This tutorial is about the process I go through when retouching a head shot.

(1) Here is Carly. The image has been color corrected in LR, but not yet retouched:

(2) The first step is to identify blemishes. My policy is to zap blemishes (acne, cuts and scrapes) 100%.  I do not normally retouch permanent features such as moles. In this case, Carly doesn't have any blemishes, but I'm going to make an exception for this tutorial and zap any skin imperfections I see, even permanent ones.  I've circled them in red.

(3)  To zap blemishes, I normally use the patch tool. Just make a selection around the area you want to correct, then drag the selection to a clean patch of skin that you want to use for your sample. Here is the image after using the patch tool:

(4) Next, I take care of any dark circles under the eyes or any wrinkles I want to diminish. First, copy the layer. Then use the patch tool to make a selection around the area you want to correct and drag it to the area you want to sample from. It's important to do this on a separate layer because then you can lower the opacity. Never remove a wrinkle at 100% opacity. That gives an artificial, barbie-doll look. I usually remove wrinkles at around 60% opacity. That keeps it real. Your subject will still look like themselves, only well rested!

(5) Here is the image after using the patch tool under the eyes and around the mouth:

(6) Next I spend some time on the eyes. First, I duplicate the main layer. Next, I select the dodge tool and make a couple passes over the whites of the eyes and also the iris. Then I adjust the opacity of the adjustment layer to taste and flatten the image. If there were visible veins in the eyes, at this point I would also clone them out using the clone tool. I've seen way too many photographers do such intense eye work that their subjects look like aliens. Don't overdo it!

(7) I wanted to give Carly a little bit more lipstick, so I just used the brush tool, selected a red color and painted over her lips with a soft-edged brush, then adjusted opacity to taste. Again, you'll need to first duplicate the layer in order to have the ability to control the opacity:

(8) Lastly, I run my "skin smoother" action, then paint back over the parts I want sharp with a black brush. Always keep the eyes, eyebrows, lips and hair sharp.

And here's the "before" image:

(1)  5D w/35mm f1.4L, ISO 400, f1.8, 1/3200, TRA2 "Grandma's Tap Shoes" @ 50%. For this shot I had Norbert just hold Jenny from behind and waited for the smiles happen naturally. The ultra shallow depth of field is a stylistic choice that draws you to your subject's eyes.

(2)  5D, 70-200mm f2.8L IS, ISO 400, f4.5, 1/1250, TRA2 "Bullet Tooth" @ 50%. My favorite and easiest pose: I instructed Jenny and Norbert to take a stroll, hold each other and ignore the camera.

(3) 5D, 70-200mm, ISO 400, f4.0, 1/640, TRA2 "Pool Party" @ 60%. I like poses like this and have done them for as long as I can remember. The downside is that I'm beginning to see this same pose done by almost every other photographer these days.

(4)  5D, 70-200mm, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/400, Kubota "X-Process Combo" @ 40%.  X-Process Combo is probably my favorite action for color images. It really makes blues pop and ads color and intensity to nearly any image.

(5)  5D, 70-200mm, ISO 400, f4.0, 1/1000, TRA2 "Brooklyn" @ 100%. It's hard to tell here but for this one I had Jenny and Norbert run through this field. As I said in my "Posing 101" post, if your couples don't smile when running, they're zombies. "Brooklyn", by the way, is my favorite b&w action.

(6)  5D, 35mm f1.4L, ISO 400, f1.8, 1/6400, no actions - temperature was lowered in LR. You might be wondering why I didn't adjust my ISO lower on some of these images - why I kept it at 400 when this image, for example, could have easily been shot at ISO 100 due to my wide-open aperture. I could have switched it lower, but I didn't see any reason to. ISO 400 on my 5D is essentially noiseless, so rather than switching my ISO to keep it as low as possible for every shot, I simply left it at 400, which is my normal default ISO for cloudy days. That gave me one less thing to think about so all my concentration was on getting the shot I wanted, not fiddling with my camera.

(7)  5D, 70-200mm, ISO 400, f5.6, 1/1000, Kubota "X-Process Combo" @ 40%. The expression on Jenny's face makes this shot.

(8)  5D, 35mm f1.4L, ISO 400, f4.5, 1/1250, TRA2 "Brooklyn" @ 100%. This one is kind of the opposite of #1 - groom in front, bride in back. What you don't see is that in order to make the image work I had to ask the groom to squat down a bit. f4.5 is normally a small enough aperture on a wide angle lens to get two heads in focus, even if they're not in the same plane.

(9)  5D, 70-200mm, ISO 400, f4.0, 1/500, TRA2 "Lux Soft" @ 60%. Placing your subjects in tall grass is always a winner.

What do you do if you need to take a headshot on location in a room full of clutter? If you're lucky, you'll have a large, plain white wall to shoot against. More often than not, however, you won't.

The Westcott Illuminator background is the answer.  It's light, portable, and two sided - white / black.  With this portable background, you can create studio-quality headshots at practically any location.

The background folds into a disk 28" in diameter:

It comes in several sizes. The model I have is 6' x 5'.  Not enough for a full body, but good for a headshot or head & torso.

I love the white side for headshots. When you place your subject 3' in front of the background, it turns it into a nice medium grey.  Of course, you could light the background if you wanted a high key portrait.

The black side also makes a great background. This was shot with all natural light, just a sheer white shade pulled down over the window which diffused the sunlight, turning the window into a natural softbox.

As I've said before - simple, relatively inexpensive items like this Westcott background ($176 at Adorama) or Alien Bee monolights will make a MUCH bigger difference to your images than buying an $8,000 1DsMkIII.  The first portrait (of my little girl Annika) was taken with a 30D and 50mm f1.4 lens. The second with a 20D and 50mm f1.4 lens.  Not expensive gear by any means.  If I shot them with a 1DsMkIII + 50mm f1.2L combo ($9,500) but WITHOUT the background, the images would not be nearly as good.  Good technique combined with just the right gear will get you the results you want.

Imagine rummaging through shoebox after shoebox looking for photos like you did 10 years ago.

Imagine rummaging through stacks of CD cases looking for a particular song. In my case, most of my CDs are either out of the case (and thus scratched) or have been stored in the incorrect case (thanks MaryBeth!), making finding a particular CD a nightmare.  

Not a pretty picture, right? That's because you've long recognized the benefits of digitizing your media - photos and music.  The Amazon Kindle 2 is to books what iTunes is to music.  

Here's the Kindle 2.  As you can see, it's only slightly taller than your average paperback:

And it's about the same thickness as a magazine:

What's so great about the Kindle?

• Like the iPod, you can carry your entire library with you everywhere you go.  The Kindle 2 stores 1,500 books.
• Never lose a book again.  Ever spend an hour looking for a book in a box in your attic somewhere? Those days are gone.
• It's cheaper than buying books. Yes, the device costs $350.  But once you've purchased the device, buying books is much cheaper. You can get a book for $10 that's currently in hardcopy for $25.  And paperbacks are usually available for $6 or $7.
• It's much easier to read than a book. Unlike a hardcopy, you can adjust the font to any size you like. I read mine at the "old man" setting, the second largest font available. Regular books are now almost unreadable by comparison.
• The screen is very crisp, as crisp or crisper than most printed books.
• You never lose your place. When you turn the device off or switch to another book, it returns back to the page you were reading once you go back to it.
• It has a built in audio reader. No, it's not like having James Earl Jones read a book to you, but it does sound much better than most computer speech you're used to hearing.
• It has a built-in 3G wireless reader (no extra cost or subscription required) that let's you buy books anywhere and wirelessly download them to your kindle in one minute.
• You can read for about a week before needing to recharge the battery.
• If you lose your Kindle it's not a disaster. Sure, you'll have to buy a new device but you haven't lost your library. All the books you've purchased are archived by Amazon.
• You can subscribe to newspapers, magazines and blogs and have them automatically download to your Kindle.
• > 300,000 books available, with hundreds of new ones online every day. Amazon's stated goal is to have every book ever printed available on the Kindle.

1) I asked Bruce to sit down on a bench with Mabel standing behind him. Then told Mabel to put her arms around him and snuggle.  I stood back and shot this with my 70-200 @ 173mm. Pretty simple pose, simple shot. 

 2) A similar shot, except this time with Mabel in front. I just told them to lie on the grass in this position and asked Bruce to give Mabel a kiss.  I'm lying on my stomach to get this angle. This was direct 3 pm sun. Normally, I don't like to shoot with front light at this time of day, but you can make this light work. To avoid ugly shadows your subjects need to have their faces tilted upwards. Shot with my 70-200 at 170mm.  No actions used on this image, although I warmed up the white balance in LR to simulate early-evening (rather than mid-afternoon) sun. 

 3) Shot with my 24mm lens at f5.0 to get a big depth of field. For this image I wanted them both in focus. I asked Mabel to pull Bruce along the road. I was walking backwards right in front of them shooting continuously.  There's nothing like real movement to add life to an image. On a side note, shots like this are one of the few times that I wish I had a "pro" camera like the 1DmkIII, because of the faster shooting speed and larger buffer. On my 5D I have to take a few frames, then wait....and wait.... and wait...for the buffer to clear.

4) I asked Mabel and Bruce to be quiet, relaxed and contemplative for this shot. Even though it was extremely bright, I needed to bump my ISO to 800 because I was shooting at f22. Even so, my shutter speed was only 1/100. Remember, if you want sun stars you're going to have to shoot at tiny apertures.