In Contact with professionals
April 5, 2020After feedback from Scorpio Jin Magazine, i took it upon myself to further my knowledge into postproduction and contact professionals in the industry that may be able to help with any tips.
I first got in cotanct with James Richards, James is also a student at University of Huddersfield, his practice focuses mainly on portraiture using film photography. However, before coming to university, James had previous experience in postproduction having worked for a retouching company and has experience of the industry.
James proposed a deal to me, that in exchange for the use of one of my images to edit and post to his page (all credits assigned to those involved) he would send me the edited PSD file. This way i could flick layers on and off, showing me the process of how he edited and gave me knowledge on a new workflow.
James also sent me a youtube link, which he said helped him most when learning to follow the process of skin retouching for a high end finish, the video explained the use of frequency separation and which is something i have been applying into my work and will continue to work on. James also suggested looking up more useful videos on Youtube such as channels like PHlearn who discuss editing processes in photoshop.
Secondly i reached out to freelance photographer Kyle Kirkwood. Kyle currently based in Toronto, worked in NYC shadowing and assisting other photographers and gaining him jobs of retouching for celebrities and huge brands such as The Kardashians and MAC cosmetics. I contacted Kyle via Instagram asking if he had any tips for getting my work to the standard of his. Unlike James, Kyle insisted going against the use of frequency separation when editing skin, as he thinks it looks too fake. He explained that his workflow involves mainly the patch/clone tool and the use of dodge and burn to correct skin. He also explained that i should 100% not be editing on a trackpad (which i currently have been) and invest into a graphics pad to give images a high end finish.
Advise from both James and Kyle was highly valued as they made me realise that postproduction is going to be a case of trail and error in finding a process that works best for me. They also showed me a new way of organising my workflow in photoshop and letting me know in what area of my retouch i may being going wrong in order to progress. I will definitely be taking their feedback on and will be investing in new software to better my practice for industry standard.