the printing.
Duplicate
layer > edit > fill with 50% grey > filter > noise > add noise
> amount 10 > Gaussian > monochromatic > press enter > change
layer to soft light > change opacity to around 10%
8. Sharpening to finish
I use this final sharpening step to add a
little extra pop to the eyes and the details of the dress. This is a useful
technique for jewellery too.
Duplicate Layer > Filter > Other >
Hi-Pass > 20 setting amount > press enter > change Blending mode of
layer to soft light, then add layer mask > invert layer mask to black to
hide > use Brush tool at 50% with a feather to paint back the area you wish
to sharpen.
“It’s like you’re applying a thin veil of
make-up. It can’t be heavy-handed”
Duplicate
Layer > Filter > Other > Hi-Pass > 20 setting amount > press
enter > change Blending mode of layer to soft light, then add layer mask
> invert layer mask to black to hide > use Brush tool at 50% with a
feather to paint back the area you wish to sharpen.
9. A few final finishing touches
I personally would desaturate this image
slightly. Go to Image > Adjust > Hue / Saturation > - 26 saturation.
Then repeat, adding contrast if you feel it needs a little more punch. Your
image is now ready to show the client!
Go
to Image > Adjust > Hue / Saturation > - 26 saturation.
