Photoshopping.

[sc1233nna1773]

Originally Posted by tfcreate

This is the ultimate photoshop job. It's called good makeup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eH82bqTB3i0&feature=dir
If I were still doing pro work, I'd hire this kid in a heartbeat.
Your makeup artist is critical.
Get the makeup right and photoshop won't be an issue.
And guys, don't be afraid to learn how to apply makeup.
Even photographers should know something about it. If your model is made up for the stage or the runway as opposed to movies/television, the presentation (photo) will look, a bit "off," and it's a real b!tch to correct. This is why you end up with doll-like plastic looking subjects in your cosplay photos. The camera is unforgiving. It catches everything.
This is the time where you may have to adjust your curves to compensate.

In my opinion, correcting technical errors in the photo is my job as the photographer.
Correcting basic errors like the preparation and presentation of the character is up to the cosplayer.

First of all, even if you get the makeup perfect, photoshop can still be an issue. It just depends on how much attention you give to the details. Look closely and there's always something to fix.

Secondly, what you're saying is pretty unreasonable unless you're willing to pay to have a makeup artist follow me around all day. I haven't met a makeup artist yet who was willing to follow me around at a con all day and do other people's makeup for free. Makeup isn't just a one time thing especially if you're at a con. Even for a 40 minute professional shoot the makeup artist is constantly adjusting and touching up. You think that would be practical to do during the entire con?? If you haven't noticed, cons can be hot and humid, makeup bunches or gets wiped off. Having a makeup artist for a con is impractical and not to mention, expensive.

Many errors also aren't the fault of the cosplayer but the fault of circumstances during a long day. It's not easy to keep a costume perfect throughout the entire day of a con so unless you're going for a journalistic photo, photoshop is going to be necessary.

IMO most photographers are afraid to use photoshop because they don't know how to use it well or don't want to learn it properly. The majority of photos aren't photoshopped well but are passed off as "artistic style" to mask obvious shortcomings of skill. I don't use photoshop so that I don't have to pretend that eye piercing colors, detail stripping over-saturation, over use of the blur tool, poor background replacement, obviously fake lighting effects, psychedelic colors and doll-like face retouching are "artistic impression." I think people can obviously tell the difference between "artistic impression" and "photoshop amateur." I'm against cosplay photoshop because of what I've seen from cosplay photographers so far. I'll photoshop my photos if I ever reach a pro level in photoshop.

[4ng31]

Originally Posted by sc1233nna1773

IMO most photographers are afraid to use photoshop because they don't know how to use it well or don't want to learn it properly. The majority of photos aren't photoshopped well but are passed off as "artistic style" to mask obvious shortcomings of skill. I don't use photoshop so that I don't have to pretend that eye piercing colors, detail stripping over-saturation, over use of the blur tool, poor background replacement, obviously fake lighting effects, psychedelic colors and doll-like face retouching are "artistic impression."

I'm gonna go with this as my final answer.

[hikari-kasumi]

personally i think photoshopping can make a photo look interesting. example: if you were yuna from ffx, you could add fayth swirling around you and make the picture glow. it would be really cool! it can also be used in the case that you might not have the same coloured eyes as the character and didn't have contacts, so you could adjust that too. nothing too extreme like changing up the background or anything, as that should have already been taken care of in the actual taking of the picture, but cool effects are always a nice addition - especially if the effects are impossible to achieve in real life! and touching up skin is always nice.

[oslapedo]

I think photoshop is good when I can't tell that the picture's been photoshopped.

[tfcreate]

Artistic enhancement or correction of photos? That's up to the photographer and the cos-player. True. No one expects to have a make-up artist follow them around at a con, but it's equally unrealistic to expect Redbook quality photos of their cosplays when they aren't willing to prepare or work for it. One of the most common complaints I hear is the "I don't look as good as (Insert super dedicated, well prepared and skilled copslayer's name here.)
When photoshop becomes a crutch to avoid developing basic technique or good makeup or costuming skills, who really wins?

Just about anyone can learn to use photoshop well (Millions of copies sold/pirated attest to that,), but most people take years to develop photographic skills, and even the best spend their whole lives getting better. And even fewer will go through the effort to hone their cos-play skills. Those that do get the praise and the attention. The rest just become another face in the crowd.

[sc1233nna1773]

Originally Posted by tfcreate

When photoshop becomes a crutch to avoid developing basic technique or good makeup or costuming skills, who really wins?

Just about anyone can learn to use photoshop well (Millions of copies sold/pirated attest to that,), but most people take years to develop photographic skills, and even the best spend their whole lives getting better. And even fewer will go through the effort to hone their cos-play skills. Those that do get the praise and the attention. The rest just become another face in the crowd.

I don't think may cosplayers use photoshop as a crutch. Photographers yes, but the large majority of cosplayers, no.

The amount of sold or pirated copies of photoshop has nothing to do with whether people can use it well or not. Going by your logic there are many more people who can use a camera well since hundreds of thousands, if not millions more cameras have been sold. Anyone can think they know how to use photoshop well just as you can think to know how to use a camera well but it takes just as long gain proper photoshop skills as it does to gain photography skills. The problem arises when people think photoshopping is easy because then it just looks amateur.

[angola]

ps makes people close to the second role of cartoon

[maulrat]

Originally Posted by oslapedo

I think photoshop is good when I can't tell that the picture's been photoshopped.

ROFL, if u can't tell it's photoshopped, then it must look like garbage! or from a point & shoot

u tell me what u like better, here is a before and after shot. straight out of camera and photoshopped.

[Jim3535]

Maulrat, I think of that more as post processing rather than photoshopping. You may be using photoshop, but shopping seems to be associated with more heavy handed editing. Stuff like excessive skin smoothing, liquify, adding psychedelic colors, fake bokeh, massive cloning, etc.

That being said, there's really nothing wrong with photoshopping. The trouble is that many people over do it, or do it poorly, so it gets a bad name. If it fits your vision of what the photo should be, then go for it. Of course, if you're a photojournalist, then you need to back off.

[maulrat]

Originally Posted by Jim3535

Of course, if you're a photojournalist, then you need to back off.

That is the keyword right there: photojournalism. There is a big difference from fashion/glamor photography. Over processed, montage photos belong in the science fiction category imo. Therefore they should not be looked at as a bad thing. After all, isn't cosplay depicting fictional characters? =)

[Loque Cole]

Photoshop can make or break a cosplay photo. I've seen some pictures on this site that are just ridiculously bad work. You can see the smears, the smudges, the burns and the dodges plain as day. It makes the original look like gold in comparison.

As with anything in life... some fail, some don't. In my personal opinion if you want a photo to look natural (don't we all?) follow these rules.

Photoshop should be used for:
Lighting effects
Texturizing
Changing saturation and shades that are slightly off
Sharpening/blurring edges or layers
...and, in a lot of cases, eye colors. It looks fine if done right. No different than going and buying expensive contacts.

Photoshop should not be used for:

Giving your face digital plastic surgery
Shrinking your belly
Making your muscles bigger
Making yourself look less/more Asian
etc.

That is, if you want your photo to look natural.

There's one photo of a Gaara cosplay floating around the net that looks like absolute garbage.

The point should be to make photo look like everything, in the exact moment it was taken, went perfectly well, and the best possible photo was taken. Nothing beyond possible reality.

[Ashurachan]

I have been using Photoshop a lot less since I got Lightroom.
Most of my post-processing involves playing with light and colors plus a little cropping, and Lightroom is designed just for that. I still use Photoshop in a few cases though :
* to get rid of that distracting stain on the otherwise monochrome background
* to remove pimples - when they're distracting, that is ; and never to the point of making the cosplayer look like an alien
* to correct the light in specific areas (in order to make eyes more visible, generally)
* and from time to time, to create specific effects the shot calls for, like the motion blur on that one.

[maulrat]

when it comes down to it,...

Canon > nikon.

[Liarsenicxx]

Originally Posted by shiroin

First of all,

It really comes down to what you ultimately want to achieve. If you only cosplay so you can dress up like the character and enjoy the crafting process, then so be it.

For me, and a lot of my cosplayer friends, crafting is half of the process. Cosplay for us is about recreating the series, its characters, its atmosphere, and even its plot. Just as animators and artists can use certain color schemes or drawing styles to project a desired feel to a particular scene (eg. black and white for flashback), photographers can achieve the same effect using photoshop. It isn't dark magic. It's just a tool.

That said, I wouldn't go as far as airbrushing the whole face and/or changing the size of the boobs, etc. That is just too far. See: http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=168701&page=3

Agreed.


As a cosplayer and photographer myself I do photoshop my pictures. Though it's almost always for affect. Over-shopping can be a problem, but only when it is done badly.
Take into account the style of picture you want, the situation and the setting you'd also like to achieve.
Of course I'm sure photoshopping is looked down apon but I'm talking about shopping. Not Shooping.
Here and there I will use the healing or clone-stamp tool to get rid of a blemish my make-up didn't get but sometimes you can't save a bad picture with photoshop so take that into affect as well.

Usually when someone inexperianced tries that is just doesn't look good at all. xP

[shiroin]

Originally Posted by maulrat

when it comes down to it,...

Canon < nikon.

Fixed.