Last month I posted some pictures from the Chez for the June Centerfold. One of the queens featured, ms. Blu Berri Moore, asked how I made her look so good. Here’s a little behind the scenes of how I edit editorials!
Here’s a recap in writing:
One: Be pretty! I make edits, not miracles. If you’re not already pretty this won’t work.
Two: Crop the photo to get a nice composition. I usually go by the rule of thirds, lining up faces or eyes roughly on thirds of the frame.
Three: Get rid of background elements that distract from a clean composition. I often just use the smudge tool for simple backdrops like this.
Four: Adjust saturation, contrast, and noise to taste. I like to lower the saturation, up contrast using curves, and add a little bit of noise.
Five: Duplicate the layer, apply a gaussian blur, set this new blurred layer to screen and lower the opacity. I usually do 10-30%. This gives a nice glowy effect and really makes the shiny parts pop. It’s like virtual Vaseline on the lens.
Six: Duplicate that blurred layer and set this third top one to soft light, raise the opacity somewhere between 50-70%. This brings back some of the depth in the photo and adds some warmth.
Seven: Make another empty layer and fill it with a color to set the mood. Set that new layer to color and down to about 10% or less. It’s a subtle effect that gives the whole image a nice, unified color.
Have fun and experiment with different options and layering styles! These steps aren’t hard rules, they’re just techniques I’ve found from different places online and by playing around myself. Even I don’t follow them exactly every time.