I really like that smooth buttery skin look on jessica claire's pictures while still retaining that sharp look in the subjects eyes. It also looks like jasmine star does the same thing to her photos. Are they running a certain action or a filter to give that look? Does anybody know how they are doing that?

Ask her!

Well I figured she probably gets hundreds of email from photographers with questions. she probably doesn't have time to answer all of them. I just figured it would probably be faster to find out thru here. Maybe she will see this post and kindly respond.

I'm going with most of the work being done in camera with some fast primes and magic DOF control. But I'm assuming a lot about what you actually mean

And yeah, you should ask her

She'll tell you flat out that lighting is most of it. You have to understand that in California and some of these exotic locations (most near oceans)the quality of the magic hour light is just short of unbelievable. So, not only does she have good light to work with...she knows how to work the light. Her and Becker are incredible at finding just the right quality of light in a given area to get a certain look. That's a good portion of her buttery images...lighting. She uses Kubota Actions and Boutwells Totally Rad Actions too.

+1 she NAILS her exposures

I know she get her exposures right and finds great lighting. But technically speaking, knowing she uses sharp lenses, you would normally see blemishes, etc.. on her subjects, but it looks like some kind of filter or action is used to smooth out the skin. that's what I am curious about.

This may help you out:

http://www.opensourcephoto.net/forum/index...ic=8880&hl=

this is from the other post by eric

1. Do my best to take a good picture in the best light I can find (I only say this because it's so important to start with as good a picture as possible)

2. Fix any obvious blemishes using Photoshop's spot healing brush

3. Run a home-brewed action I've fine-tuned over time and through experimentation. Paint in the smooth skin on the mask, then adjust opacity to my liking.

4. [Optional] If I need a little extra glow, I create a duplicate layer, gaussian blur it at 16-20px, brighten it with a slight curve bump, then set the layer mode to Overlay and opacity to 25% or lower.

Here's how it looks:

Reduced: 42% of original size [ 1200 x 400 ] - Click to view full image

Here's the action I use in case you want to play with it: Download action

A basic understanding of Photoshop masks is helpful. Be careful not to over-do the skin or glow ... no one wants to look like a mannequin ... or a glowing angel ... or - worse yet - a glowing mannequin-angel
NOTE: I AM NO LONGER ACTIVE ON OSP. PLEASE EMAIL ME AS I AM NO LONGER CHECKING MY PERSONAL MESSAGES.
--
Erik Dungan
Flash websites for photographers (BIG Folio)
My blog on photography, web design, programming, and life
Bend Oregon Photographer. Serving Portland, Redmond, Eugene, Sisters, and everywhere in between
erik[dot]dungan[at]gmail[dot]com

The 85 1.2 is freaking to DIE for. All my shots with it are creamy & buttery and yum, I think that's what she shoots with most of the time

those are the answers I was looking for, that smooth porcelein look. thanks guys

i just downloaded and tried eric's action, and it works great. thanks eric for the action, and thanks guys for showing me that thread.

http://cutframetv.com/view_video.php?viewk...076b1c5722a46aa

Try this one too. Jessica once explained this here on OSP, but I think that post was lost in the great crash.

Like these?:





Pro Retouch from Totally Rad + Resize + Kubota's KPD Sharpen Action.
The first one was only resized and sharpenned since she already had clean skin.

If she does use the Boutwell actions, the ProRetouch action is worth the price of admission alone.

Really good fast retouching tool that smooths skin with no plasticky feel. Just remove major blemishes with the heal tool, then smooth away. This senior shot with lots of small rough areas of skin was a 30 second fix with ProRetouch (and a tiny touch of cross-process color). What I love about it is that it provides really buttery skin while retaining the all important texture. I'm not a big glow fan and this provides the realism I want with the skin "perfection" my clients lurve.

Not to steal the thread but just wanted to say.....

I live in CA, but I've shot in plenty of non "exotic" locations (i.e. Illinois, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Nevada, Arizona, Mexico, Oregon, etc etc etc) and I just want to say I don't buy this myth of the "California light." The sun that shine on CA is the same sun that sine on the rest of the world. You can get great light just about anywhere, it's just knowing how to use it.

Jessica is great at using light, and I'm sure she would get the same quality of shots if she were shooting in CA or in Cleavland.

+100

I had a feeling it probably was kubota or boutwell actions she was using, but wasn't for sure. I think I just got convinced to purchase boutwells actions. thanks everyone.

Awesome Mike! Just watched it and wow! Amazing what you can learns in a minute and a half!! Thanks for posting that...

so are we saying that this "pro retouch" is in the boutwells set?

+1000000000000. The ProRetouch action (which is in the Totally Rad Action set) is AWESOME!

You're welcome!

pro retouch is in the boutwell's set and absolutely rocks. Dustin you will NOT be dissappointed.

I purchased TRA last night....didn't go to bed till 3am...TOTALLY worth it, every penny!

Nice ... I'll be buying these soon too methinks.

A link for those of you who can't be bothered googling :

http://boutwellstudio.com/totallyrad/

I just got home from my wedding, and my wife says " you totally got shot down on osp today." So I was like "about what?", and she says "the lighting post you made."

This is the facts: As you get closer to the equator, light from the sun is more consistent. The weather is more consistent. The temperature is more consistent. Sunsets are more consistent. Most people want to get married in a fairly consistent environment. That's all I'm saying.

Chris, you're right about being a pro and spinning gold from straw. Jessica is good, and so are most of us on this forum, but it's just a little easier closer to the equator, and with a good set of actions/presets.

I live in Wisconsin, so you can only imagine how I crave that "California Light" he he.
However, in California they don't have the Packers...now do they.

When I clicked on this thread, I wasn't sure what to expect, but wow, thanks! First of all, that particular effect is done with NO ACTIONS. I love the boutwells actions, and have been using pro retouch here and there for other stuff, but not for the thing you guys are talking about. I also used to use Kubota's actions fairly often but don't much anymore, the only one I use semi-regularly is the Xprocess Combo, which I only use at about 30%, and rarely at that.

The look is clean good light, retouching ALL shadows and blemishes, and a bump in curves. That's it. Don't even bother trying it with anything other than soft, front facing light, that sidelight, backlight, etc. won't work.

And as for California light...here's a wedding I shot in North Carolina:

http://www.jcsphoto.com/client/may6sneakpeek

and DC:

http://www.jcsphoto.com/client/sept9sneakpeek-090906

and Mexico:

http://www.jcsphoto.com/client/feb4sneakpeek

and Hawaii:

http://www.jcsphoto.com/client/dec6sneakpeek

It's not the location, it's the way you use the light you've got.

jess

Thanks for replying Jess, that is very kind of you with your schedule as I imagine it is.

I've been taking the long way around on the old soft skin thing for a while and I have also been playing with a Dior look which I hope to make into an action soon.

I imagine that if the bride has already spent a fortune on the dress and everything else she would get a professional in to do her face as well. Good make up helps a lot with the final image. If there is no concealer or foundation used then you get blotches , especially when it's hot or cold. I have photographed brides both with and without the base make up and the differences in the time of processing are phenomenal.

My tip? If you can talk to the make up artist before the wedding, ask for the make up to include foundation and concealer and for it all to be heavier than for everyday use.

I totally agree... I'm not a makeup girl myself, but I love it when brides and the girls in their wedding party wear good makeup! (Makes MY job much easier!) There is a finishing powder called "Photogenic" that really looks great on skin in real life, and has a dewey, smooth, soft look on camera. TOTALLY worth it!

The kind of light I'm talking about makes blemishes and imperfections smooth out on it's own, it has very little to do with an impeccable makeup job. It's the LIGHT!

I don't think anyone shot you down. Light is good in CA but light is light. Weather its in Denton TX or Springfield MO light is light and how you record the light will result in how your images look. She sees light. And having shot weddings all over the US I can tell you it does not matter about the location, it matters how you see and record the light. That is how you get these "effects" in question. But what the hell do I know? I shoot all film...GASP!

Beautiful imags Jessica! Thank you for sharing with us.

Jessica is awesome! She did a shoot with my wife and it was beautiful. She has mad skillz all the way around. Can't wait to get the album Jess

Ok, as a newbie, I'm kind of afraid to jump in here but...I think that Jessica is dead on with it's the light. Not that she said this but it's my opinion that using actions and photoshop magic is a way to get around making great images to begin with. Not to shoot anyone down either as God knows, I'm nowhere near the point where I get consistant images that look anything like Jessica's straight out of the camera...but as a beginner, that's what I'm striving for. I want to do as little pp as possible and this means using the best available light when I can, filling in with flash when I can't and nailing exposures to begin with. I want more camera time, and a whole lot less computer time.

Also, a beginner in this business but not to photography, I think it's all too simple for newbies like myself nowadays to shoot in raw let's say and just be prepared to fix anything in Lightroom or PS when things aren't what we expected. If I spent half as much time out shooting and practicing my exposures in ALL types of lighting situations as I did sitting on my #ss in front of my computer, I'd be such a better photographer than I am.

Just my 2c

Now if I could only get out of this office and back to shooting again...

Forget photography, I must find this light and stand in it 24/7.

Haha +1 on that!

Ironically, if you are ever at a restaurant on a hot date and you can get a table with one seat facing the window and the other one is completely facing opposite the window--sit there in the one facing the window. That's the light

There's no way I can come close to JC and her artistry, but just to add a tip:

If you think you have some sweet light, or think you may be close to some...
place your subject there and walk around them in a semi-circle.
WATCH THE LIGHT OFF THEIR FACES CHANGE as you walk around them a bit.
The ambient light coming from behind you and bouncing back to you off their faces makes a HUGE difference, and it can DRAMATICALLY change if you just take a step or two. Even squatting down or standing up straight can change it a lot.

Finding the perfect open shade or perfect back-lit (or front lit or 1/2 lit) situation is only 1/2 the treasure. You have to find the perfect shooting angle where the ambient light coming back to you is the best.

I hope I'm not stepping on toes, but that's a technique I try to use as often as I can.

Thanks for sharing Jess!!!

thank you jessica for sharing that info. Your photos are always inspiring.





www.dustinbeckerphotography.com

The window is going to be a giant soft box. I assume, the photographer suppose to be on a bit off to right or left side of the window.

That's hilarious, because I will admit to actually doing that when talking to my clients. I sit opposite the window and keep myself well-lit because I think it makes me appear more "open". I can't say if it's helped. But it helps me feel gorgeous, dahlink...

It is freaking amazing what one can learn here on OSP that has nothing to do with Photography! That is pure genius!!!!And now you bring it back in to something that Photographer's can use (while not taking photographs). I am definitely going to do that from now on! I need all the help I can get!

I prefer to lurk in the shadows, ducking my head from time to time to make sure no light reaches the dark depths of my shifty eyeballs.

Thanks Jessica for your insight. And, also thanks to lovely Ms. Barefoot for your awesome knowledge!

Jessica,

Would you mind expanding on what you mean when you said retouching "shadows"?

Thanks!

Eric

Yeah, I remember thinking you were a bit "shifty"...muhahahaaaaaa....