Beauty's Embrace | Digital Photo Manipulation in Photoshop CS6

This image started from a stock image (below) from last month's issue of Advanced Photoshop. I thought it was kinda cool and thought it would make a great base for experimenting in Photoshop CS6.

STEP 1: Using the Magic Wand tool I quickly blocked out  a layer mask. After, I tweaked it with "Refine Edge" and a small round brush (on the mask layer).

STEP 2: Another stock image (same source) of a stormy sky was placed in another layer beneath the model.

STEP 3: A really great resource for finding brushes and other resources for Photoshop is a site called Brusheezy. Using some brushes I found there, I created another layer between my model and sky and laid in some brushwork in white drooping the opacity to 80%.

STEP 4: Creating another layer above the model, I added a few more brush strokes, leaving these at 100% opacity.

STEP 5: I duplicated the sky layer and moved it to the top at this point. Using Hue/Saturation, I adjust the color. After creating an accompanying mask, I used the Gradient tool (Black to Transparent) to fade the new sky layer.

STEP 6: Next I set the blending mode (new sky layer) to "Soft Light" at 100% opacity. Steps 5 and 6 combine for a nice subtle cohesion in color.

STEP 7: Using Nik Software's Color Efex Pro, I use "Film Efex: Modern" to achieve this grain effect which was a bit too strong.

STEP 8: When using Color Efex Pro, the filter effects are applied to a new layer combining all layers you have turned on. So leaving my working layers on. I set the new filtered layer to 40% opacity to achieve the final look I was after.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial. It was fun to create. Let me know what you think of the final image. I think the hardest part is sometimes knowing when to stop :)

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Beauty | Miranda Kerr Look | Victoria's Secret Inspired

A beautiful clean look inspired by Victoria's Secret model Miranda Kerr.

Brought to you by 105 LOOKS and Tanya Burr

A bit on Miranda



Hope you enjoyed this weekend's beauty post... sorry for the brevity but this weekend is mad busy and will leave you with a little more of Miranda's work.

xoxo

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Beauty | Rebel | Freja Beha Erichsen

"The queen of cool. Probably one of the most-requested models of all my clients. She is the perfect old-school clothes-hanger with a little eighties androgyny thrown in." Kendall Herbst New York Magazine

Freja Beha was one of the inspirations behind one of 105 LOOK's latest issues, REBEL, so be sure to check that out. Discovered in Denmark in 2005 by an agent in a passing taxi, Freja has been turning heads ever since. On the runway and in print, her work for the likes of Gucci, Chanel and others is just incredible.

With that in mind, I am happy to share with you our choice for an incredible weekend look. Inspired by Freja and a rebellious spirit and made possible by 105 LOOKs. We hope you enjoy and rock this look. XOXO

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BEAUTY | BURNT RED LIPS

A nice easy autumn look for the weekend. Enjoy!



For more great looks, visit our friends at 105LOOKS

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PHOTOSHOP | Advanced Techniques

The other month at Barnes & Noble Books, I discovered the UK's Advanced Photoshop Magazine. It has amazing tutorials. I was hooked. Looking through these pages I was inspired. The whole creative process is intriguing. The behind the scenes bit, the effort that goes on behind the door, stage or screen, design, photo, painting, etc. Those mysterious steps that lead to the elusive magical, amazing or just plain wow moments.

I really have been wanting and needing to raise my game and decided to give challenging looking tutorials a go, come what may. This was my first attempt and the steps I took to complete it. Be most happy to answer any questions but if you are seeking a straight tutorial, you will have to get November's AP 87, the latest print issue and following along. The downloadable tutorial for this project isn't quite online yet. In the future, I will to try and choose projects that are.

This was a lot of fun, like when trying to cook and actually follow the recipe, once I got started I started adding a few of my own ingredients and hoped for the the best.

The start was a model (courtesy of iStockPhoto.com) and the first step was to remove the background forever more to be known as BG via the PEN TOOL and LAYER MASK and touch up the water with the CLONE tool.

I originally thought to keep her right forearm and hand (deviation numero uno) but as you will see later I ditched the idea.

Next called for a few ADJUSTMENT LAYERS (color balance, hue/saturation, vibrance and exposure) It was really cool seeing how the ALs worked together and the variations created by the order in which they are stacked.

Then inserting a new BG texture from a site I never heard of and glad I did. STOCK.XCHNG Highly recommended for free stock files and much appreciated for the completion of little Pygmalion here.

Working in the LAYER MASK of the model we begin to blend her in with the BRUSH TOOL and tweaking the over all color with the ADJUSTMENT LAYERS and playing with opacities.

First try at creating depth by creating shadows...here's where it stated getting kooky, fun but KOOKY and at the same time felt like I was breaking new ground for me, so exciting too.

Now for for some serious retouching, never tried to to such an extent. The tute included a file of a statue bust to replace the bikini top. Then cloned out the bottom remaining strap. I think this stage was very pretty.

Getting close to a finish, I added a second texture for more realism and a carved from rock feel takes form.

One last texture and assorted noodlings... still very ethereal and decided to go for more contrast for the final

On an end note, I worked in Photoshop CS4 and pretty happy with the results here, definitely learned a thing or two, please let me know if you have any specific questions, I will try and be more detailed next time around. Hope you enjoyed this. Look forward to your comments. :)

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