Portrait skin softening tutorial without the plastic look. My first Photoshop tutorial.

As a photographer I have never felt the need to ever stop learning. In fact I crave new information, new techniques and new inspiration to keep my work fresh and my skills alive.

So many photographers have influenced me. Some directly with help and advice and I shall always be grateful to them.

And so I felt it was time for me to pass on some of the knowledge I have gained over the years and with this in mind I am going to start doing short tutorials and so I hope you find them useful.

Leave comments or questions if have any and I'll get back to you asap.

(Be gentle. Its my first tutorial, so I hope I haven't missed anything out..)

I see so many photographers still thinking that it is an acceptable form of post production to make the skin of a female model look like its been produced in the same factory as Barbie!

Well... Guess what folks?.. It aint!

The plastic look is so amateur hour. If you really want to make your subjects look good, keep them looking human!!

Trust me, unless you are into plastic dolls, (Hey! Whatever man, live and let live I say..) most people like to look like people and this is such an important aspect of studio portrait photography.

I am even seeing professional studios making this same mistake, but have no fear. Help is at hand. And I am going to show you a really simple technique using High Pass filter and Gaussian blur, plus some other bits and pieces..

This is done in Photoshop CC on a Mac. If you are using older versions you should be fine. If not. Get in touch and I'll give you a work around..

If you are on a PC then you may want to ignore the keyboard short cuts.... PC? Seriously??? :-)

OK, So lets get started...

Here's a nice shot I took about 5 years ago and this is the straight from camera. It was shot with a Nikon D300 using studio strobes. As you can see, its OK. Not perfect, but OK.

Her skin was reasonably good but for this demonstration I wanted to quickly show you the technique. Every image is different and if you get stuck just give me a shout.

So looking around the image there are a few blemishes a few stray hairs and all these I first get rid of with my healing brush, spot healing brush and clone tool. I also colour corrected the image in Adobe Camera Raw photoshop plugin. (I'm kinda assuming you know how to use these.. But if not... give me a shout...)

So we then have:-

Next we start to get our ladies skin nice and tonally smooth. But! We keep the texture!

So we have done all out spot healing and cleaning up and the image is now flattened in to one layer.

Duplicate this layer (⌘J)

Invert this layer (image-adjustments-invert) (⌘I)

Change the blending mode of this layer to VIVID LIGHT

The image will go almost completely grey.

Now run HIGH PASS filter. (Filter - other - high pass)
(This is the really weird bit as High pass is normally used for sharpening images but as the image is inverted it all becomes counter intuitive, but keep with me folks...)

The image will come back again but will be blurry. This is good! Seems wrong... But good...

I adjusted the radius for my image to about 19. What you are wanting to look at is how the tonality of the skin blends together. Don't worry about the eyes, mouth, nose, etc. We'll sort that out later dude!

Happy? Click OK

Next on the same level we are going to run Gaussian Blur (Filter - blur - gaussian blur)

Right! This now will work in reverse. The higher you go the sharper it will be so you need to reduce the amount of radius to get your blur. Adjust it until you get can see the skin texture. You want to start at around half what you had for the High pass filter. In my case it was 19 so started Gaussian blur at 8.

Still with me? If not? Just get in touch...

Happy? Click OK.

Right now create a black mask on this layer. Just click the 'add layer mask' button on the layers pallet and fill with black or hold down the alt button and the mask will automatically fill with black.

The black mask will hide all of your new layer and so you will just see the original layer below.

Right now select a round brush and make sure its softness is set to 0%

Ensure you have white in the colour pallet.

And now just paint in your soft skin, increasing and reducing the size of the brush to suit. Paint just the skin and leave the eyes, mouth, nostrils, etc..

When you have finished you may want to player with the layer opacity to get the exact finish you want.

You should have a flawless complexion but with all skin texture still visible. If not you may have over-cooked one of the stages earlier. Go back and try again... Naughty you...
OK so its quite hard to see the effect on my image. Partly due to the restrictions of image size and monitor but the last shot below is the finished image at 100% so you can still see the skin texture.

I have been using this technique for ages and I have no idea who invented it. But whoever you are you are a genius!

I can offer one to one coaching on photoshop so give me a shout if you want any help with anything.

Ciaox

Duck feast in Carno

Had a very enjoyable morning with the talent that is Tim Harrison. Some may know him from the Fish and Chip shop in Caersws, that has an incredible reputation for supplying some damn fine jockey's.

But today, not a chip in sight! In fact Tim was trying a new recipe for an article in the Kettle Bell Fever magazine, and I was here to photograph it.

Duck breast with Beetroot, peas and a Tyme, Orange and Wasabi dressing. ©Joe Purches All rights reserved

So to start Tim put together a delicious ice-cream made from Bananas, chocolate and hazelnut butter. Unfortunately I only tried a little as it was too cold. I was shooting outside in the Welsh winter after all... But for someone who is not fond of the yellow fruit, I would have happily eaten it all in warmer circumstances.

While I was shooting this Tim was busy in the kitchen preparing Duck breast with Beetroot, Peas and a Thyme, Orange and Wasabi dressing. Now the smells percolating out of the kitchen door was something to behold. And when presented to me to shoot I confess, I was very keen to dive in. But work first...

We shot the food outside because Tim lives in a beautiful Welsh stone cottage. Unfortunately it was not ideal for taking food photos due to the lack of large windows so outside was the only option.

Roasted Beetroot ©Joe Purches All rights reserved

Pan fry Duck Breast. ©Joe Purches All rights reserved

The publication Tim is writing for is produced by a company that manufacturers the Kettle Bell. An interesting and almost medieval looking device for getting fit. Something Tim seems to be very passionate about alongside his cooking.

The duck was delicious and I look forward to the next time we meet and to try his famous fish and chips.

Lacto-Fermentation

I've had a fun packed day today with the Lovely Annie Levy who has an amazing passion for Lacto-fermented food.

From my point of view it was a bit like cooking meets sciences meets witchcraft (in the nicest possible way) meets alchemy. What it is is a method of preserving food in brine allowing a natural fermentation to take place. I would, if this interests you (and it should as its fascinating) have a stroll over to Annie's Blog where you can find out a little bit more about this fascinating technique.

So I arrived at Annie's kitchen where I was greeted with a great cup of coffee and a selection of ingredients spread liberally across her kitchen table. Chillies in abundance, peppers, garlic and spices. The intention was to create some Lacto-fermented Harrissa. (Harrisa being a paste thats certainly not for the faint hearted. Delicious but hot! Ouch!)

The finished jar of lacto-fermented Harrissa before spending weeks in a cupboard while it does its thing. © Joe Purches

What I wanted to do was try and capture the process from raw ingredients to final product and with Annie's help we set about setting up the shots. As this is a real kitchen I felt it important to get across the fact that real cooks don't have everything styled and the reality is that peelings and offcuts do end up spread around the worktop. Our only concession to aesthetics was the use of some fabulous pots that she has in her cupboard that wouldn't normally come out in the normal course of events.

It was a lot of fun and I look forward to tasting the Harrissa when it has finished fermenting.

Thanks Annie. A lot of fun..

Mmmm, Spice. © Joe Purches

The finished jar © Joe Purches

Garlic and dried chill waiting to be added © Joe Purches

Why I love this shot

This shot was taken at the first Crash Festival in Abermule over 3 years ago. Don't know the guys name but I love it for its composition and the timing.

The Hostages sound check. Crash Festival. © Joe Purches, all rights reserved

It was during the sound check for The Hostages set and I was in the right place at the right time to get the stream of smoke exhaled as he was tuning his bass guitar.

Never stop learning.

Never stop learning. No matter how good you think you are will never know everything.

I have spent years learning my craft but it has never stopped me from a desire to learn more.

I think it is because photography is both an art and a science and, as such, presents many questions about technique and style that fascinate me and feeds my passion for this incredible medium.

Dylife Gorge, Powys. ©Joe Purches All rights reserved

The internet is a fabulous resource for the photographer, both amateur and professional, and whatever you want to know, its out there somewhere. But having spent more hours than I care to recall trawling the web for techniques and tutorials there are still some techniques that have remained elusive.

There are hundreds of individuals who create YouTube movies explaining methods, both in camera and in post production, on how to get amazing results. And these tutorials range from the completely brilliant to the total shite!

As and when I find really good ones I'll ensure to put the links on my blog.

Although I don't condone the replication of styles it is always interesting to ascertain how a particular photographic artist has managed to undertake a certain style.

Lets take the amazing work by Dave Hill and Andrzej Dragan. Both create the most incredible body of work, and both have hundreds of people attempting to explain the way they do it, to varying degrees of success. The reality is you will never be able to fully replicate their work, and why should you? Its their style, not yours. But it is a great way of creating your own style and getting artistic inspiration. If you can understand the processes by which these masters of Photoshop arrive at their finished work then this will help steer you towards generating your own individual style.

Even tutorials by one of the great teachers of photography Scott Kelby doesn't even come close to matching Dave Hills work and there are also some mediocre individuals who's tutorials are laughable in there aspiration.

The reality is if you do want to emulate someones style you have to start with a bloody good image. This has to be a professional quality image taken with careful planning and the best equipment. An image that would probably cost loads in time, if not in money.

Going back to Dave Hill again his images are created with a big budget shoot, with the best equipment and many assistants. Almost like he is shooting a movie.

With money, help, time and patience, and not forgetting access to great studios or locations, the raw image is going to be fantastic which will be reflected in the final piece.

My advice is to study peoples work, not copy it. Sure there will be some cross-over. There is in all art. But if you truly understand how a photograph works then you can see how the light is, how the contrast is and how the composition is.

Hold on to your hats! Its my blog!!

Having given it a lot of thought, its time to start writing a blog. Yay!

But what have I to write about? Well nothing much really, I am just a very opinionated bloke who wants to communicate my thoughts with the world.

Its going to be possible that my thoughts and musing may amuse you, may interest you, may offend you. And they may even educate you. Whatever you think, I hope you enjoy...

I shall be also posting images I take (I am, after all a photographer) and some tips and tricks for fellow photographers. These may be how to get a great shot in camera, or advise on methods in post production, using Photoshop.

I shall also be posting random stuff that could cover any conceivable subject. Politics and religion will definitely play a part...

A completely random shot I took of some lovely food ©2014, all rights reserved.

Should mention quickly the above image was taken in collaboration with the wonderful Jennifer Hall. A powys based potter, who not only made these fabulous pots but cooked and styled the food for the shoot. Link to her information here.

Quick background for you. I am a independent photographer living in the middle of rural Wales in the stunning county of Powys. I am near the friendly market town of Llanidloes and I live with my beautiful wife and 3 children. Tom, Harry and Mathilda. Harry is at art school studying for a degree in art and illustration, while Tom is looking for a job. Mathilda is 12 and is in High School.

My business is called Ayton West Studio (aytonwest.com) and is based in a studio in an old cow shed at home.

I get asked a lot why I use the name Ayton West. Well, firstly, its derived from my middle name, Ayton, and the surname of my wonderful Grandfather, Stanley West.

He is sadly no longer with us but as I got older memories of him and how he was have become more and more of an influence and so I felt sung his name was somehow continuing a connection with him.
Secondly, I think it sounds kinda cool....

Thats enough for my first post, don't want to bore you any more than I have too, so I hope you enjoy my scribbles and maybe consider becoming a follower.

J