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Creative Retouching

Let’s Play! Fun Robocop Retouching Contest & Prizes

UPDATE: The finalists and the Winner are announced on Fstoppers: The Awesome Robocop Retouching Contest Winners Congratulations, Jeff Whitlock! My Fstoppers colleague, NYC based Commercial Photographer Douglas Sonders, is running a fun retouching contest and giving away some sweet prizes! Douglas recently had...

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Creative Retouching, Fundamentals, Video Tutorial

Practical Uses for Photoshop Layer Blending Modes

In this video we'll be discussing some of the most important layer Blending modes for retouchers to understand, as well as present practical examples of when they are used. We've divided our discussion into four main Blending mode groupings: Lightening...

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Business & Clients, Commercial Retouching

Importance Of Self-Promotion For Artists and Practical Tips

In this post our Guest Artist Michael Herb, Commercial, Editorial and Conceptual Photographer from Las Vegas, NV talks about the importance of self-promotion for artists and shares his own methods. I absolutely agree with Michael on how necessary self-promotion is,...

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Creative Retouching, Interviews & Making Of Stories

The Making Of The "Red Dress Twirl" Artwork by Shayne Gray

In this post our Guest Artist Shayne Gray from Toronto, Canada will walk us through the creation process of his "Red Dress Twirl" image. I am really enjoying reading through our Guest posts and seeing their BTS and Before images...

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Creative Retouching, Interviews & Making Of Stories

The Story Behind “The Princess And The Golden Chair” Artwork by Johan Normén

In this post our Guest Artist photographer & master photoshopper (who is a full-time consultant and a team leader at an e-commerce company by day) Johan Normén from Alingsås, Sweden will show us the entire process of his “Princess and the golden chair” image...

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Retouching Guidelines & Considerations
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Business & Clients, Commercial Retouching, Fundamentals

Retouching Guidelines & Considerations

The general term “Retouching” can be categorized under the following subject-specific areas of Portrait, Editorial, Commercial, Beauty and Creative Retouching. Each of these areas possesses its own assembly of considerations around what “retouching” is when editing the image in question....

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Efficiency & Productivity, Fundamentals

History, Caches & Good Work Habits For Better Photoshop Performance

Please read How to Set Preferences & Memory Usage for Peak Performance before you continue reading this article. History & Caches Simply put, keep History States and Cache Levels at their default settings, and get into the habit of working on separate Layers,...

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Fundamentals, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

Practical Use Of Clipping Masks in Adobe Photoshop

In this tutorial we will cover what Clipping Masks are and how to create them in Photoshop. We will also touch on some retouching scenarios when they can be very useful. KEY POINTS: Clipping Masks allow you to apply pixels...

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Fundamentals, Working With Colors

Introduction To Color Management

COLOR SPACES Color Management is the process of coordinating colors from nature to camera, then to monitor, then to print, so that the color that will be produced in your final images correctly represents the colors that you intended, and match those...

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Business & Clients, Commercial Retouching

You Have To Value Your Own Talent & Time And Educate Your Clients To Do So

This is a great video from Derek Halpern of Social Triggers talking about how to prevent new clients from haggling your rates. He also offers a great script of response to client requests negotiating your rates down. We often find...

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Fundamentals, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

The difference between Brush Opacity & Fill and Layer Opacity & Flow

BRUSH OPACITY vs. FLOW While most people starting out with Photoshop tend to utilize Opacity slider and leave Flow untouched, knowing the difference between the two will allow you to select the one that will perform best for a given...

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Fundamentals, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

Working with Layer Blend If Sliders in Adobe Photoshop

Learn how to work with this super useful and often overlooked function of Layers Blending Options - Blend If Sliders. In this video I will show you how the Blend If sliders work and give a couple of practical examples...

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Fundamentals, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

How to Work Smart With Quick Mask in Adobe Photoshop

Quick mask is a Photoshop tool that can be used in a wide range of image editing situations. It will be quite handy for a retoucher working with Architectural photography as well as Product, Advertising and even Wedding images. In...

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Fundamentals, Software for Retouching

How to Set Preferences & Memory Usage for Peak Performance – Photoshop CC, CS6

Here are a few ways to enhance Photoshop performance: Optimize your current hardware Customize Performance Preferences in Photoshop Tailor your Photoshop work habits (read more: History, Caches & Performance-Friendly Work Habits) Hardware The faster the processor you’re using and the more random...

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