Face Fix

Since I have the folder opened, let’s have another look at gorgeous Indonesian and native of Cirebon Lix Xia. This is done as a demonstration by me and if you have any criticisms, please direct them at me, not her.

A five foot way is a great place for a street portraits. There is diffused light that is soft and pleasing, I first worried about the red pillars casting a red hue but it turned out alright. Good that she has a natural smile and it always helps to talk to your subject and make a few jokes while you click. Don’t be too serious and your subject will be relaxed too.

This image gives me a chance to try Portrait Pro face retouching software. Lix Xia is such a natural beauty and it pains me to apply make up and face sculpting on her.

You may be surprised to learn that almost every face or body you see on a magazine cover and ad nowadays has extensive touch up applied. Anyway I am sharing with you my bag of make up tricks to open the yes of the uninitiated. There are no hard and fast rules as every face is unique and the fix required is subjective and depends on personal taste or a client’s requirements.

Most apparent effect is face sculpting that makes a face appear slimmer. Neck was made longer too. I used eye whitening and also darken pupils controls too. Software also has eye widening and reshaping suitable for narrower Asian eyes or mata sepet.

You need to be careful here as removal of reflections or catchlights of pupils may make the eyes seem unnatural. I used Photoshop’s native tools to brighten her eyes and whiten her teeth. Portrait Pro also sharpened her eyebrows. Lips are what makes a face glamorous and sexy. Her lips were made plumber, lipstick colour deepened and her lips moistened or made wet.

Skin smoothing control removed pores, wrinkles, skin imperfections and will also remove shine or oily patches, if any. I left some pores and moles on her nose for a natural look. Only regret is the software removed all the freckles that I like.

Not easy being a digital make up artist. Heh. If I have more time, I like to play with hair control and texturing. Hope this gives you and idea of what goes on behind the scene.

Anyone knows a freind or girl who is cross eyed or cock eyed? The software has cock eye removal and I like to practise that too. Send me your pic which you think need fixing for non commercial use..

Sony Alpha A7R, ISO 200, f4, 1/500 sec.

#portraitpro #face #retouching #sculpting #makeup #lixxia #beauty #streetportrait #sonyalpha #a7r #glamour

The Town Beauty

Her great grandfather was English and her great grandmother Burmese. On the maternal side, her great grandparents were Thai and Chinese.

Their son married a Spanish-Filipina. Her Eurasian father, who lives in Malacca, married a Chinese lady from Kelantan.

With such a fascinating mix, their child Jolene looks exotic and ravishingly beautiful, naturally. So what’s her race? Malaysian lah.

More than that, she also inherits a rich culinary knowledge for which she puts to good use. Jolene owns and operates the only fusion cafe in town. I stumbled upon her and the restaurant walking the kaki lima. More on the food next.

Photography Notes: I used the acclaimed Sony Zeiss 55mm f1.8 lens as an impromptu portrait lens here. It was so sharp that I have to reduce the clarity a touch in the raw processor. Nevertheless, it isolated her from the cluttered background beautifully.

Sony Alpha a7R, ISO 100, f1.8, 1/800 sec.