CASE STUDY 1
high end hair advertising key visual | retouch & colorization
This image has been kindly provided by beauty and fashion photographer Ava Pivot.
final image
general idea / briefing
This image was chosen to become a high end key visual for a hair product brand, showcasing a new colorization. The model shot needs to be retouched and prepared to meet the requirements of a key visual for the advertising campaign. The background needs to be extended, so that the key visual works in every format needed for print, packaging and online communication.
It is essential to retouch the skin in a very natural and subtle way, taking out temporary imperfections while retaining the natural skin texture. All distracting flyaways and cross hairs are to be removed. Areas of hair that are too wild need to be calmed by recreating hair outlines on the body and at the fringe.
In general, it is mandatory to mask out every important part of the image: the model, the skin, the lips, the eyes and the hair. With pristine masks I can balance tones and colors and guide the viewer's eye through the visual. With an excellent hair mask, created with a multitude of techniques, I can then colorize the entire hair into the desired color.
The key visual is finished with a matching background color.
original RAW
first step - raw conversion in Capture One Pro
Maximum control over luminosity, color and grading is the key to the best possible result, so I keep a completely non-destructive workflow from start to finish. For any commercial retouching project this starts with a neutral RAW conversion in Capture One.
The goal is to get the best out of the RAW file: every tonal range keeps great detail, no colors or tones are blown out, and all color shifts are removed. Over-sharpening and too much contrast reduce the quality of the file and give you a weaker base for the retouch.
second step - markup & notes, background extension, crop
As you can see in the markup and visual notes, these areas need to be retouched as described above. The crop for the widest format is chosen as the master crop. The background is extended as needed.
third step - clean up and dodging & burning
The skin is retouched in a very natural way, only taking out texture that is not smooth and comes from temporary imperfections. With several rounds of dodging and burning, which is painting with light, pores and transitions are evened out without destroying texture and while keeping all natural details of the skin.
The outline of the hair is cleaned, and single flyaways that go in the wrong direction are removed. The flyaways on the right side are cleaned and minimized for a cleaner, more appealing hair outline. The same goes for the hair on the neck and collarbones.
Here it is crucial to recreate the body structure on the neck while creating a new, flawless hair outline.
fourth step - precise masking, color correction and color fixes on skin and hair
The first essential step at this stage is to create precise masks of the model and accurate sub-masks of the hair, skin, eyes, mouth and teeth. This guarantees maximum control over every single area of the image.
Now all color shifts and inconsistencies are taken care of. The skin color needs to match the final hair color so the campaign image feels coherent. Here the skin has been warmed up slightly to go well with the vivid, healthy light purple. The eye color can be adjusted slightly to complement the final hair color.
The hair color is adjusted to match the reference color of the hair product brand, in this case a light purple palette.
fifth step - creating a colorized background to stage the model
The precise hair and model masks let me stage the model on an appealing background for the campaign, in this case a color complementary to the briefed hair color. Since several crops and formats will be needed for the campaign, I work on the largest crop. The advertising agency can take the final file and produce every crop from this master.
sixth step - defringing the hair outline
Once the final background is in place, it can be necessary to defringe the hair outline. A detailed, precise hair mask is the key to a perfect colorization. Depending on the new and the original background color, the outline often needs optimizing. Defringing with various techniques creates a flawless and natural result.
seventh step - introducing a flexible and subtle grain finish
To give the final composition a natural, convincing look and feel, I add a very subtle and flexible grain layer that adapts automatically to any format change or crop. I use my own grain patterns on individual adjustment layers, extracted from original analogue film.
Now the file is finished and ready for production. It is flattened as much as possible; usually the background layer and the model layer remain for further layout work at the agency or with the client. A print proof can be created to make sure all colors have the correct values.
a similar project in mind?
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