CASE STUDY 4
high end hair editorial | concept, retouch & colorization
This image has been kindly provided by TUSH magazine and international photographer Rankin.
final image
general idea / briefing
The concept for this hair editorial was to give model Sam Rollinson's hair a light pastel color palette across the series. This is an exceptionally difficult task, since her natural hair color is dark brown.
So it was crucial to create an extremely precise hair mask. With this mask I could build the effect using every tool in my repertoire as a hair retouching specialist. I loved this challenge, and the results speak for themselves. You can find the printed images in the anniversary issue no. 50 of TUSH magazine.
first step - starting from RAW
This image needed to match the typical look of Rankin: strong contrast and vivid colors. This was already prepared in the raw conversion in Capture One. A conversion with neutral colors was the base for the retouching phase.
second step - cleaning up the hair texture
The hair was retouched in a very natural way, only taking out texture that is not smooth and comes from temporary imperfections, or criss-crossing hairs that draw too much attention. The main focus lies on a flawless and healthy hair structure.
Since a drastic colorization from dark brown to light pastel purple is briefed, I need to make sure the new color does not emphasize any distracting cross hairs or holes in the hair.
Besides pixel work and filling gaps with texture from this or other source images, non-destructive techniques such as dodging and burning (painting with light) keep the original hair structure while enhancing the overall appearance.
third step - precise masking, color correction and colorization of the hair
With this pristine mask I could build the effect using every tool in my repertoire, slowly building up the colorization while keeping all details.
The depth of the hair needed special attention. It was essential to keep the dark areas above the ears and at the parting (crown).
The drastic color change also affected the luminosity, which needed readjusting to keep the natural feel.
fourth step - introducing a harmonic color scheme by adjusting the eye makeup
For a harmonic color scheme it was crucial to adjust the eye makeup to the new hair color. Shifting it to a more pastel green restored the balance.
fifth step - applying final contrast adjustments to match Rankin's style
Final contrast adjustments give the new hair color a realistic, natural appearance. Stronger shadows and slightly brighter highlights underline the realism of the image and match Rankin's iconic style.
sixth step - introducing a flexible and subtle grain finish
To give the final image 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.
The final image can now be delivered to the client.
a similar project in mind?
Let's talk: mail@janwischermann.de