Actually I think they are quite well done also. He seems to know his stuff.
They are certainly what most magazine covers show. The fact that he puts the before/after in a hover-over type way is not only very neat and clever, but it of course makes us immediately identify the "unnatural" look. And that's the look we seem to crave according to the number crunchers at them glossy magazines, and they ought to know.
I do quite a bit of this work. When I get back to my studio I'll post some board appropriate examples. I'll also post a site for a celebrity retoucher that does AMAZING work.
The problem of the fake vs. real thing is for a while fake (or more fake) has been "in" when it comes to modern glamour photography. If that's what the client wants, then that's what you do. Some folks like the MAXIM/Playboy look others don't. But virtually every photo you see published has been retouched, it's just a matter of degree. Also a lot of the time you're working to deadline or there isn't much time/budget. I've spent two days retouching one photo. Other times I've had two hours. It's hard to get a two day result in two hours....
EDIT: It also depends a great deal on what you start with. If I shoot a beautiful young model with clear skin and professionally applied makeup for camera (airbrushed foundation, etc.) and I light her correctly, then I can retouch her in an very short amount of time and she wont look plastic. She'll look flawless, but she wont look plastic. However, if you're shooting an "aspiring model" for her portfolio and she doesn't have flawless skin and her makeup is not satisfactory, or if it's an older woman who want to look 15 years younger.... Well the more you have to do, the more plastic they're going to look...
Great work mattC.. I always wondered though.... How much do you charge for this type of retouching work. I know it depends on the client, but like for the two above examples. Do you charge hourly or a flat rate?
Thanks in advance.
That's a tough question to answer. If it's a one off for a client it could be billed hourly if everything else was being billed that way and itemized. More often then not, you're charging a flat rate and these days the clients expect more for less. They seem to think that "digital" makes everything "easy".... Honestly, the move to digital has, in certain respects, made things more work intensive per dollar earned then film...
Often times you're shooting on spec. If this is the case, you know what the magazine/publication pays per image and it's up to you how much work you want to do - of course they may not accept your images either....
If the retouching is being done for another photographer, or for a model who feels her photographs need retouching, I generally would quote a flat rate per image and the rate would depend on the image. If there were a slew of them, I might quote an hourly. The problem with the hourly is, if you're getting credited as the photog you want your best images out there. However a model/client may only want to spend so much. So do you do half a job, because they put a cap on your time, and have bad images out there? Or do you do them all good because you know your rep is on the line? See where I'm going with this?
Yes.. I do.. Thanks for the quick reply.
I have a friend of a friend who shoots a lot of different people for glamour shots. She use to retouch them herself, however she doesn't have the time anymore. I offered to do the retouching for her but didn't know what to charge her. Of course, these are shots of normal people (non models) who just want nice glamour pictures of themselves. I will post some of my work as well..