Tonight I was giving CS4 a good workout and thought I’d work on some portrait images just for fun. These both came out a bit better than I expected and you’ll see in the second image, I added a gradient to neutralize the skin tones as well as some textures on the outer edges. I was also going for a more creamier feel to the skin. Unfortunatly the web image just doesn’t come out with the right tone as a large .PSD file does.

I did a bit more work on the first image above, with Edna, shaping her nose and mouth somewhat but not wanting to make it look unrealistic. I also tried to maintain the skintone and pores when working with the skin which is always a challenge. This work can be tedious and there really is no way around it other than having a great makeup artist and lighting to get it right.

The other day I was talking to a friend about photography and was trying to explain the concept of how depth of field works and how an aperture controls DOF. He was asking me how to make image backgrounds fuzzy in Photoshop, he didn’t understand I had done it in camera. With our automatic cameras, I understand people really become lazy and do not understand how changing a shutter speed or aperture settings can change their photos. I went over to one of my favorite websites, Deviantart.com and shared a tutorial I had bookmarked a while back, to explain the concept. I know for me personally, I shoot 95% of my work in aperture priority mode. So for me, I think it is important for others to understand this concept.

Also check out this link for many more excellent tutorials. They have done a great job of clearly explaining each concept from Macro Photography to High Contrast Black n’ White

Photoshop Digital painting tutorial by Dianae - Licensed under Creative Commons License

From time to time I am going to add creative Photoshop tutorials to the site. All tutorials will be licensed under Creative Commons. This is a great way for everyone to learn about photoshop and some people are way more creative than I am.

Dianae is a perfect example of a talented artist and this tutorial is fantastic. The videos are even more amazing as this was all drawn freehand and not from a photo. But, it is a great tutorial for photographers who want to bring their images into a fantasy style. Continue Reading