9


10


Stage Nine - I decided that the image could just do with one additional point of interest. I felt I needed just a touch more movement and drama, so I purchased some stock imagery of birds in flight. These were masked off and added to their own layer and were balanced for tones, lighting and colour. I had to bear in mind that the light source at that point is greater from behind so it is important to ensure they sit well in the final image. The model’s skin is cleaned up and retouched on a separate layer and in overlay mode the skin is enhanced and smoothed. Obvious blemishes are removed, contrasts are flattened and others enhanced using my own Razor Brush technique (This is a procedure I am developing for my online retouching master classes.) The images are then flattened.


Stage Ten - The Final Image - This is where the picture really comes alive. The finishing touches make it real.


The clouds are darkened with the burn tool. The skin has highlights added with blend mode and luminosity, using the dodging tool. Clouds and rays of light are intensified. Some of the background is rendered darker and more dramatic with a soft Gaussian blur to soften the edges. A slightly darkened vignette is added to the outer edges to bring the eyes into the centre of the images.


And there it is. The final file ready for the client. And the total development time? Two and a half days.


www.jamesnadar.com


RazorBrush Technique by James Nadar (Coming soon to www.razorbrush.co.uk)


26 www.bowens.co.uk


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