The world likes looking at beautiful photographs of beautiful people and photographers are constantly receiving validation for producing them. However, when does it stop being about photography and start being about a preoccupation with female flesh?
Victoria's Secret has cast Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio, an openly transgender woman, for a catalog photo shoot. This announcement marks the first time Victoria's Secret has cast a transgender person for a catalog or brand campaign. Does this mean the lack of diversity and inclusion in the advertising industry is finally changing?
Just about anyone who has played with Photoshop a bit can learn about portrait retouching from YouTube, as there are tens of thousands of videos on there covering the many and varied methods involved in the process. But what about tutorials for photographers who are legitimately brand new to Photoshop, and have never used it?
Photography has been around for almost 200 years, believe it or not, and with every generation the art form evolves and changes. Everything from styles and fads to technology and world events have affected how photography has advanced over the decades, but what's going on today in 2019?
Skin retouching is an art form in itself, and there are thousands of different ways to retouch skin in Photoshop. Skin retouching is such an essential part of creating the final image in the beauty and fashion industry that there is a whole industry of artists who only specialize in skin retouching.
Just about every photographer at some point has found themselves in a situation on set where the disparity between light temperature sources causes significant color casting in ways they don't want. In my experience, the most common problem is when you have to contend with traditional incandescent light bulbs in frame, but you're using strobes that are (mostly) balanced to average daylight light temperatures. What's the best way to fix this in Photoshop?
There is simply no secret, instant fix to attaining truly great skin tone in postproduction. Using Photoshop, you can accomplish many a miracle in portrait retouching, but the many variables in any one image will dictate the direction you will end up going in your workflow when you want rich, deep, vibrant skin tones. I made an Action that starts the process for you in a click using my favorite approaches to deepening skin tone.
If there is one seemingly simple and wildly popular process in postproduction, it's boosting color saturation. I totally understand why — it's appealing to see your image sort of come to life with all the vibrancy and "pop" that color saturation enhancement brings. However, there is a smarter, more refined way to boost color saturation that I often employ, and I've also created a Photoshop Action for you to download for free that streamlines the process into one click.
If you've ever used luminosity masks, you know how perfect they can be for creating specific looks, effects and styles, and are also hugely purposeful for specific utility processes in your workflow. There are many ways to go about creating luminosity masks, but have you considered simply using the Gradient Map adjustment layer for this?
Let's face the facts and admit that frequency separation is quite likely the most misunderstood and misused retouching techniques, plain and simple. If you've never heard of frequency separation, then do yourself a favor and browse YouTube on the subject before reading on.
As a portrait photographer, you’ve probably considered hiring a professional makeup artist to prep your clients. In this first part of a two-part series, a professional makeup artist tells us everything we need to know about making professional makeup a part of our portrait photography offerings.
At some time, if you’re shooting glamour photos, you are going to need to perfect the blowing hair technique. This type of shot is inexpensive and fun, but does take a little more talent than merely throwing a fan in front of your model. This excellent video shows you the different fans and techniques that can be used to give your model that windblown look.
Test shoots are essential for the photographer and really help fill the gaps in a portfolio. On test shoots, everyone contributes for free. The photographer, makeup, hair, wardrobe, and model all work for free. Everyone is building on their portfolios on test shoots and if done correctly, it should fill the creative gaps in a portfolio.
Photographers seek to tell stories through captured moments and let each frame unfurl a greater scene and narrative. As content creators explore new scenes and concepts, the growth of Patreon is undeniable.
Whether you believe the approaches are passé, amazing, or just reasonably useful, frequency separation persists in the photography industry still, and has for years. Here's how to use a new method I created that expands control over all three main ranges: highs, mids, and lows.
