How to Retouch Eyes in Adobe Photoshop CS6 Tutorial

Fresh, young, healthy, glossy eyes — that's what we want. 

Glowy, overly saturated eyes that look like a cat on Halloween moonlight — no thank you.

Here's my technique for 99% of the eyes I retouch....

1) Create 'Gray Layer' [Color: Gray] [Mode: Soft Light]

2) Dodge (midtones [30% opacity]) in white of eyeball 

3) Dodge (midtones [30% opacity]) light in iris — only where the light is catching

4) Burn (midtones [25% opacity]) around the dark circle around the iris 

5) Burn (midtones [25% opacity]) over eyelash line

*Brightening the midtones of the eyeball = glossy (NOT glowy)

**Darkening the dark circle around the iris makes the eye look young and healthy

***Darken eyelashes helps the eye 'pop'

****ALWAYS compare your retouching to the original image to make sure you haven't gone overboard! The change should be so subtle you hardly even notice it — you've gone too far if someone else can guess what you've done to the photo. Less is ALWAYS more with retouching.

Happy 90th Birthday Grandma!

You may recognize my grandma from my Instagram feed or from her replies to everything I post on Facebook. Just watch out world if this feisty fireball from 1923 joins Twitter — we're talkin' retweet central!

Back in the day, grandma picked me up almost every day from school with a peanut butter sandwich and a fruit roll up in the front seat for the ride home. When I learned to drive, grandma's house was my first destination to showoff my new wheels and I spent every Tuesday night during high school at her house so we could watch TV, nibble on happy-hour snacks and play Rummy. When I lived in Scotland she was my faithful penpal. Now I'm home again and she delivers hot tea to the side of my computer while I edit photos and when I sell portraits & make money she does a happy dance around the kitchen.

So many wonderful things about my grandma skipped a generation and landed in my lap. I love seeing how similar we are. Most special of all is that her relationship with my Papa reminds me of my relationship with Miggy. Grandma Pat is not only my ride home and my role model, she's one of my best friends and I am SO EXCITED to celebrate her 90th birthday with her today!

My brother (Ian, 20) is coming over this afternoon and the three of us are having a backyard BBQ. I also baked grandma a rich chocolate walnut cake with raspberries that we're going to each tonight :D I might suggest a game or two of Rummy.

For this big birthday celebration, my mom organized a photo shoot earlier this month with grandma and her best friend, Dorris, who is also 90. Grandma & Dorris met when they were my age (approx. 24). I'm so happy to showcase their lifelong friendship in this beautiful picture that both of them now have framed in their homes. 

(Grandma is on the LEFT, Dorris is on the right).

Happy Birthday Grandma! Let's get our party on and start workin' towards 100! ;)

Great Artists Steal | Charmaine Olivia's Roses

"Good Artists Copy. Great Artsits Steal."

This Pablo Picasso quote has been on my mind. I'm branching away from my role models, inspiration & muses and instead I'm searching for something new, something more original...all with the hopes of getting my brain to explode with creativity! Then it hit me. I've been resisting the urge to COPY but I haven't even tried STEALING yet! Genius. So, I took my favorite painting from one of my favorite artists (Charmaine Olivia)and STOLE a piece of it! I cut out the rose in Photoshop and pasted it onto one of my photographs, played (it was so much fun to just play with my art! I haven't done that in soo long) with it for about 4 hours while grandma & I watched The Big Bang Theory and BING BANG BOSH!!! Something new appeared before my eyes....... 

The painting on the left is Rose Study 2 by Charmaine Olivia.

The photograph in the center is a portrait I took of my friend Rhiannon last year.

My 'masterpiece' haha is the image on the right

BEHIND THE SCENES ....

Watch a screen recording of me editing....

Thank you to the beautiful Charmaine Olivia for painting a rose worthy of stealing! 

Everyone, please go admire her GORGEOUS paintings now.
CLICK HERE to Visit Her [Beautiful] WEBSITE! 

Unique & Fun Bachelorette Party Idea :: Glamour Photo Shoots (My First Trial Run)

You're taking your girl out for one more fling on the town before her wedding day.

Option one: dress her up in plastic penises, a cheesy tiara, and a hot pink boa....no thank you. 

Option two: do each other's makeup in the bathroom, squeeze into a taxi, party with margaritas and wake up the next morning with blurry photos on your camera....not ideal. 

Option three: surprise the bride with a whole day of dress up and makeovers, champagne, strawberries, chocolate and chocolate and chocolate and a glamour photoshoot. You'll hit the town that evening like supermodels & wake up the next morning with gorgeous photos of a day you'll remember forever!...Now, that's more like it!

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But before offering this photo shoot bachelorette party experience extraordinaire to brides across the nation I figured I should probably have a trial run. I mean who knew if I'd be able to handle the hormonal chaos of seven girls prancing around my studio and squealing with the girly joy that only comes with weddings & babies. 

My guinea pigs arrived one morning ready for their close-ups, Starbucks cups shuffling in through the doorway, clothes thrown ALL over the couch. Flashback to junior high slumber parties! As luck would have it, my makeup artist had to cancel last minute so it was just me and my trusty sidekick Miss. Cheryl Ford With full fore we took on hair & makeup AND photos for 7 women from 8am - 5pm. PHEW! Needless to say, I'm a proud mama of these photos....

Thank you so much Cassie for bringing all these ladies together to help me practice and thank ALL of you ladies so much for being patient with us throughout that whole day, so enthusiastic and fun, and  for graciously waiting for your images that took a little longer than usual to create! You're all gorgeous and it was a treat to  spend the day with you. :) xoxo Cham