First Model Photoshoot

I did it! I did my first "for real" photoshoot with a model (not just a practice using a photographer as my model).

I took my patient model to the Alum Creek Marina, there we had access to a forest, beach, and grassland biome for a multitude of different shots. We arrived an hour before sundown because I wanted to try my hand at golden hour light (which is complicated as F).

I took nearly 380 photos, half are probably unusable and over exposed or under exposed as I learn the triangle between ISO, aperature, and shutter speed. By the end I managed to get the golden hour lens flair I wanted!

I've tinkered with some images, trashing what I worked on since they were more so used as me getting accustomed to photoshop, but I have one mostly completed image that I'm happy with:

I think this took me nearly 6 hours to get. There was an ever increasing frustration with the photoshop layers to not do "stupid things", where an edit would go on the wrong layer, or I'd edit a lower layer but then some other higher layer being turned on would negate any of the lower edits, and trying to get my selections loaded onto a layer mask so I could composite or adjust hue/saturation of just selections- it was a mess. But! Here we go:

"Final"

Original

The composite work was frustrating in that my phone and computer are set on different color displays. I went to upload this using my phone and saw the sharp jagged edge of where my selection ended cutting into my model's left shoulder AND the colors didn't match, his body was more bluish while the add on scarf was more black. And then when trying to fix I had more of those "edits are being covered up by higher layers" thing happen and I was ready to punch things.

In all, though, the edits were [not including the composite]:
-clone stamp skin
-frequency separation skin
-dodge/burned skin
-hue/saturation adjusted the background colors [model not included]
-added a LUT to bring out a little more colors

Composite edits:
-add the scarf, remove any other bits from that selection that weren't the scarf
-add a blur to the outer bits to blend with the high aperture of the photo
-hue/saturation to have it match his body a little better
-clone stamp the background to make it look natural <-the way I put the scarf on, and the way the background was lit, there was a small layer of natural light lining the top of the scarf. While it was real it made the scarf look more photoshopped in, so I opted to make it look more natural over being natural
-healing tool (because I couldn't get the brush to work on the layer) blended the jagged edge of my selection onto his body

I think that's it... something I wish I had: a reflector to get a little more light on the left side of his face and torso; but it was so bright! He's currently standing in the shade of a tree to not blow out my exposure. Next outdoor adventure I'll try to have a reflector.

RL