Howz this?

[berriman]

Hey Nick,

So what do you think? have i made her a bit too brown and are her eyes too dark or is it all ok? I think its a bit flat but maybe im just a little harsh on myself.

Mark

[berriman]

Hows this?

[Matt Timmons]

Great work- personally I think the second model is stunning. If I have 2 cents to contibute, I would say watch the area near her ear and hairline where you can see a line from where your smoothing ended. I would soften the clone tool (or whatever you used) a bit and get really close in there. Your image sensor needs cleaning my friend! Mine too! I think they are great shots and the lighting setup is perfect. Cheers, -Matt

[Nick Saglimbeni]

Hey Mark,

I agree with Matt, you're lighting is really perfect for what you need, given your post skills. I would agree with you that the first shot WAS flat before you touched it, but I think you nailed the contrast in the retouched image. I don't have a problem with the dark eyes since her skin is so bright and her hair is so dark—it provides a perfect balance. I also appreciate the saturation on the AFTER shot. I was about the cry when I saw that lollipop and blue-shirt in the before...they were SCREAMING for color (or it may just be an optical illusion after you blew out the white background, but either way the colors look great now). Nice work.

[Nick Saglimbeni]

On the second shot, I love that you retained your highlight detail while smoothing the skin. You also did a fantastic job with her eyes. The hand looks a little hyper-smooth (needs knuckles), but there's a lot of compression on the image on my end...hard to tell if that's just artifacting. Beautiful final image.

[brenicole]

I think you did an awesome job on the first photo. I appreciate the contrast! I have those same dark gray spots in my photo's as well! Glad to find out that I need to clean my image sensor!....ahem... however I do that! LOL

I LOOOOOOOVE the second photo. Model is stunning, expression is awesome. Love the highlights and her makeup is great.

I have to agree with Nick on the compression. We are losing some details because of it. But otherwise I think you did a rockin job.