Portrait Photography: Retouch and Composite Vibrant Images

Show-stopping Portrait Photography Inspired by Pop Culture

“Congratulations! You’ve made it to the end of the course. I hope you’ve found the content helpful and also had a good time. Before I say goodbye, let’s review a few things to refer to as you create your own project:

• Be inspired.

A great image starts with a great idea, so explore and be open to whatever is grabbing your attention that day. Inspiration is all around you! All you need to do is rein it in for your photoshoot. Conduct your research. If a similar idea has already been done, consider how to add to it. Remember, pop culture is all about building on imagery and ideas that already exist in the world and making it your own. Sketch out your ideas. You might be tempted to stop after one idea. But try to reach as close to 100 thumbnails as you can. You may surprise yourself!

• Next, find your model.

If you don’t happen to know any professional models, don’t worry. You probably have so many people within your community who would LOVE a photo from you. With the right props and styling, you can transform any model to fit into the world you’re creating. Remember to communicate with your model both before and during your photoshoot. Make sure you’re sharing every piece of your vision with them so that you’re both on the same page and have the same goal in mind.

• With all the preparations made, it’s time to bring your vision to life.

Pay ample attention to your lighting. Control and bend it to your will. Light is so important when conveying a mood or feeling. In a studio setting you have infinite control, so be specific and meticulous. Shape your light like a scalpel, not a chainsaw.

• Once captured, retouch your photo.

Here, you have the freedom to use Photoshop as much or as little as you’d like, but the goal is always the same: remove any distractions. Yes, we want our model to look beautiful, but the important part is making sure a stray hair isn’t distracting your viewer from your amazing idea. Composite your images together to achieve a seamless finish. We want to trick the audience into thinking this fantastical image you created really exists! The more we can blend everything together, the easier the viewer can fall into the world of your photo.

• Now that you’ve created these awesome photos, the world needs to see it!

Share them online, volunteer for competitions, or even sell prints! You’ve added beauty to this world that didn’t exist before, there’s nothing wrong with showing off a little! You can share your project with all of us by clicking on "Create your project". Remember to share both the final result and the steps that led you to it. It would be great if you showed a picture of each step and added a brief explanation about what you have done in each one. Remember to experiment, be playful, and have fun! Making art in any form should be full of joy. So don't get too wrapped up in the technical details. Once again, thank you for enrolling in this course. I’m so excited to see what amazing projects you share in the forum. So, be sure to engage! Then I can give you feedback. See you there!”

Partial transcription of the video

“ Final Project We did it. We made it to the end of the course. By now you've probably figured out that this was all just a clever ruse to hang out with Scarlet. I'm kidding. I want to take this moment to thank you all for taking this course, for spending your hard-earned dollars, and for all your valuable time with me. I hope you learned a lot. I hope you took away a lot from this course, I certainly did. If you had asked me a few months ago to describe my process, I would have said, first you panic, then you panic, then you panic more, and then you hit the button. Putting this course toge...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Portrait Photography: Retouch and Composite Vibrant Images

• Level: Beginner
• 100% positive reviews (5)
• 378 students
• 4 units
• 32 lessons (9h 16m)
• 4 downloads

• Category

  Photography & Video

• Software

  Adobe Photoshop

• Areas

  Photographic Lighting, Photography Post-production, Portrait Photography, Studio Photography