Ultimate Retouching

Welcome to the chapter on HDR! Developing RAWs with a color grade and painting with light, which we call HDR are two giant steps in the final look of the image. In our opinion it is crucial, that you master them from a technical, but even more, a creative perspective.

This is not a grading course, so we will only briefly dive into color grading, yet it should be enough for you to get acquainted with the topic and we will also come back to colors in the Color Corrections chapter, where we will be doing some Photoshop grading also.

HDR is our main focus here and we believe our approach to this phase helps to greatly bring out the best out of image.

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 2 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

And now let's start retouching!

A few words about Raws, what options we have as far as various digital developers are concerned and where it all came from.

The basic retouching block is where most of the typical retouching takes place. For us the post production of an image is divided into many steps and the Basic Retouching Block is where we do retouching, delicate dodge and burn and small color corrections with a brush.

We like to keep everything simple and effective, so in this one folder we usually have just 3 layers, which is all we need to do all the tedious small changes an image needs.

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 3 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

Let's get going!

Welcome to the Color Corrections chapter. We will be doing both local and general color corrections and also talk more on color grading. For many this is the most exciting part of the course, so let's dive in!

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 4 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

This is a bonus lecture demonstrating a rarely used technique: how to do corrections available in a different color space in the same file thanks to using a smart object. If you struggle with smart objects and just want the essence of our workflow, then feel free to skip this lecture.

Liquify and transforms are an quick way of introducing a big change into an image, but it's also so easy to destroy all your hard work by going too strong on these corrections, so don't overdue it!

No need to download anything in this chapter, as we will be using materials from the previous chapters.

You could argue, that it would be enough to only do this chapter. Here we compile all of our previous lessons into one functioning workflow and really start to concentrate on "what to change" not the "how". Get that tablet ready and let's get down to work!

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 6 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

We know that many of you easily get lost in all your files and folders, misplace your work files and raws and are frustrated by the mess this creates. Project Structure to the rescue. Let's talk about the structure we use to always know where everything should be.

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 7 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

Tips and Tricks is a chapter dedicated to the small additions, which sometimes can prove invaluable. Of course a broad arsenal of techniques is always beneficial, but having a too long list of options can become difficult to master. We have included here the unnecessary necessities :) We of course could get along without them, yet as they prove valuable time and time again, we think they will be of help to you also.

Let's get going!

Please download the materials. On your computer create a folder named Chapter 8 and put all of the downloaded files inside.

Luminosity masks are a really fancy way of masking areas of the image based on their luminosity. Sounds really exciting, but for many people they are quite complex. If you will find them too hard, then don't worry! They are far from being super essential and you can surely live without them.

It's far more important to grasp the general idea of the workflow and you can always come back to this video later on.

Our equipment and surroundings, the way we work and in what conditions, these are super important subjects. In this chapter we share all of our practises and findings. We will be talking about computers, displays and tablets, chairs, your posture and long hours...

There's lots to cover so buckle up, grab some popcorn and and let's dive in!

A warm welcome to the last chapter of our course! Why would you want to listen to lectures about the business side of retouching, when all you want to do is retouch? If this is just a passion project, which you're doing for yourself and never want to monetise on, then probably you don't really need to watch it. Yet I suspect, that as a person who had the perseverance to make it all the way to this point, you might be interested in retouching professionally also.

These are of course our opinions, not blueprints on how to run a successful brand. Treat these lectures more as a summary of our thoughts on the topic. I hope you will enjoy them and they will shine some light on the reality of this market.

Sit back and enjoy!