Confessions of a Dirtbag Retoucher Redux - Brandon 2b

More from the same shoot...the two other sets...close-ups of makeup, and a preview of a more editorial set.

Confessions of a Dirtbag Retoucher Redux - Brandon II

In yet another stunning act of procrastination, I'm just now getting to images from a month ago. Shot the same day as the Twiggy series, this is another shoot with Brandon, from the shadowy wall series a bit ago, when everything went to shit, but the two of us decided to go ahead and shoot anyway. This time makeup was go, and a better studio space was go. I have a bunch more to retouch...two more sets...but this is the first set, figured I'd post as I go...which has the benefit of making me look productive.

This shoot was fun...we had some good wardrobe, and it gets better from here.

I've also been working on retouching as well, and I find that this lighting, as well as the beauty dish used on the Matthew-Jonathan shoot, make for a nice file to work with. Enough skin texture to work with, not too much effort going in and destroying excess texture due to overly hard light, but can still be made punchy. Refining that, as always...a balance of hard and soft has to be out there someplace.

As always, click the image for a larger view (in this case, a bit bigger than usual for a collage):

An Experiment

Not sure if this image will even be a select from this set...but somehow I got sucked into retouching it anyway.  Trying new things and such.

This is Monique, she was in town and got in contact with me for a shoot. We had a lovely time, and sometime this year I'll put up a collage of what we accomplished...look for it mid-June.

The experiment (click for a larger view):

I'll elaborate on the experiment involved at a later date, assuming it's successful.

More Twiggy

More photos of Twiggy...a collage representative of the set.  As always, clicky for a larger view.

Twiggy, no, not THAT Twiggy

Here, for your consideration, is a headshot from the most recent edition of the Sunday photoshoots I've been having. I think, just in time to return them to their owner, I tamed the small softboxes I was using.  Hopefully my pre-order number for a nice pretty new Paul C. Buff Einstein 640ws studio light will be called, and I can at long last have a truly fantastic portable lighting setup and the beauty dish I've been coveting for years. Until then, we make do.

This week on the blog we have model Twiggy Bladez, with makeup provided by Trinity.  I'll keep this short and sweet by saying that I really enjoy working with people who do their job well...makeup artists who make skin just shiny enough to look natural, and models who move well.  It's a good thing, to quote St. Martha of the Home.

There will be more from this shoot as it comes to exist, in the next few weeks I imagine. As always, clicky clicky for a larger view.

Confessions of a Dirtbag Retoucher - Matthew-Jonathan Collage

Excuses, excuses, excuses. I've had 'em all the last couple weeks. But I've finally finished retouching images for awesome model Matthew-Jonathan.  Variety is the theme with this set.  We start at fairly classic fashion, clean backdrop, full length, some crazy accessory, one big light, and posing or jumping in the air.  Next we get a little closer, and a little weirder, attempting to at least a teensy bit channel Vogue Italia...I played with the color a little.  And finally, the primal and feathery artsy beauty sort of shot.  All makeup and feather-crafting by the lovely and amazing Ellen Wilkins.

Without further ado, here is the collage of images from this shoot...as always, click for a bigger image:

Charlie

Here are the final images from Charlie's set.  I decided to play with replacing the sky on one of them. I think it works well on that one, but didn't work as well on others. But that's what this is all about, experimenting, seeing what works, and figuring out how to go forward.

And I hafta say it one more time, it was awesome working with Charlie...great model, great guy. Photographers should be so lucky.

Without further ado, the usual collage (click to enlarge):

Charlie, and Matt + Ellen

My shoots seem to bunch up, rather than spreading themselves out.  It's odd like that. A horrifying thought: if things had worked out on every front, I could've ended up with 4 or 5 shoots this week.  Two was enough, I think...especially since as soon as I deliver these sets to the models and makeup artist involved, a new project starts up with a buddy, trying to discover the new "it" lighting.  WAY too many models lined up for that, which is awesome...if any flake, we're covered, if none do, all the better.

The first model is Charlie Quiles. He was in Vegas for a while with some friends, so we set up a shoot via Model Mayhem. We ended up with a desert nomad fashion sort of concept. The location is desert on the way out to Lake Mead, from the north side of town. We made our way down into this great canyon/cravasse/ditch sort of area, and made it out alive, bonus.  Charlie was totally awesome, providing kick-ass props, personality, talent, and a damn good attitude (how many models would've bitched about schlepping through soft clay on location?) and sense of adventure.

Second model, Matthew-Jonathan, the first model I've worked with whom I've met via myspace.  Also working on this shoot was the lovely and delighful makeup artist Ellen Wilkins. We shot at Lillie K's XQuizit PiX studio; she and the studio were awesome in every conceivable way, and I'll definitely be using the studio again and recommending it to anyone who will listen. The makeup and talent were fantastic on this shoot...ideas flowed, and we were all on the same wavelength. Again, torturing a willing model, this time by gluing feathers on him.

Until I finish the sets of Charlie, and Matt + Ellen, here are a few tasters of what we were up to. As usual, I'll do collages when the jobs are all done.

Brandon pt.2

Not a whole lot to say about this set, except that it was amazingly easy to edit. Retouching pretty much consisted of removing a handful of blemishes, sharpening, and dodging & burning. No smoothing, no blending, no texturing, nothing fancy shmancy,

i L-O-V-E easy shoots.

as always, click on the image for a larger view.

Brandon

I'm a total junkie.

I just can't survive for very long without a photoshoot. I finished December's retouching what...last week? And already I found myself jonesing for a new shoot.

We were all set up to shoot today, bust out some black latex goo, paste on some feathers, etc, etc...but the MUA had a crisis of some sort...which happens. The two of us remaining decided to carry on with the shoot and see what we could pull out of the proverbial hat.  The shoot went well, and I think there will be some really great stuff to come out of it.  I have nothing but positive things to say...the entire process of working with Brandon was one of the most professional experiences I've had...excellent communication, resources, spirit of adventure, took direction well, totally on top of it, genuinely good kid...so kudos to him.

Here's a quick edit from the set...I used it sort of as a test just to see what everything looked like coming out of Lightroom, and how it would retouch. It also just happened to be one of the better shots from that set. Courtesy of really good skin, and my not fucking things up, I don't even need to do much more retouching, if any, unless I decide to make an enormous print. (I'm also amused that it's image number 2345...or...if we're counting from the beginning without 4-digit rollover after 9999...it's image 12345 on the camera. Yes, I'm nerdy like that.)

Here's the result: