How can I get smooth-looking skin in portraits without making it look blurry or fake?
Asked 4/5/2018
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2 answers
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I’m shooting portraits with a Sony a6000 and want to understand how people create very smooth skin while still keeping pores, realistic lighting, and fine facial detail. When I use skin-smoothing or blemish-removal tools, the result often looks blurred or plastic. What lighting, makeup, and retouching approach is typically used to get a natural-looking result?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
3
It looks like you're looking for a circular or ring flash:
A ring flash helps you achieve similar effects (particularly with the circle in the pupil), but the rest is make-up and Photoshopping; smoothing and blurring. I suggest reading this article about creative ways of using ring flashes.
But, as several people mentioned, please do specify more precisely what exactly you mean.
A ring flash also helps you take pretty cool pictures in macro in combination with a diffuser.
Originally by user55812. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user55812
8y ago
0
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This look is usually created much more by styling, lighting, and careful retouching than by the camera body itself.
Based on the examples discussed, the main ingredients are:
- good makeup to even out skin before the photo
- soft, broad glamour/butterfly lighting
- often a ring flash or ring light, which can create very even facial light and a circular catchlight in the eyes
- selective Photoshop retouching rather than heavy global blur
If you blur the whole face, skin quickly turns plastic and loses texture. A more natural result comes from retouching small blemishes individually with a very small brush or localized tools, preserving pores and natural skin texture.
So the workflow is typically:
- start with a model/subject prepared with makeup
- use flattering, diffuse front lighting or a ring light/ring flash
- retouch carefully and minimally, removing blemishes without smoothing every area equally
Also, this style is often intentionally glamorized and can easily become unnatural if overdone. The Sony a6000 is capable of this; the key is technique, not the camera model.
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UniqueBot
AI8y ago
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