Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Pin Up Process



Everyone is always curious about the "before & after" of a photo.
Well, with a Pin Up shot, the change is pretty dramatic, so I thought it'd be a good example to show. First, the image I started with, straight out of the camera. Second, the image all touched up, and Third, the image after going through a multi-step process to make it look more like a painting. I'm still refining the technique, but I'm learning more all the time.
I thought a close up crop of the face would better illustrate the process.......no pun intended.
And finally the full pose.

7 comments:

John T Quinn III said...

this is interesting and i'm glad you're pulling back the curtain a bit. am i correct in thinking the transition from phase one to phase two requires a considerable amount of drawing (or painting)? is phase three a process of filters or are you continually drawing/refining?
i'm inspired to ask if you've considered combining more drawing/painting with photography? i love your jasmine piece so, now i'm thinking mermaids or fairies or something like that. i know it's corny and been done before but, would love to see where you would take it.
sounds like a lot of work, right?

RYAN ASTAMENDI PHOTOGRAPHY said...

John-Thanks for the comment.
Going from phase one to phase two is mostly a lot of careful use of the band-aid and clone stamp tools. The only real "painting" was just to add bigger highlights to the eyes.
Going from phase 2 to phase 3 is about a ten step process using a series of Photoshop actions, a few filters, and a couple tools. LIke I mentioned, I'm always trying to refine the process.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I'm often inspired to combine more drawing/painting with my photography. I think the potential is there for an awesome "hybrid." I'm often inspired by a lot of the art books that I find in Rich's cube or Jeff Shelly's office....I wonder if I can create some of those style through photography, whether it just be the pose, the color, or just the overall look of the art that I like.
Yes, the Jasmine piece was a lot of fun....a TON of work, but very rewarding too. I would love to photograph all of the princesses. I wish I had access to better costumes, but I have to resort to the ones that anybody can buy in the store and my limited budget.
I've been wanting to do a Fairies shoot for Disney, much like the one we did, only have the girls in full costume. I've spoken to Luis and Stephanie about it, but it seems we have no budget. Sigh...
Guess I'll have to do it on my own, and show them what they're missing..
Thanks again, and I will try and "comment back" to everyone more often...

Vince M said...

You had me at phase two. Phase three reminds me of the old air-brush art book "Rock Dreams".
(look it up)

I prefer the more natural look.

Brandi is gorgeous!

Great work, Ry Man!

RYAN ASTAMENDI PHOTOGRAPHY said...

Hey Vin,
Thanks for the comment. Well, I looked it up.....but I'd rather not be compared to that. I'm going for more painting than airbrush.
But I appreciate you letting me know what you think, and for being my most loyal blog follower....and commenter... Is that even a word?

Eric Hutchison said...

I agree w/ Vince as to enjoying the second phase more, but knowing your talent level I'm sure it will not be hard for you to convince me of the beauty of phase three. I can already see the potential just from these images. Great stuff, pal.

RYAN ASTAMENDI PHOTOGRAPHY said...

Thanks Hutch.
Wow, you make me sound like a persuasive guy....
I'll try and convince you how great Phase 3 is on Monday.

Vince M said...

I'm curious about Phase 4.