Portrait photography and photoshop post-production

I spent about an hour experimenting on the previous image and developed this ‘magazine/advertising’ feel to what is a straight forward portrait shot with one soft box and a reflector. I’m not sure if it’s been over-photoshopped! I like the recent images of Lewis Hamilton and that feel/finish has been used before in adverts and fashion.

There are lots of ways to work images and get the same result. It’s a case of experimenting and having a reason for doing it. Most times it is the subtle use of Photoshop that produces the best imagery. From a photographic perspective tools like dodging and burning can be used as a perfect simulation of darkroom practice, and it’s a lot easier than working in the darkroom. The transparency of layers and the filters that can be applied to individual layers is a powerful tool, switching layers on an off and moving them around reveals different results. You can incorporate duotone layers within a colour image.

The raw material, how the image is shot is important to what you want to achieve with it in Photoshop. It can be a case of trial and error. It is useful to make notes on the things you are doing to an image. Also there are plenty of books by people like Martin Evening on Photoshop manipulation.

~ by bip mistry on December 28, 2007.