Retouch

Howdy

A post with real work on it!
Who would have thought.

Well, it's clear by this point i don't know how to start a blog post.

During my time in the residency i had been looking a lot into retouching of images in an attempt to push my photography work further, to really make the images stand out.
I'm aware i still have a long way to go before my images are any where near standing out.

I found a new method of retouching, which is apparently a popular one called the dodge and burn technique. Essentially it's a method where you laboriously go over the image with a fine brush making any uneven light on the model even. So lights to dark, dark to lights.
In order to create a delightfully smooth, yet entirely textural skin.

Here is my first attempt with this method. I'm really happy with how it has come out. Of course it has been a good week or so since I've created this image so there are many things i can point out that i don't like or what to change.

The entire image is not how i would shoot it, its very vibrant, the background is too bright for it. The reason for the image itself was for an assignment. We needed to incorporate a print from another student. The blue background is actually a cyanotyped image my collaborator made using leaves and other foudn objects.

At this point, while still very happy that i was able to retouch it properly, i know want to be able to create better images to experiment with. I know i can do better, so i really feel i should simply start doing it.

I also think it is about time i finish with any blue background images. White and grey from now on i think.

Any feedback or advice would be greatly appreciated on this subject.
Thank you.