Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies [Paperback]

Lee Varis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 16, 2006 | ISBN-10: 047004733X | ISBN-13: 978-0470047330

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

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)

From the Back Cover

What is the color of skin?

A practical guide to photographing people in the digital age

It's one thing to snap someone's picture. It's another thing entirely to capture the essence that made you reach for your camera in the first place. Now a top Hollywood pro shares his secrets for the digital capture of human skin in all its variety: young, old, male, female, different skin tones and ethnicities, with makeup or without—even tattooed skin!

Using step-by-step tutorials and stunning full-color examples, industry expert Lee Varis teaches it all: the basics of digital imaging, essential tricks to shooting indoors and out, how to light your subjects in any pose, and much more. Above all, you'll find out why the color of skin that's best for final output is almost always a departure from reality.

Topics include:

• Starting with the right hardware and software settings
• Developing your digital color "chops"
• Mastering Rembrandt lighting and other basic techniques
• Overcoming common digital skin problems, such as too much red
• Adjusting skin tones to withstand nearby colors like green grass
• Faking tattoos and photographing the real thing
• Trimming the fat, lighting up the eyes, and filling in wrinkles
• Adding soft focus, retouching, and other advanced Photoshop® techniques
• Discovering what can and what can't be done in post-process

Follow the tutorials in the book with numerous before-and-after sample image files on the companion CD. You'll also find technical reference materials to enhance and reinforce your learning.

• Know how to soften wrinkles and change shapes—and when not to!
• Beautifully color-balance every skin tone
• Brilliantly light any number of subjects in any location

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Sybex (October 16, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047004733X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470047330
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.9 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (82 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #474,004 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lee Varis is a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He has been involved in commercial photography for the last 30 years. He started working with computer imaging about 20 years ago and currently works with digital as well as conventional photography in conjunction with computer graphics to create images for use in print advertising.

Lee's work has been featured on movie posters, video box covers, CD covers, numerous brochures and catalogs. His creative imaging has been featured in National Geographic, Newsweek and Fortune magazines as well as trade journals like PDN, New Media, Micro Publishing News, PC Photo, Studio Photography, Rangefinder and Photo Electronic Imaging. Most of Lee's work starts off as photography that is manipulated in the computer using a wide variety of imaging software. Images are often re-combined with digital painting and effects or with additional photo elements to create digital images that transcend the original source materials.
Clients, art directors and fellow artists look for inspiration at Lee's web site:

http://www.varis.com

There he displays imaging work and a "Methods" section with practical imaging information.

Lee has also been involved with consulting and training activities for numerous corporate clients. He did two series of imaging seminars for Apple Computers that took him around the country to most of the major metropolitan areas and is currently active in seminar programs with PPA, APA and Julia Dean Photographic Workshops as well as a monthly "Photoshop for Photographers" workshop in Los Angeles.

Lee's latest book is 'Skin : The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies' with Sybex. This is a professional level how-to guide to all aspects of digital photography of people. The work offers intermediate and advanced Photoshop techniques as well as digital-specific photo techniques for digital photographers looking for the next level in expertise.

Lee wrote "Digital Photography for Creative Professionals" with Rockport Publishers in 2003. This is an examination of professional applications of digital photography for commercial graphic artists and art directors concentrating on workflow issues and creative solutions for graphics workgroups. He has also written articles for Design Graphics, PEI, PC Photo, Rangefinder and Digital Photo Pro.

As a fine artist, Lee has been working on a series of images based on the Tarot. Current progress on this project is on display at:

http://www.newmillenniumtarot.com

The future of imaging, and specifically photography, is clearly digital. Lee has a firm command of both traditional and digital techniques, giving him a clear advantage over the computer technician who is not equipped to make creative judgments and the conventional artist who lacks the skills necessary to realize the digital future.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 136 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Provocative November 30, 2006

By Conrad J. Obregon TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

It probably says more about me than the book that I found a title which applies to something that surrounds every person provocative. However, it's likely that advanced Photoshop users will find something provocative in this book

The book is aimed at photographers who know the basics of photography, including exposure, and the use of Photoshop including layers and masks. The author's emphasis is on portraits and people photography and how to get the most from photographs of these subjects. Although the author spends a little time looking at hardware like digital cameras and at basic portrait lighting techniques, his main concern is with post processing.

The author's stated aim is to fill the gaps left by other books, like the reproduction of dark skin. And he does this in many ways that I haven't seen before. For example he suggests better skin colors can be achieved by looking at the CMYK readings and applying a rule of thumb. (If you don't know what CMYK is, this book isn't for you.) Varis suggests that for Caucasians magenta and yellow should be of approximately equal value, with cyan a fourth to a third of the value. Images of African Americans should have a higher percentage of cyan and magenta. He then tells you how to make these adjustments. He also shows how to make tone and contrast adjustments for both color and black-and=white images.

The author devotes a chapter to retouching, showing the reader how to ease those wrinkles and even do a little tummy tuck in Photoshop. He also devotes space to special effects, but he emphasizes alteration of the image not to tell lies, so much as to give effect to the photographer's vision. There is also a chapter on preparing output for print....

Most of the techniques that Varis shows are attempts at improvements on simpler Photoshop techniques. For example in the chapter on preparing for printing, he describes a method of improving on the usual unsharp mask sharpening. He does this by adding two additional layers that allow individual control of the prominence of the light halos and the dark halos that are the essence of unsharp mask.

Application of these techniques requires effort above and beyond normal Photoshop processing. How useful they will be depends on the amount of work you are willing to invest in an image, although most of the techniques could certainly be embedded in actions. Equally important is the question of your own ability to envision when to employ a particular technique to improve your work. An alternate consideration might be your willingness to experiment with several techniques to see which will benefit you.

The book includes a CD with the images used as examples in the book. I recommend that you read chapter 9 of the book which discusses these images before any other chapter. Then unzip the folders they come in into a new folder and follow along with the book. Often the changes are subtle and more easily seen on a monitor as they are made than on the printed page.

In summary, this is a book for the experienced Photoshop user, willing to spend the time examining techniques that might enable one to get that slight edge in his or her photographs that would put one ahead of other digital photographers. Read more ›

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Skin: Highly Recommended May 19, 2007

By Kevin H. Stecyk

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies

I just finished reading Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies, a wonderful book for Adobe® Photoshop® enthusiasts. Although I would only consider myself an intermediate user of Photoshop, I found Lee Varis' book immensely helpful, and I highly recommend it to all those who photograph people.

Chapter 1: Digital Imaging Basics is a brief introduction to digital imaging basics. It quickly covers chips and pixels as well as dynamic ranges. Furthermore, Varis covers JPEG artifacts, cameras, memory cards, computers and monitor calibration. He finishes the chapter with a discussion on Photoshop preferences.

Chapter 2: Color Management Workflow, and Calibration is as the title suggests. The first few pages provide a high level overview of workflow management. Then Varis discusses color and light calibration. I must admit, he does have a rather funky looking set up of test targets that include the GretagMacBeth 24 patch plus Styrofoam cutouts and black traps. Varis provides a lengthy and detailed discussion on his calibration method. He also mentions that he prefers 8 bit processing as opposed to 16 bit. Moreover, he comments on the popular expose to the right practice.

::::The idea is good theory but bad practice because the histogram cannot tell you where you are placing your tones with any precision, and it can't tell you whether the histogram is appropriate for the subject. (What picture goes with this histogram?...) The camera's histogram is only a general indication of the distribution of values in the camera-generated JPEG. It is usually a composite of all three channels. The RAW data has a much wider distribution of tones that will vary in each channel, so you may not know if you are clipping important data in the Red Channel simply by looking at the histogram display on the camera.::::

Chapter 3: Lighting and Photographing People is an overview of lighting. Varis uses different configurations of lights and reflectors to demonstrate various effects. The photographs contained in the book are helpful to understanding the concepts discussed.

Chapter 4: The Color of Skin teaches the reader about proper skin tones. Varis introduces how to use curves effectively as well as how to adjust skin tones by using the CMYK values. He then finishes the chapter with a discussion on cultural and personal preferences. What one group of people might desire, others might oppose. So it is important to understand your audience.

Chapter 5: Tone and Contrast: Color and B+W is an extremely interesting chapter because it discusses how to create B+W conversions and how B+W conversions can create better color photos. The first few pages discuss the channel mixer and split channels to obtain stunning B+W conversions. Next, Varis teaches the reader how B+W image can be used in luminosity blending to darken, lighten, and recover detail. I enjoyed part of the chapter because it opened up new avenues for processing my photos. Last, he discusses hue, saturation and toning effects.

Chapter 6: Retouching is a thoroughly enjoyable chapter. Varis begins with a basic retouching where he uses the healing brushes to smooth away wrinkles. But then he kicks it up a notch by subtly using the dodge and burn tools to make the image just that much better. He then goes on to show how to use Hue/Saturation Repair to address red blotchy skin. I found the before and after pictures were amazing. Varis then walks his readers through an example of an attractive woman in her fifties. The before and after pictures are remarkable. He then shows a similar set of before and after pictures for a beautiful young model likely in her twenties. He wraps the chapter up by discussing some thinning techniques as well as some further skin processing.

Chapter 7: Special Effects provides some useful tricks to generate interesting images. The four main themes of this chapter are soft focus, film grain and mezzotint, cross-processing, and tattoos. A substantial portion of the chapter is devoted to soft focus, which includes depth of field effects. Because photographers often want to create a softer, less harsh image or part of an image, I found this discussion helpful. I am not one for film grain and mezzotint. Similarly, I am not wild about cross-processing where you get unexpected colors in unexpected places. The last section on tattoos was interesting, even though I am not a tattoo fan. I liked the last part of the tattoo section where he described how to use Photoshop to create a fake tattoo.

Chapter 8: Preparing for Print focuses the following key themes: sharpening, color management for print, soft proofing, desktop printing, and creative print finishing. I am going to comment on the first and last items. Varis' sharpening discussion is very helpful. Prior to reading this book, I simply used unsharp mask and was done. Now, when I want to get a sharper picture, I use multiple sharpening layers in luminosity blending modes as well as darkening and lighting blending modes. This technique has the advantage of offering better control of the halos. Creative print finishing provides some options for designing captivating borders or edges to the photographs. In his examples, Varis shows how the edges provide added pizzazz to the already great photo.

Chapter 9: Parting Shots is a short chapter that provides some further high level commentary on workflow. Varis then walks the reader through the companion CD. I suspect most readers have already opened the CD and have been using the files all along, so this information is superfluous at this point. And last, he reminds readers that digital photography is still in its infancy. Much of what we have just learned is likely to become outdated soon. I believe, however, that if we understand and have developed a sense of adventure to experiment, our newly gained knowledge will help us as newer technologies and techniques emerge.

Being an intermediate, at best, Photoshop user, I found Skin to be a valuable resource. I enjoyed learning by working through the examples. I also enjoyed seeing how just some subtle steps make a significant difference. I highly recommend this book. Read more ›

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book of Its Kind October 20, 2006

By Leigh Miller

Format:Paperback

How many times have you taken a photograph that was "almost perfect"? You know what I mean. Either there's something in the background you didn't notice, a shadow or blemish on someone's face, or worse yet, it's the best photograph you've ever had taken of yourself, but your stomach was sticking out. As someone who has worked with Photoshop pretty regularly for a few years, I'm happy to say I can remedy most of those situations. Although I've used 'Photoshop for Dummies' and it has been helpful, 'Skin' offers suggestions most photographers never even though about. It was mostly through creativity and tenacity that Photoshop worked fairly well for me. It wasn't until I read 'Skin' that I realized I was working entirely too hard to achieve the effects I was after. Achieving appropriate skin tones is no longer guess work, eliminating or softening facial lines is a snap, and balancing colors throughout the photo has become a mandatory element. Trial and error is no longer a prerequisite in my photography. Author Lee Varis offers more information than I will ever use as an amateur. However, whether or not I ever incorporate all this information into my photography, it was fascinating to read about how easily it's all done. For me, the portrait "tricks" alone make this book worth while. I plan to keep it on my desk and use it every time I work on a photo.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Skin (deep?) August 3, 2007

By M. Lammerse

Format:Paperback

Is this the complete guide to perfect (studio) lighting and skin (colour correction) retouching in Photoshop as the sub-title says? No it is not. Is this a book which gives you helpful tips with good examples for both lighting and correction and retouching on a medium Photoshop level, yes it is.

As many Photoshop book authors Lee Varis does not make clear for whom he wrote this book. It's not for the Photoshop newbie with a digital SLR who likes to get quick 'correct' skin colour with post processing (read Scott Kelby) It's not for the professional Photoshop user which aim is to get a complete picture of (digital) lighting setups in relation to post processing; the first chapter, digital imaging basics, is already a proof of that.

The book however starts very promising, with a foreword by the Queen of retouching herself, Katrinn Eismann (I would strongly advice anyone to read her book about restoration and retouching if you do not know it yet.)
Than Lee Varis makes a big mistake by starting about "digital imaging basics" in the first chapter, followed by the second mistake, chapter 2: "colour management workflow and calibation."
99% of people who do care about getting professional looking results with retoucning and lighting setups related to skin colour finished that "Scott Kelby level" knowledge years ago.

The third chapter gets into it. Still it does not go deep, at least not as deep with many more examples as I know for sure many people like me hope for. The middle of the book gives probable for many hungry skin retouching lovers the climax with chapter 6 (Retouching) and chapter 7 as the end. There is another filled chapter; chapter 8, but that unfortuntely goes back to Kelby level, with "Preparing for print"

Is the book worth it?... For me it was, not that I really learnt a lot of new things. But Lee Varis gave me a lot of ideas to do things different, not only skin related of course. Also the lighting setups are well explained, which give me good info and ideas. The Photshop techniques he uses in this book can be used in many other cases. All are written in very clear English, with good examples and 'lesson files' on a CD-ROM. The downpoint is that it is not skin deep, and that material which is shared by so many (beginner) Photoshop books can be found in this book again.

Next time I hope Lee Varis write a book about skin retoucing and lighting setups, which goes skin deep and that deserves the sub-title which this book has now. Read more ›