Playing around after Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it.

In a previous post on my attendance at Scott Kelby's Light it, Shoot it, Retouch it seminar I mentioned that I had started using some of the tips I learnt from him.

I don't usually take portraits, mainly due to lack of models or willing subjects and a lack of confidence.  However to show some of the techniques I have acquired I took this quick head and shoulders shot and enhanced it.

I must first point out that I do not like the images we tend to see of people on weddings days and in magazines where their faces have been softened too much and they start to look like a completely different person.

However, some subtle work can make a huge difference.

The original image with just the exposure tweaked. 

I applied softening to the skin and enhanced the eyes and lips.  This gave a nice soft texture to the skin which smoothed out some of the wrinkles and marks on the skin's surface.  I didn't want this treatment to be too extreme so you can if you look closely still see subtle lines around the eye areas.  

I applied a soft focus sharpening to the image to keep just the eyes sharpened and the skin soft. 

I converted the image to monochrome using the aged photo preset in Lightroom.  I just wanted to see what it would look like in black and white.  

I feel that my skills for doing quick portrait retouches have been enhanced by going to this seminar.  I will continue to look at ways in which what I have learnt on this course will enhance my photography moving forward.