Skin - Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographic and Retouching Faces and Bodies

368 Pages·2010·44.96 MB·English

by  Lee Varis

Skin
The Complete Guide to Digitally
Lighting, Photographing, and
Retouching Faces and Bodies
Second Edition
L e e V a r i s
Acquisitions Editor: Mariann Bsrsolo
Development Editor: Mary Ellen Schutz
Technical Editor: Doug Nelson
Production Editor: Elizabeth Ginns Britten
Copy Editor: Kathy Grider-Carlyle
Editorial Manager: Pete Gaughan
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Publisher: Neil Edde
Book Designers: Franz Baumhackl, Lori Barra
Compositor: Kate Kaminski, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Nancy Bell
Indexer: Ted Laux
Project Coordinator, Cover: Lynsey Stanford
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-59212-0
ISBN: 978-0-470-90661-3 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-0-470-90663-7 (ebk)
ISBN: 978-0-470-90662-0 (ebk)
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and
Retouching Faces and Bodies, Second Edition. This book is part of a family of premium-quality
Sybex books, all of which are written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience
with a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. More than 30 years later, we’re still committed to producing consis-
tently exceptional books. With each of our titles, we’re working hard to set a new standard for the indus-
try. From the paper we print on, to the authors we work with, our goal is to bring you the best books
available.
I hope you see all that refected in these pages. I’d be very interested to hear your comments and
get your feedback on how we’re doing. Feel free to let me know what you think about this or any other
Sybex book by sending me an email at
For my many students who have inspired me to share my
experiences in the world of digital photography.
Acknowledgments
I could not written this book without the help and support of many people. First, I need
to thank my wife, Gila, for putting up with me these past several months—she is always
ready to listen to and encourage me. Thanks also to my kids, Aaron and Erika, for being
an inspiration to me and for being such great subjects for my example images. A spe-
cial thanks also goes to my sister Yvonne, who besides being a gracious subject for the
retouching chapter has provided many years of creative inspiration through her music.
I must thank my contributors—Aaron Rapoport, Ken Chernus, Anthony Nex,
Audrey Stein, Paul Blieden, Michele Eve Sanberg, Mark Harmel and Erin Manning;
Erin was also the subject for the basic portrait-lighting examples. This book would not
be anywhere near as good as it is without the great photographs contributed by these
fne artists.
I must also thank my technical editor, Doug Nelson. Doug made sure I didn’t slip
up, and he caught the tiniest errors in screenshots, captions, and descriptive text. He
made numerous suggestions for clarifying technically dense text—and made sure this
old timer got the updated application terms correct. I can’t forget to thank the many
subjects of all the photos whose humanity is on display in these pages; few of them are
mentioned by name, but all are deeply appreciated for their contributions.
Of course, this book wouldn’t be possible without the Sybex team: acquisitions
editor Mariann Barsolo, production editor Liz Britten, developmental editor Mary
Ellen Schutz from Gentle Editing LLC, copyeditor Kathy Grider-Carlyle, proofreader
Nancy Bell, indexer Ted Laux, and compositor Kate Kaminski from Happenstance
Type-O-Rama.
A special thanks goes to my agent, Matt Wagner, who has been watching my
back in more ways than one (thanks for the insights on tattoos).
I could not have accomplished anything in digital photography without the
many teachers I have had over the years: Tony Redhead, Kai Kraus, Ed Manning,
Dan Margulis, David Biedney, Al Edgar, Daniel Clark, Jeff Schewe, Bruce Fraser,
Chris Murphy, Katrin Eismann, Eric Magnusen, Bryan Allen, and many others who
have helped me surf the bleeding edge of digital imaging technology.
Of course, no book on digital photography should fail to acknowledge the Knoll
brothers, Thomas and John, who created Photoshop and let the genie out of the bottle
to the delight of digital artists everywhere. And no book on photography techniques
could begin to repay the debt owed to Ansel Adams, who established the great technical
foundation for the art and craft of photography. I stand on the shoulders of giants to
make my very modest contribution to the vast world of digital imaging.
About the Author
Lee Varis, who has been involved in commercial photography for the past 30 years,
is a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He began working with computer imag-
ing two decades ago, after one of his clients took him to see what they were doing to his
photography on the Quantel Paintbox. Lee was hooked and spent many hours hanging
out at Electric Paint, one of the frst creative imaging services to utilize the new technol-
ogy for movie posters and album covers. His frst imaging computer was a Macintosh
SE—a tiny computer with a B+W monitor that could process RGB color fles. Lee began
exploring digital photography using some of the earliest systems available, and he
helped Dave Etchells (of Imaging Resource) conduct the very frst comprehensive tests of
digital camera systems in his photo studio back in 1990. Lee currently works with digi-
tal as well as conventional photography in conjunction with computer graphics to create
images for print advertising.
Lee’s work has been featured on movie posters, video box covers, CD covers,
and numerous brochures and catalogs. His creative imaging has been featured in
National Geographic, Newsweek, and Fortune magazines as well as trade journals
such as PDN, New Media, Micro Publishing News, Rangefnder, Design Graphics,
Photo Electronic Imaging, and PC Photo.
Lee has also been involved with consulting and training activities for numerous
corporate clients. He conducted two series of imaging seminars for Apple Computer
that took him to most of the major metropolitan areas in the United States. He is cur-
rently active in seminar programs with APA, ASMP, PPA, Santa Fe Photographic
Workshops, Maine Media Workshops, and Julia Dean Photographic Workshops, as
well as ongoing Photoshop for Digital Photographers workshops in Los Angeles.
He is one of the founding fathers and current president of the Los Angeles Digital
Imaging Group (LADIG, a chapter of the USDIG). Lee also serves on the board of the
Digital Image Marketing Association (DIMA), a division of PMA, the Photo Marketing
Association.
Besides his work in digital photography, Lee is an amateur musician with a pas-
sion for collecting and playing unusual instruments. His current favorite instrument
is the oud, a Middle Eastern lute that was popular with his Greek ancestors. You can
usually fnd him playing music while his computer is processing multiple RAW digital
camera fles.