For all the Photoshop books out there, those focused entirely on Advanced Retouching are conspicious by their absence.
Some of the best are by Lee Varis, who has a series of books for retouching human faces.
SKIN - THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO DIGITALLY LIGHTING, PHTOGRAPHING, AND RETOUCHING FACES AND BODIES by Lee Varis
A Hollywood photoillustrator with 30 years of experience, Varis has been published in "National Geographic," "Newsweek," and "Fortune" magazines. Far from a manual on fashion or nude photography, this is a comprehensive tutorial on how to photograph all types of people: young, old, and dozens of ethnic varieties. Varis supplements the book with a CD of numerous before-and-after sample image files and technical reference materials. He begins with a discussion of the right hardware and software and how to configure them, then teaches digital color management and lighting techniques as they apply to portraiture. He also provides in-depth chapters on retouching and special effects, including such techniques as skin smoothing, beauty retouching, screen diffusion, and depth of field effects. Highly recommended for serious students. ("Library Journal," March 15, 2007)
Achieving accurate skin tones is one of the most challenging tasks in digital photography. Master this challenge with professional photographer Lee Varis as he covers a range of skin: women and men, young and old, various tones, in-studio and outdoors, tattoos, and more. His step-by-step tutorials and before-and-after illustrations demonstrate various techniques for topics such as digital-specific lighting challenges and what can and cannot be done in post-process. A free CD-ROM accompanies the book and contains sample image files to use while following the tutorials, plus equipment recommendations and technical reference materials that enhance and reinforce the instruction. Order your copy of this practical guide today and get a complete start-to-finish approach to integrating everything from posing models to shooting and retouching candid scenes.
Volume One
Volume Two
BEYOND SKIN: GOING DEEPER WITH PHOTOSHOP CS3 (3 DVD set tutorial). NOTE THIS IS A TWO VOLUME SET, EACH SOLD SEPARATELY.
Three Tutorial DVD set; Play worldwide in your regular DVD player or CD-ROM. Lee Varis' "Beyond Skin: Going Deeper with CS3 Beyond Skin takes you on a journey to the next level with Photoshop CS3. You will learn techniques for tone & contrast, color correction, retouching and B+W pertaining to digital photography of people. The author reveals a new approach to image enhancement that builds on material from his best selling book Skin : The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies and contains new material that has not been revealed until now using the latest version of Photoshop. - CS3 User Interface - Curves - Hue-saturation - B+W Conversions - Retouching - Sharpening - Background Bokeh - Portrait Glow - Luminosity Blending.
REAL WORLD COLOR MANAGEMENT by Bruce Frasier, Chris Murphy and Fred Bunting
Every graphics professional worth his or her salt knows the importance of color management. No matter how much thought artist and client put into the color scheme for a given project, all of that work is for naught if you can't get your results to match your expectations. Enter Real World Color Management.In this industrial-strength, under-the-hood reference, authors Bruce Fraser, Fred Bunting, and Chris Murphy draw on their years of professional experience to show you everything you need to know about color management. Whether your final destination is print, Web, or film, Real World Color Management takes the mystery out of color management, covering everything from color theory and color models to understanding how devices interpret and display color. You'll find expert advice for building and fine-tuning color profiles for input and output devices (digital cameras and scanners, displays, printers, and more), selecting the right color management workflow, and managing color within and across major design applications. Get Real World Color Management--and get ready to dazzle! This is a must-have for any serious retoucher!
