Homage to Liz Taylor

Liz Taylor and George Hurrell, 2 great names well known to fans of both the cinema and photography. When Scott Nathan contacted me about working on this image and told me he wanted to make this an homage to Liz rendered in George’s classic style I loved the idea and was immediately on board.

Scott’s lighting combined with the pose he captured gave me a great starting place to work from. After working to minimize the blemishes and lines that would distract from the image I made sure to bring out the subtle detail in the hair around her face as well as paying careful attention to accentuating the shape of her face. Then I adjusted the color and contrast of the image and finally brought out the blue in her eyes, bringing them closer to the color Liz was famous for.

Below is the before:

Makin' it Real

How do you photograph a line of custom shoes before any have been made?

Last Fall Nike partnered with Pendleton Woolen Mills to create a line of custom shoes to be featured on their NikeID website. The only trouble was since these were custom shoes, none of the them would be made before the campaign went “Live”.

What they did have were some prototypes made from light gray leather and rolls of Pendleton wool fabrics. So when they asked photographer Michael Jones to create photos of the new shoes he brought me on board to handle the extensive retouching that would be needed to pull this off.

Working with Michael we formed a plan where Michael would shoot the gray shoes as is, then shoot additional frames with the fabric draped over the shoes. There were 19 shoes in all that would need to be “created”. When the gray shoes arrived Michael discovered that many of the base shoes would need to be cobbled together from several other shoes.

Using a strap from this one and a sole from that one my team and I first built the proper base shoes then went to work compositing the various shots of fabric draped shoes adding lighting and shadowing to bring out the shape and form of the shoes. Then the stitching was added along with changing the colors of the soles and swooshes where needed.

All in all 19 shoes were created with the first line going live mere days after delivery.

Here is a sampling of some of the shoes created as part of this campaign.

X-Men Character Poster

I love working on movie posters! There is something cool about working on a campaign for a big block buster movie like the latest chapter in the X-Men series. Last Spring I had the pleasure of working on this character poster featuring the young and old Magneto for the ad agency Trailer Park.

For those not familiar with the long process for creating a movie poster there are many rounds of design involved where the designers for the ad agency work closely with the studio client to create the final design. (It’s not unheard of for these designs to involve over 100 rounds before they get approved.) Once the studio approves the “Comp” the file is then passes on to the “Finishing" stage where high end retouchers complete the process of creating the final high res image for the poster.

The Finishing process involves adding a little extra canvas for “bleed” to make sure there is plenty of room for cropping and the various frames the posters will be placed in. Then it comes down to scaling the image up to the final size, usually based on a 27x40 crop at 200ppi, and the painstaking process of going layer by layer by layer replacing the low res images from the comp with the highest res versions available while adding the necessary retouching, masking and color adjustments to make the final image look as perfect as possible.

As you can guess the Photoshop files for these posters can get pretty big. The final file for this one weighed in around 10Gb and had around 70 layers.

Relaxed Glamour

Relaxed glamour should look effortless. But we all know true glamour takes work.

So when Dallas based photographer Stewart Cohen, who creates some wonderfully glamorous shots, needed someone to add a touch of Photoshop Magic to make this image look effortless he called on me.

In addition to the usual work bringing out the glamour of the model, this project involved combining several images together to get just the right balance of detail and lighting between the view in the windows, the model and the room itself. Reflections and stray roof panels were removed from the windows. Then the lights in the room were brought up just enough to give the image a nice home away from home feeling.

Here's the before image Stewart sent me to work on:

Naami Mohamed with Rick Rose

Bringing out the best in a Beauty shot like this calls for keeping the retouching work subtle. The trick is to strike the right balance between perfect and human.

And this demands paying careful attention to make sure the skin keeps that natural texture while bringing out the model's natural beauty. The retouching must remain invisible while enhancing the image in just the right way to complete the photographer's vision.

This shot was taken by Rick Rose, a young up and coming photographer I met last year. Below is the before image.

She's Alive! with David Zaitz

When David Zaitz got the assignment from Dailey Advertising to create some photos for an upcoming campaign featuring Alive Multi-Vitamins he knew he'd need a little extra magic to get just the image he envisioned. And that was when he called me.

The idea behind the campaign was basically to highlight how taking Alive Multi-Vitamins would give you that extra energy to get through the day. In creating this image David constructed an elevator on set, (the doors were shot separately), and then shot the models in various poses.

Then following the Art Director's layout I composited in new heads for the models to the left and right of our "hero" lady as well as swapping the upper half of the lady in the green sweater on the far right.

Finally I added a color grading treatment to the shot, desaturating the regular folks to help make our hero seem even more alive. Below is the before image.

Gary Oldman with Michael Murphree

When it's a shot of someone like Gary Oldman it's gotta look great! So when photographer Michael Murphree got the assignment to shoot Gary he called on me to help make sure everything looked just right.

With shots like this much of the work involves making sure everything balances properly while working together to guide the viewer's eye to the most important aspects of the shot. So exposures and colors for different areas are re-worked while gradations are added to the background to give the right sense of drama to the shot.

Here's another shot from that same series.

Ehancing the Mood with Color

Anyone who's a fan of the movies knows that Color sets the tone and the mood of the movie. The same is true with photographs. The right color treatment can turn a good shot into a "Wow!" shot, adding just the right sense of drama that brings it to that higher level that commands the viewer's attention.

So when photographer Stephanie Diani contacted me with this project I was immediately interested. Color grading is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of digital imaging. The opportunities for creative input and collaboration are really emphasized in this process, and when you arrive at that magical look there is a sense of great creative satisfaction with the transformation you were able to make happen.

Since this process can be very subjective we usually begin by looking at a variety of images the photographer feels have the right mood they're looking for. Then the exploration begins. Since this was a series of images it was important to also create a streamlined workflow for getting that special look that was both easy to apply as well as allowed for just the right flexibility so the look could be tweaked easily on an image by image basis.

In the end Stephanie's final look was accomplished with just 3 Adjustment Layers. And applying the look to all the other shots in the series was as easy as a few copy/past moves.

Here's a side by side before/after shot followed by some of the rest of Stephanie's series:

Before After

Bringing Out the Drama

When most people think of CGI images they think magical renders of perfect products where every detail pops out in just the right way. And while they're right, a great image can be magical, getting that magical image can be just as much work with a CGI image as it is with an image that starts with a photo.

Earlier this year Coca Cola called Bo Opfer, of 9k9, when they needed some high quality shots of their new bottle design for their NOS Energy Drink. Knowing this would need a touch of Photoshop Magic as well as CGI Magic Bo called on Dennis to be part of the team working on the project.

As you can see above these drinks come in 3 flavors, Fruit Punch (Red), Acai-Blueberry-Pomegranate (Blue), and Raspberry Lemonade (Pink). The overall job called for various views of each bottle with different lighting schemes. The shot you see above used the more dramatic lighting inspired by a Grolsch ad while the other shots used a more conventional product lighting scheme.

While we started out with a high quality 3D model as the project moved along it quickly became pretty clear we needed to modify some aspects of the model to get the clean look the client wanted. For instance the ribs that were on the back of the grip area of the bottle needed to be deleted, (they kept showing through).

And speaking of the ribs, as with conventional photos, often times the lighting that works great on one area may not bring out all the details you're looking for. Because the ribs were an important part of the redesign of the bottle we needed to make sure they popped in just the right way. But how to make this work without doing lots of illustrative work?

Enter the magical VRayNormals render! This is one of those really cool renders today's 3D programs can produce. Basically this pass (shown below) contains different lighting information. The rainbow look of the image comes from the differences in each of the Red, Green and Blue channels. And it was in those channels that Dennis found the perfect source for a mask that would let him make those ribs stand out.

As you can see the bottom of the bottles changed pretty dramatically over the life of the project. Seems the client decided to redesign the bottle of the bottles along the way (at least twice)! Combining this with various label changes, and the fact that each bottle needed to be rendered in both wet and dry versions (with the drops editable), you can see this was a pretty lengthy project.

Below are a Before/After look at the Blue bottle as well as one of the group shots with the more conventional lighting.

Beach Fashion

Philippe McClelland called on me to help out with an editorial fashion shoot he was about to shoot on one of the beaches near Los Angeles. Given the predictable June Gloom that sets in over LA's beaches throughout the month these images needed a little work to really help them sparkle in the way Philippe and his editor had visualized.

The series involved 8 different images, some utilizing compositing of various images of doves as well as adding a floating rope. Below are a few more samples from this campaign.

V for Grand Victoria

When Roger Hagadone got the assignment to create a series of ads for Chicago's Grand Victoria Casinos he knew he'd need an extra bit of Photoshop Magic to create the final images and that's when he called on me to collaborate with him on the project.

As you can imagine casinos are busy places, and they're not about to shut down their prize assets long enough to pull off the shots Roger had in mind. So his solution was simple: shoot the backgrounds in the casinos quickly and then shoot the models in the studio and have me composite the pieces together.

Knowing matching the lighting and making sure the models fit properly into the environment would take some work Roger asked me to be on set in the studio as he shot the models for the various ads. While he worked on finessing the lighting and expressions for the models I quickly dropped the initial test shots into each background making sure the perspective and basic lighting worked.

Once the selections were made for each ad I then went to work carefully compositing each model into the appropriate background while enhancing the lighting, contrast and color to add just the right touch of drama to each shot. Once the models were in place I worked on the backgrounds themselves restoring detail to the bottles, removing unwanted lights and replacing the TV screens with the logos for the bar.

Below are the Before shots of the bar location and the model, shot in the studio.

Angelina with Michael Murphree

When the subject of the photo is Angelna Jolie it's gotta look perfect. Careful attention must be given to making sure the image shows beautiful skin texture while keeping the image looking "real". This requires a highly skilled touch to make sure the retouching is kept invisible while bringing out the subject's natural beauty.

This shot was part of a series of images photographer Michael Murphree took for a PR campaign for a movie project Angelina was part of. Below is another shot from that same series.

Lifestyle with Chris Crisman

While building complex composite images is a fun challenge I also enjoy working on wide range of images including Lifestyle images such as this one shot by Chris Crisman. This shot was part of a series Chris did for Field and Stream. In working on this image I paid close attention to Chris' style and worked to bring out the right amount of detail in the old man and deer trophy on the wall.

Part of the challenge retouchers face is knowing what we leave is as important as what we take out. In this case the spider web by the table and the dirt on the floor were left to help add to the rustic feel of the location.

Introducing the Boeing 787

When Boeing gave Gil Cope an assignment to shoot an ad campaign highlighting their brand new jumbo jet, the 787 he was faced with a bit of a dilemma. You see while the 787 is quite roomy from a passenger's point of view it proves to be just a little too tight from a photographer's point of view.

So the question facing Gil was "how could he create a well lit shot inside such a confining space?" To solve the dilemma he decided shoot the interior of an empty 787 cabin and then recreate the seating arrangement inside a large studio where he could properly light the models and focus on getting the positions and expressions he needed for the shot.

That was when Gil asked me to add the Photoshop Magic needed to combine the various shots and add the final enhancements to bring it all together.

Here is a quick look at some of the elements that went into creating the final shot:

Lifestyle with Colin McGuire

Last Summer I worked with Colin McGuire on this lifestyle project involving 15 different shots to be used in a campaign for one of his pharmaceutical clients.

The shots all needed to have an early morning or late afternoon warmth with the sun just meeting the horizon off on the right of the image. On the days of the shoot Colin and his crew were met with stormy clouds and rain. So in addition to doing the usual cleanup, changing clothing colors, and compositing I needed to restore that warmth and bring out the sun so it appeared as planned.

Overall this series of images called for very careful masking and color correction. Each sky had to be replaced with a new one, the color of the main subjects' shirts needed to match the brand's red logo, the grass needed to be consistently green and shadows needed to be 'punched up' to give the impression of clearer skies and more direct light.

In the end the client was very happy and Colin looked like a hero for getting great looking shots despite the adverse conditions he faced.

Here are a couple more shots from the campaign.

Subaru with John Marian

Here's a shot I just finished working on with long time car photographer John Marian. This was one of two shots I worked on for John that had to be turned around on a very short deadline as his client's agency, The Designory in Long Beach, had several media buys already planned out for these shots.

Aside from the short deadlines the challenge in working on shots like this is blending so many parts of the car together. Typically shots like this are built from several frames that highlight certain areas of the car. For instance the front grill might have 2 frames so we can bring in just the right highlights while retaining the subtle shadow detail. Or the headlights might need a few different exposures to build up just the right amount of "life" in the highlights without losing the definition of the various facets. Or the wheels might have one exposure for the tread and another that shows off the chrome of the wheel.

Below is another shot from this same project, this one featuring the Blue version of the car.

Bringing out the Sun with Bob Stevens

Last winter I had the pleasure of working on location with photographer Bob Stevens as he shot all over Southern California for Lincoln highlighting their latest line of luxury SUVs. After shooting in locations from downtown LA to the mountains above Santa Barbara the last day of the shoot called for an early morning shot at Cal Poly in Pomona.

This particular campaign called for romantic images featuring soft colors and sun flares and we had a narrow window of time when the sun would be in just the right position to get the shot Bob was after.

Bob is a very experienced photographer who has tackled a wide range of challenges and always comes back with what he needs to create a great shot for the client. But in this case we ran into a challenge that called for a little extra magic. You see while we had clear skies as the dawn came over the next couple of hours a stubborn bank of clouds decided to come in and hide the sun that was so important to making this shot work.

As the window of opportunity slowed crept by Bob decided to get several shots with the models using a large 10k light as a stand in for the sun. This gave me something to work with and as the Art Director waited on the sun Bob and I settled into the back of the motor home and went to work.

Within a couple of hours we had the shot dialed in, and when the Art Director saw the shot she happily proclaimed "That's beautiful!".

Roger Hagadone and GVC

Earlier this year I collaborated with photographer Roger Hagadone on a series of ads for Grand Victoria Casino in the Chicago area.



The image shown here is one of ten images we created for the campaign. For each of these images Roger shot the background and foreground elements inside the casino and then flew out to Los Angeles to shoot the models that would be composited into the images.

Working on set with Roger as he shot the models I quickly dropped them into the backgrounds so he and the client could preview how the final composited images would look. Then once the final picks had been made I took copies of all the files and returned to my studio where I started to work on crafting the final composited images.

To keep the focus of the image on the model I used Photoshop's Lens Blur filter and to create the illusion of a short depth of field and then progressively darkened the deepest parts of the background. The table was added in front of the model and I brought in just a hint of her reflected in the wine glass. Then I retouched the model and added a touch of stylizing glamour to give her that special look Roger wanted.

Below are the before shots used to create the final polished image.

Guess Mailer

This past Spring I was called by photographer Emilie Harris who asked me to handle the retouching for a Guess ad campaign she had just shot.



The job involved working on 9 images that were to be part of their Spring Mailer. In addition to the usual retouching, color correction and cleanup this project involved an added twist. All of the images were shot using a cool idea, projecting an image onto the background over the models. In the end we wound up using a combination of 'Old School' and 'New School' techniques to create the finished images.

When the background images were projected over the models it created a very cool muted, slightly distorted image that spilled over the models tying them nicely into the scene. By combining the approved shots with the images that were projected onto the backgrounds I was able to bring a level of control to the project that could not be achieved 'in camera'.

Of course this meant laying the background images over the approved shot, matching the distortion and color then carefully masking out the models. For the image above this meant painstakingly masking out the spokes on the wheels as well. Now that's true masking fun!

Here are the Before and After shots: