How can I create a smooth, slightly plastic-looking subject like in some stock photos?
Asked 5/19/2018
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2 answers
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I’ve seen photos where the subject looks unusually smooth, polished, and almost illustration-like, especially in stock photography and studio portraits. What is this look called, and how can it be created in-camera or in post-processing without overdoing it?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
9
It's hard to tell what you're looking for based on a brief description and just two examples. Here's an image that was taken on a FujiFilm X-E2 at ISO 200, 1/350s, with an XC 50-230/4.5-6.7 OIS-II lens at 230mm F6.7. No special processing before uploading, though Imgur may do some processing that is out of my control.
If it illustrates what you are seeking, there are a number of options that may suit you. (Otherwise, I have no idea what you're asking. Clarification and more examples would be helpful.)
Select the subject. For instance, with food photography, a lot of time can be spent sorting ingredients, re-cooking dishes, and plating multiple variations.
Experiment with composition. Even just slightly shifting the subject, eg, the location of foods on a plate, can greatly improve a photograph.
Increase aperture, focal length, and subject-to-background distance to create a shallow depth of field that results in a sharp subject with blurred background. Sensor size is useless if these elements aren't in place.
Reduce captured noise by using low ISO or image averaging.
Change camera-specific settings. No choice but to read the manual.
Create motion blur by moving the camera with a subject or using long shutter speeds with moving water.
Photograph at macro-scale, which inherently has a shallow depth of field. Extension tubes are a good way to get started. Don't worry about the math. Just get a cheap set with pass-through electronics, and start experimenting.
Use studio lighting techniques to separate foreground and background.
Use basic editing techniques, such as color correction, with levels and curves; healing and cloning; retouching with wavelet decompose or frequency separation.
Resize so that imperfections are shrunken down to sub-pixel sizes. This is somewhat related to pixel binning.
Reduce noise along with techniques to avoid destroying detail in the wrong places, such as creating masks based on high pass or edge detection filters. If done excessively, people can end up looking like wax figures.
Use magical plugins and filters, which include a "liquify" plugin (iWarp on GIMP) that performs digital cosmetic surgery. This seems like what you may have been initially asking about, but I'm no good at casting such spells.
Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user75526
8y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
This look is usually not one single named effect. It’s typically a combination of:
- Controlled studio lighting — often sharp lenses plus one or more flashes to create clean, even light.
- Careful subject prep/composition — styling, arrangement, and a polished setup matter a lot.
- Post-processing skin/surface smoothing — especially noise reduction or more advanced retouching.
A simple way to get the effect is in Lightroom using luminance noise reduction, which smooths fine detail and can create that “plastic” look if pushed too far. Color noise reduction contributes less. In Photoshop, more advanced retouching can separate luminance and color so you can smooth tones while keeping some texture.
The key is restraint: overdone smoothing often looks unnatural, especially on people. It tends to be more acceptable on flowers, products, or other non-human subjects.
So, the look is best described as studio-lit, heavily smoothed/retouched imagery, rather than a single special effect.
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