# How did they achieve this look



## Evertking (Sep 15, 2017)

Lifestyle Portrait gallery
Not sure if I can post this but if I'm breaking a rule, I will take it down.
  But I'm curious as to how they got this look, I know the colors harmony but, to me the people kind of look... I don't know how to put it. But I'm just curious to what this affect is called?
Or is it just really good light and done right or is it Photoshop?


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## zombiesniper (Sep 15, 2017)

Most of it is lighting however there are some photos that are hugely over the top with frequency separation.
The second row on the right. Guy looking into camera with lady's face in his neck. That dude's face is so plastic. This is only one of a dozen or so that have a similar treatment.
For my tastes it is a complete fail but if the photographer/client like it. It's a win.


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## Gary A. (Sep 15, 2017)

I am not a studio photog, but I see a ton of skin smoothing ... but overall very good lighting and good photography.  With practice and a basic lighting kit, you could duplicate the images.  The skin smoothing is graduated, you can add a little or add a lot.  It will reduce wrinkles and blemishes to the point of skin appearing as plastic.  In the image zombiesniper mentioned, the man looks like a mannequin.  The extensive Photoshopping/image manipulation does give a painterly look to the images ... whether it is good or bad is a matter of taste.


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## limr (Sep 15, 2017)

Yeah, that's some freaky Stepford wives level of skin smoothing. Creeps me out.


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## tirediron (Sep 15, 2017)

Great lighting.... HORRIBLE (IMO) skin processing.  I think there may also be some compositing going on there as well.


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## Designer (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> Or is it just really good light and done right or is it Photoshop?


Both.  The photographer has excellent equipment, and knows how to pose and light his subjects.  

He is a bit heavy-handed in the post-processing however.  This is when it pays off to know how much is enough.


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## Braineack (Sep 15, 2017)

tirediron said:


> Great lighting.... HORRIBLE (IMO) skin processing.  I think there may also be some compositing going on there as well.


either that or a lot of backdrops.

looks like he's running these through Portraiture or alike--one-button click processing job on them.  heavy vignetting added as well.

it looks like he also asks his subject to "give me that serial killer stare"


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## smoke665 (Sep 15, 2017)

Regardless of the pros and cons of post processing,  I'd say he's probably giving his clients what they want. He's in "old money country", where horses and formality run hand in hand. Looks to me like he's killing it in his market. I found the Legacy Album to be a pretty slick marketing gimmick. Tie up pre-bookings for 2 years - pretty slick.


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## Braineack (Sep 15, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> Looks to me like he's killing it in his market.



pun intended?


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## smoke665 (Sep 15, 2017)

Braineack said:


> smoke665 said:
> 
> 
> > Looks to me like he's killing it in his market.
> ...



Maybe a double entendre.


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## photo1x1.com (Sep 15, 2017)

Lighting is pretty good. But I wouldn´t be suprised if he used two exposures for every face (especially for the smiles) - one for the smile and one for the eyes. The eyes look unnaturally open for the smiles. But many people don´t like to smile because they say it makes their eyes smaller. Probably his clients are like that and he makes good business. I for one like natural smiles or laughs with smaller eyes much more.


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## Evertking (Sep 15, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> Regardless of the pros and cons of post processing,  I'd say he's probably giving his clients what they want. He's in "old money country", where horses and formality run hand in hand. Looks to me like he's killing it in his market. I found the Legacy Album to be a pretty slick marketing gimmick. Tie up pre-bookings for 2 years - pretty slick.


They look painted or something almost fake. But he says he make a good living with this. I was looking at lighting videos and ran across his work at PPA. Him and Tim Kelly have a unique style.


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## smoke665 (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> But he says he make a good living with this.



I know there's been a lot of strong negative comments on his processing, but frankly if it's working for him, then more power to him.


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## Evertking (Sep 15, 2017)

Your right, and it's clearly working for him. He has the business side figured out and it also looks like he offers various styles to cover all bases.
I been looking at PPA to try and learn some from the videos there and ran across Walden and a few more like Doug Box and Tony Cornell and just blown away. Tim Kelly is another one that has this kind of old fashioned look and I know it's not for all but I really like it  I just wish I didn't have to use videos and have someone to actually learn from... But hey... Videos it is..


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## zombiesniper (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> this kind of old fashioned look and I know it's not for all



I personally like the older look.
I just think the skin frequency separation is a little much for my tastes but like I said before if the photographer and client are happy then that's all that matters.

On the eyes being more open, face aware liquify combined with a quick skin smoothing will get the same results.


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## Evertking (Sep 15, 2017)

Im liking the look of it too. Just need a LOT more practice to get to that point. I been watching mostly YouTube videos trying to learn and that was mostly shoot wide open and HSS and I love the looks of that too but this was different and interesting. Another one is Tim Kelly. I like what he has done. These are people that you all probably already know about but I am blown away with it.


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## limr (Sep 15, 2017)

I don't think anyone really questions _why _he processes skin that way. It's pretty clear that he's giving clients what they want; otherwise he wouldn't be so successful with that kind of processing. Really, it tells me more about the client than about the photographer. I quite frankly feel sorry for and/or scared of people who actually want to look like plastic serial killers.


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 15, 2017)

Bad photoshopping... those photos probably would be nice if it wasn't for the overdone processing (those backgrounds, around the people, geez). I guess some people like it. Besides photography, people often like the latest fad that never lasts long (thankfully). 

I don't get what's meant by old fashioned, I don't see that in these pictures. Maybe it's along the lines of photoshopped images that are supposed to look like film but actually look nothing like images many of us shoot on film.


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## Evertking (Sep 15, 2017)

I don't know... I think it's art.  You know some will like it and some will not. It's done him well and people seem to like it. This also seem to be a big thing within the PPA. Are their any members here?


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## tecboy (Sep 15, 2017)

These photos are like the Addams Family's portraits.  A lot of skin retouching, very soft lighting, heavy burns around the subjects.  They are like vampires, the undead folks.


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## Designer (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> This also seem to be a big thing within the PPA. Are their any members here?


Look above.  @vintagesnaps


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## tecboy (Sep 15, 2017)

That photographer hand-painted each images.  He must have spent 8 hours on each image and charged really high.


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## limr (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> I don't know... I think it's art.  You know some will like it and some will not. It's done him well and people seem to like it. This also seem to be a big thing within the PPA. Are their any members here?



That's fine. People like it. It sells photos. Great, wonderful. No one has to justify liking the style. Similarly, no one has to justify not liking the style.


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## Braineack (Sep 15, 2017)

tecboy said:


> That photographer hand-painted each images. He must have spent 8 hours on each image and charged really high.


highly doubtful.


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## Derrel (Sep 15, 2017)

Basic studio lighting....with a studio backdrop...and a metric tonne of skin work on some. But, basically, this is what using a large electronic flash light source does; it creates a good, solid, generous exposure with fairly low-ratio lighting, which can then be edited to a farethewell if desired.

Please IGNORE the YouTube idiots that advise you to "shoot wide-open." Making good portraits is far,far,farrrrrrrrr more about things other than shooting wide-open. Using HSS flash outdoors at wider apertures is a new thing that many noobs with YouTube channels have jumped on, and they crank out video after video, espousing a cannard.

There is a HELL of a lot more to making a good picture than shooting wide-open. Anybody that emphasises wide-open aperture shooting is clearly in a learning stage...it's not a "mature" technical decision to make, and to advocate it as the _correct course of action as the norm_ is just...stupid.

Oh....always drive your car in top gear and WOT (wide-open throttle).It's the best way to drive.


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## Braineack (Sep 15, 2017)

his photos remind me of the ones I'd see in shopping malls as a kid.

not my style, but a skilled photographer, dude just needs to stay out of photoshop.


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## OGsPhotography (Sep 15, 2017)

Ots a good gallery thanks.

To andwer the OPs question, spend a lot of time lol. Good luck. This is pro work.


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## zombiesniper (Sep 15, 2017)

Evertking said:


> shoot wide open and HSS



Anyone that is stating this is the key to anything....needs to learn how to use their gear. 

Wide open isn't a badge and can in many cases just make your life harder than it needs to be. It has it's place but it's not normally the first choice.

HSS, this one seems to be very popular lately. Even my cheap manual flashes have a 1/800 sec at full power. My manual studio strobes are 1/2000 sec at full power. You can't move fast enough to blur an image and using HSS to "over power the sun" again tells me these people need to learn more bout how to light things. I can do it without HSS and so can you.
Don't fall into the I have to because (insert youtube expert here) says so. Do your part by asking why? Why should I use HSS, why shoot wide open? Most photographers that claim YOU HAVE TO....... can't explain why.
Just like the Matrix, the why is your only real power.
P.S. Take the blue pill.


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## tecboy (Sep 15, 2017)

I think these photos were inspired by Caravaggio.


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## smoke665 (Sep 15, 2017)

No disrespect intended toward anyone but I'm a little surprised by the overwhelming criticism of a "2nd generation" studio operation. Not a Craigslist super duper photographer but a brick and mortar operation that has withstood the test of time. You may not like his style but the fact remains his clients obviously do. I don't know the guy or anything about him, but if I was inclined to want to make a living in photography, I think I would be curious enough to observe his business model.


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## limr (Sep 15, 2017)

And I'm confused by this because I don't see anyone criticizing his _operation_ but merely expressing dislike for his style. One can still respect the photographer for figuring out what it takes to run a successful studio while still disliking the aesthetic quality of the work.

I've seen just as much praise for his lighting and overall skills as I've seen criticisms of his skin smoothing techniques, and I don't recall anyone asking "How does this dude stay in business?"


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## Derrel (Sep 15, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> No disrespect intended toward anyone but I'm a little surprised by the overwhelming criticism of a "2nd generation" studio operation. Not a Craigslist super duper photographer but a brick and mortar operation that has withstood the test of time. You may not like his style but the fact remains his clients obviously do. I don't know the guy or anything about him, but if I was inclined to want to make a living in photography, I think I would be curious enough to observe his business model.



The pink dress, the girl in red hat and dress, and a few others have LAUGHABLY amateurish composition. It might be second generation, but the second generation seems clueless about how to do formal portraiture. The laughable rule of thirds "efforts" (JFK, how bad they are!) and huge dead-space-on-the-long-side shots smack of a nooby who's bought the name and can't even frame a portrait with ANY sense of design sense. The portfolio has some absolute dreck as far as how the people are shown...even big chain studios have better posing fundamentals...

As in sooo many businesses, "second genration" doesn' mean the second generation got better or was better-taught than the earlier generation. In fact, likely the opposite.

Hey...anybody who has studied design and composition can spot the multiple, *basic compositional boners* in this set of sales samples...


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## smoke665 (Sep 15, 2017)

@limr @Derrel  again not disrespecting the right to opinions but there have been comments ranging from "Adams familiy" to "stepford wives" when discussing his work. While it may not be appealing to some, it is a market he is working in. I've had the unfortunate experience of moving in the circles he's dealing with and I can say without doubt he is supplying the product his clients want. As his "style" is an integral part of his business I just find it discouraging that so many are being critical without looking into why the business is still going. As a former business owner I studied my competition closely,  I emulated the good, discouraged the bad, and promoted my own inovation.


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## limr (Sep 15, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> @limr @Derrel  again not disrespecting the right to opinions but there have been comments ranging from "Adams familiy" to "stepfotd wives" when discussing his work. While it may not be appealing to some, it is a market he is working in. I've had the unfortunate experience of moving in the circles he's dealing with and I can say without doubt he is supplying the product his clients want. As his "style" is an integral part of his business I just find it discouraging that so many are being critical without looking into why the business is still going. As a former business owner I studied my competition closely,  I emulated the good, discouraged the bad, and promoted my own inovation.



But no one is talking about his business practice and people clearly recognize that there is a market for his style and he is skilled at exploiting that market.

An opinion about what the photos look like is not the same thing as a judgement of his business practices.

Personally, I would want exactly zero part of that market. But if it works for him? What the hell do I care? Not a whit. I still don't like to look at his pictures. I will never hire him or anyone that has a similar style. Is that a commentary on his business? Absolutely not. They are completely different issues and one can comment on one without making any kind of comment on the other. 

I don't know how to say this another way. He can do whatever he wants with his business. He's clearly good at exploiting a market. He delivers what people want. _I don't care. I'm not talking about his business. _I am not questioning his use of the style to serve a market. He can use that style until the cows come home and laugh all the way to the bank, _but I will still never like the style.
_
And the question in the OP was about the techniques required to achieve that look, not about his business. I don't even know how his business practices even came into question other than a "Well, I guess some people like it so it sells, so whatever." So the point that there is a market and he skillfully serves that market has been acknowledged over and over again.

I still don't like his pictures.

Beyonce is masterful at her brand and her image and keeping herself relevant. I still don't like her music.

The _Fast and Furious_ movie franchise has made billions of money and is the largest franchise in studio history. They know how to milk that market and they've done so for over a decade. I still have no interest in seeing the movies because I think they're drivel.

Disliking the work =/= commentary on business model.
_
_


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## Derrel (Sep 15, 2017)

America's most successful retail operation for many years? Walmart.
America's most successful restaurant operation for many years? McDonald's

Financial success does not directly correlate with the ultimate level of quality, nor with the highest standards in a field.

But back to the OP's question: the photos are the result of *basic studio lighting gear* being used, in front of a *studio background*, and then LOTS of *post-processing of the images*. Some of the images look rather heavy-handed, others not so much. But THAT is what "studio lighting gear" creates: a basically GOOD, solid, generous exposure that was made at a smallish f/stop, which thus creates a great source for software tweaking of the image files.

1,2,3.


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## tecboy (Sep 15, 2017)

Actually, I like all the photos.  Not that I would hire him as my photographer.

Kinda remind me of Post-mortem photography.


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## OGsPhotography (Sep 16, 2017)

Evertking said:


> Lifestyle Portrait gallery
> 
> But I'm curious as to how they got this look.....



It looks like hes using a 5Diii and a 70-200
Cant tell if his is 2.8! Hehehe art and tech... lol...

The affect on skin that our fellow forum members love so much can be a result of many techniques; here are a few,

DnB is One of the important techniques. It can be acheived many ways. For the Walden gallery, I believe after very uncareful observation ( Im probably wrong...) that one technique in Ps may be used, the Brush! Simply sample light colored skin and paint it on where you want it. Do similar with shadows. This has the affect of smoothing skin at same time as dodging and burning. 

FS, frequency seperation can acheive similar affect.

I personally love the heal brush. 

He also leaves tons of head room and crops super wide.


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## smoke665 (Sep 16, 2017)

@limr Not trying to be argumentative as its highly unlikely that I'll ever have the need of his services either. Just trying to point out that in any successful brand "everything", is a part of the success including his "style, post processing, business model, etc.".  @Derrel made a good point, using McDonald's as an example. Another example is GIECO I loath that lizard in their commercial but apparently it works. The point I'm getting at is that on a regular basis there are post on TPF from people "wanting to be in business as a photographer ". For better or worse, here's an example of someone who's doing it, in a "style" that sells. For those that seek to make their living as a photographer you can't lose sight of your market and you may have to suppress your own feelings on many things. We can "not" like what he's doing from an artistic standpoint, but shouldn't give the impression to others that his artistic vision is wrong. By the way Derrel's comment about Mcdonald's made me think about something, after going back and looking at his gallery again, I would describe his work as "mechanical" not unlike the food coming from the fast food giant, but hey, Micky D says they sell 550 million Big Macs a year in the US alone.


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## Designer (Sep 16, 2017)

I LIKE McDonald's.


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## Braineack (Sep 16, 2017)

smoke665 said:


> again not disrespecting the right to opinions but there have been comments ranging from "Adams familiy" to "stepford wives" when discussing his work.



Because almost every photo on his website shows kids/families in ridiculous outfits with creepy stares.

You wanna know what this family is looking at?  http://image6.photobiz.com/2517/32_20130413183316_1737358_large.jpg

their next murder victim.




this dude is not spending 8 hours processing these, he's using a tool like this:







you can see it in this shot: http://image11.photobiz.com/4595/32_20130413183739_1737368_large.jpg

great lighting, then he hit the "easy" button.


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## tecboy (Sep 16, 2017)

I think his photos are not industry standard.  His style is rare and not very many photographers can achieve this style.  So his photos only appeal certain clients.  I don't think every client want these photos as memory.


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## Braineack (Sep 16, 2017)

tecboy said:


> I think his photos are not industry standard. His style is rare and not very many photographers can achieve this style. So his photos only appeal certain clients. I don't think every client want these photos as memory.



rare in the sense people don't study/practice classic portraiture anymore?


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## smoke665 (Sep 16, 2017)

Braineack said:


> Because almost every photo on his website shows kids/families in ridiculous outfits with creepy stares.



Lots of Mint Juleps? LOL


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## tecboy (Sep 16, 2017)

Braineack said:


> Because almost every photo on his website shows kids/families in ridiculous outfits with creepy stares.
> 
> You wanna know what this family is looking at?  http://image6.photobiz.com/2517/32_20130413183316_1737358_large.jpg
> 
> their next murder victim.



They are probably be dead.  He used braces to keep them standing.


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