WARNING- Long artist comment follows!
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I did this retouch mostly for my interview at a digital photography studio tomorrow. The majority of the portrait touch-ups in my portfolio are of myself, which is a little awkward trying to explain ("weellll... I maintain a modeling portfolio as well AND I think it's unfair to ask others to use me as a stock model for art when I don't make any myself...."), so I wanted to get another one in to show I could do it on other models. I chose a male model because, well, most photographers focus on women.

I chose this photo specifically because it was interesting. The model is very nicely posed, and it's decent quality. I also chose it because the colors were slightly off, as was contrast, and the model was fading into the backdrop.

I'm really proud of this one. I took a lot of care working on the little details- loose threads, specks of dust, etc, before going on to the curves and colors. I changed the saturation of the background, as well as gave the model some warmer tones. I decided that the backdrop looked too artificial, so added in some texture. I finished up by crisping the model with a monochrome layer mask, and putting in a gradient layer to make better use of the light.

Post digital processing is necessary tool to stay on top of both the photography and the modeling business. I'm not a fan of hiding natural beauty/flaws or making plastic skin, but I also firmly embrace the concept of a digital darkroom (and yes, I have worked in a film darkroom, and yes, I did love it also).

Anywho, would love to hear all and any critiques! I'm trying to keep practicing and learning new things, so expect more processing to pop up in the gallery!

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Credit goes where credit's due:

Model: [link]

BG Texture: [link]