We’ve put together a beautiful book for you to get inspired and learn some professional tricks and techniques from a successful internationally published photographer, retoucher and educator Julia Kuzmenko McKim. The cover photo won second place in the global Wacom & AfterCapture Digital Imaging Contest 2012 in the Portrait category, and you can follow its retouching process with Julia in a 5-page illustrated text and 40-minute narrated video workshop.

It’s an inspirational book with lots of beautiful images, retouching tips, articles and a few illustrated text and video tutorials for amateur and professional photographers who edit their work in Adobe Photoshop. This book is created with intermediate and advanced Photoshop users in mind, so if you are a beginner, please start with our “Creative Retouching Essentials in a Day” interactive ebook to ensure the things that are used and demonstrated in the video workshop and tutorials in this book make sense to you.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Pages 24-28: Cover Image Illustrated TextWorkshop
• Pages 36-37: Retouching Face + Video (13 min)
• Page 44: Cover Image Video Retouching Workshop (42min)
• Pages 50-51: Photographing & Retouching Hair + Video (10 min)
• Tons of Images & Real World Photography & Retouching Tips
• Articles on Shooting on Location, in Studio, Working with Models
• Custom Beauty Brushes & Actions (see Digital Goodie Bag subfolder) (only in digital book)
• Pages 58-59: Working with the custom Brushes & Actions mentioned above + Video (30 min) (only in digital book)
• The video tutorials in this book are private Youtube videos exclusively accessible to the readers of this book
• There’s also a download option to store the exclusive video tutorials and workshop on your computer and watch offline on page 9 (additional fee of $9.99 applies).
• and a lot more!

At the end of the ebook you will be provided with Julia’s custom Beauty Brushes, some of which are based on the brushes created by the amazing digital artist from Poland Marta Dahlig, and a new set of Julia’s Beauty Actions (Sharpen All + Parts, Frequency Separation presets for 8- and 16-bit images, Silky Skin, Sculpt & Contour, Digital Skin Texture, Anti-Pink and Temporary Solar Curve) + video tutorials on how to use these Brushes and Actions (these digital bonus materials only come with the digital version of the book).

!!! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOU COPY TODAY !!!

The performance of this eBook will greatly depend on the performance of your computer, its graphics card, and the version of Adobe Reader used for viewing it.

These PDF documents are optimized for Adobe Reader X. Please update your Adobe Reader to get the full experience of the tutorials and the multimedia content. Download free latest Adobe Reader: http://www.adobe.com/products/reader.html

DEAR iPAD USERS PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE WITH THE EBOOK & BONUS MATERIALS ON YOUR DESKTOP FIRST.

UNZIP IT AND THEN TRANSFER THE PDF FILES TO YOUR iPAD.

THE BONUS MATERIALS CAN ONLY BE USED IN PHOTOSHOP ON YOUR COMPUTER.

!!! This is a digital product available for immediate download. No physical product will be shipped to you !!!

Not refundable due to digital nature of the product.

!!! CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOU COPY TODAY !!!

To celebrate we’re having a sale !!   Enjoy 50% off everything in the Boudoir Business Boutique store from now until Monday November 26th at midnight – just use coupon code:  THANKS50

Creative Retouching Essentials in a Day

an eBook by Julia Kuzmenko

 This interactive eBook is for you if you are beginning your journey into the professional Beauty & Portrait photography retouching world. You don’t need to waste your time learning all the tools and panels Photoshop has to offer, if you only want to master or improve your photo retouching skills.

Our  eBook will help you to get a clear understanding as to what  tools you need to be familiar with, and what to do with them to turn your photographs into works of art. In just three  lessons you will know all the necessary panels, tools, functions and essential photography and retouching information to prepare you to dive into the advanced Beauty, Fashion & Portrait retouching techniques.

Moreover, you will learn how to fine-tune your Photoshop for peak performance, how to read and understand colors, what you need to know about color management, how to use custom brushes for Beauty and Portrait photography, what essential keyboard shortcuts you need to know, and a lot more. A few video tutorials will demonstrate the difference between Photoshop retouching tools,  the trickiest Blending Modes and Adjustment Layers concepts, explain what’s so great about Layers and Layer Masks and more.

In the Bonus Goodie Bag you will find our Essential Actions (User Manual included), a collection of Gradients and the Beauty Custom Brushes descriptions (URL for free download included). We also added a lot of useful  information & materials in the “Getting Better Every Day” and “Photography & Photoshop” (Glossary included) PDF booklets.

This eBook is based on the first part of our “Advanced Beauty, Fashion & Portrait Retouching for Pro Photographers” course and  covers:

LESSON I Setting Up For a Good Start:

•   Preferences & Memory Usage
•   Customizing Your Workspace
•   Image File Formats, Resolution, Size & Canvas
•   History Panel
•   Color Theory & Management

LESSON II Painting & Retouching Tools:

•   Brush, Clone Stamp, Healing Brushes & Patch Tool
•   Default Tool Keyboard Shortcuts
•   Brush Opacity vs. Flow
•   Free Transform Tool
•   Selection Tools & Refine Edge Function
•   Liquify Tool
•   Photoshop Actions

LESSON III  Essential Photoshop Panels for Beauty & Portrait Photographers:

•   Layers Panel: Opacity& Fill, Handling, Grouping
•   Blending Modes
•   Layer Masks
•   Adjustment Layers

BONUS MATERIALS:

•   Getting Better Every Day in Photography & Photoshop
•   Essentials Action set + Actions User Manual
•   Custom Beauty Brushes User Manual + URL (free download)
•   Collection of Gradients

HOW THIS EBOOK IS DIFFERENT?

•   Most of the educational retouching programs (DVDs and eBooks) that are out there these days were created by professional retouchers, or famous photographers who teach their specific retouching style. I have watched many such DVDs that try to beat each other in the amount of hours of retouching they offer, and I fell asleep every time… just kidding, I didn’t. But honestly, although they are pretty expensive, I don’t think I’ve ever watched one of those programs from start to finish. Simply because I don’t need all those hours of retouching in real time and chit-chatting to fill it up. I am a busy person and I want specific knowledge and skills, I don’t have 10 hours to watch a retouching DVD, trying to fish out a couple of things that I don’t already know.
• Professional retouchers are getting paid for every of those 30-50 hours they spend on an image. If that’s what you want to do, than you definitely need one of (or all) those DVDs, because that’s what they teach. Hours and hours of retouching on 200-300% zoom. No doubt, they are masters of what they do, but they are pro retouchers. I am a pro photographer and retoucher, I work super fast, but I can still be proud of the images I deliver: www.juliakuzmenko.com. I create those photos from start to finish, and I can tell you all about how to get to where I am at with my photography and retouching today, just follow my lead.

WHY THIS EBOOK IS SHORT?

• If you are a working photographer like me, than most likely you want to learn how to deliver excellent results very quick. There are always other important things for a pro photographer to get done such as promoting him- or herself to get more work, or actually making money shooting. More often than not, we professional photographers have retouching fees included into our photography service charges, so the quicker we get things done and submit to our clients, the better for us and our bottom line it is. No way I could afford to spend 30 hours retouching one image. I bet, you are the same way and that’s why you are here now.
• I wanted to create an educational retouching program that is right on and brings to your attention ONLY what is essential to learn to be able to turn Beauty, Fashion, & Portrait images into works of art in post-production. And that is why the name of this eBook is “Creative Retouching Essentials In A Day”. It is well-structured and short enough (about 30 pages in total + a few short videos in the chapters that require visual demonstration) to allow you to absorb and digest everything you need to know before you move on to the advanced retouching for Beauty, Fashion & Portrait photography within one day.

WHY YOU NEED THIS EBOOK EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU ALREADY KNOW PHOTOSHOP?

• You don’t know what you don’t know. Even if you have been working in Photoshop for a couple of years you may still be lacking some knowledge that will lead you to that break through in your retouching. From my own teaching experience I know that a lot of photographers say: “Oh, I know all the essentials – I’ve been doing it for 2-3 years!” And when we get down to the advanced part of the course, I realize that they don’t know what Layer Masks are, never used the Free Transform tool or some of the Blending Modes, have no idea how to set target color in the Curves Adjustment layer or never heard of other essential things like that. After reading this eBook you will have a clear understanding as to what tools you need to be familiar with, and if you are not yet, than you should practice working with them before you begin to learn Advanced retouching techniques. Essentials are super important, and any professional retoucher will tell you that.

Visit the Store to Get your copy today !

Also Coming Soon :

“From Amateur to Pro in a Week” eBook

when you know that you are ready to learn to become a Beauty retouching wizard.

Release Date:  Decemenber 2012

Visit the store today to purchase !

Visit the store today to purchase !

FAQs

Q) Is this really worth the money? A) These strategies have been bringing me clients consistently for years! If you implement these tools you will increase your bookings and earnings! Think about it. Even if you just booked one shoot, you would pay for this guide AND still turn a profit.

Q) Would this be helpful if I’m not a boudoir photographer? A) Everything included is geared for boudoir. That being said you could easily change out some wording and/or photos to make this work for glamour, head shots, seniors, etc.

Q) Will this just be another e-book lost on my hard drive in a sea of things I need to get to? A) No! Why? Because I designed it that way. None of us have a lot of time. This is why I crammed this puppy into 28 no BS pages. Download the guide today, then go read page 4. Just ONE small page. It will tell you what to do so that you will complete this guide and not let it fall onto your hard drive into a sea of e-books.

One of the most important aspects of beautiful boudoir photography is professional makeup.  Far too often, women will schedule a session and insist on doing their own makeup. As you probably know, most of us women get stuck in a makeup rut, and often don’t know the ideal ways to bring out the color of our eyes, enhance our cheekbones or flatter our lip shape. This is where offering a professional makeup artist can come to the rescue.

One benefit to offering this service to clients is that it enables them to indulge in the entire ‘experience’ of a boudoir session that includes pampering. It sets the tone for the shoot as most women feel absolutely stunning when they have their makeup professionally done.

The following are three important reasons that you should definitely partner with a professional makeup artist. Partnering with a makeup artist and hair stylist will improve the final images, and help you to bring in more clientele.

• Professionally trained makeup artists are well versed in the different facial structures and how to enhance positive features and draw attention away from any flaws. Makeup smoothes a client’s skin as well as hides blemishes and skin surface flaws. Thin or short eyelashes can be corrected with the use of false eyelashes. Eye color can be enhanced by complimenting shadow applied to the lids. Essentially, makeup plays a HUGE part in the final images.
• Makeup makes our job of retouching much easier by smoothing skin and hiding blemishes.
• When clients look good, they feel good. This leads to greater confidence while posing in front of the camera.

For some women, the thought of having their makeup professionally applied can be intimidating. Make sure that you let your clients know to arrive at their session with a clean face, and remind them that you will personally make sure the makeup artist takes their desires and preferences into account first and foremost.

Depending on your mua’s rate, you may choose to have the makeup artist remain for the entire shoot. If she does however leave after initial application, (which is probably more cost effective) you should invest in some blotters or Bare Minerals powder to keep on hand for oil spots that may result during the session. As well, keep lip gloss and applicators handy to keep your clients lipstick looking fresh – Mac is awesome for lip gloss !

I have personally lucked out in using an excellent salon, practically across the street from my studio. They have both professionally trained hair stylists as well as makeup artists. It’s not only handy but they make the client feel very pampered … and spread the word about my business leading to a great number of new clients.

Kamila started shooting boudoir back in 2006 and was one of the first boudoir photographers in the Philadelphia area. She fell in love with boudoir photography instantly, finding it so much fun! Since then the trend has definitely blown up and she’s happy to still be a part of it !  She has photographed literally hundreds of sessions and learns more every year. Kamila loves boudoir photography as it really gives photographers the opportunity to flex their creative muscles while making women of all shapes and sizes feel beautiful!

Kamila’s favorite photos usually end up being the black and white and vintage-toned photos that add a little bit of mystery and allure.

Her favorite props are chunky necklaces and rings (really any costume jewelry), chandeliers, feather boas and mardi-gras masks. An awesome city skyline is also a great prop    She encourages her clients to bring outfits with bright, vivid colors, lots of accessories, and the tallest, sexiest high heels they can find !

A few months ago Kamila moved to New York City (I’m jealous!!) and is excited about photographing in some of the city’s most unique boutique hotels in the next few months.  We can’t wait to see her new work in the big apple !

To more of her beautiful images, please visit Kamila’s website and blog and like her on facebook !

Website:  Kamila Harris Boudoir Photography

Facebook – Kamila Harris Boudoir on Facebook

Thanks Kamila for letting us share your gorgeous images !!

Rather than regular bath products, use dish soap to create longer lasting, denser bubbles.  Ask your client to bring along a nude colored strapless push-up bra to achieve some great cleavage.

A step ladder is helpful but also be prepared to stand on counters and toilets to get the shots !

The following sample excerpts from the Boudoir Posing Guide 2 illustrate some great ideas

• Shooting from behind, focus on the lips / shoulder for an artistic, candid shot. Glancing over the shoulder leads to a sexy look and shows off the makeup

• Shoot from a higher angle to emphasize cleavage.  Stretching the side and arching the lower back creates a great pose and shows a little more nudity.

Many more posing ideas, tips and tricks are available in the new Boudoir Posing Guide 2

boudoir posing ideas

Many women are having their boudoir shoot done as a wedding gift to their groom or as an anniversary gift for their husband so it’s important to focus in on the ring.

Most women will tell you that one of their man’s favorite part about them is their bum … so make sure to catch a few shots !

We as women LOVE our shoes   Make sure to include a shot of each pair she wears during the shoot, whether on the feet or as a shot on their own.

Clients have gone to the effort and paid a fair bit to look as gorgeous as possible with their hair styling, makeup application and a manicure.  For details shots of these elements, with shots of your client looking down to show off the makeup and while touching her hair to capture the hair style and manicure.

The following sample excerpts from the Boudoir Posing Guide 2 illustrate some great ideas of how to focus on the details.

Many more posing ideas, tips and tricks are available in the new Boudoir Posing Guide 2

Changing Angles:

The first two images show how your position and camera angle can take one pose and turn it into two completely different looks.  The only change to the pose is a slight movement of the client`s left hand. The real change is in my position and camera angle or level.  In the first image I was positioned on a step ladder shooting from above to catch a profile image. In the second image I have moved my position to squatting on the floor at just higher than bed level.  You can see how flowing around the client and looking for different angles can create many different looks from just one pose with minimal change in position by the client.  Looking for different shooting angles is great for time efficiency during your shoot and creating images that flow nicely in an an album.

Arching for Curves:

While the third image is nice, it lacks in showing off the client`s curves.  With a great back arch as shown in image two – one where the client feels as though she is trying to reach her butt to her shoulder blades – the body is much more curvy and creates a sexier image.

Many more posing ideas, tips and tricks are available in the new Boudoir Posing Guide 2

We’re so excited to announce that the Boudoir Posing Guide #2 has just been released and for a limited time is available at a special price !

Boudoir Posing Guide #2 is a great addition to the first guide or a perfect stand alone guide for a great variety of posing ideas and principles.

Included is a 36 page pdf and over 100 individual poses containing many examples of flattering poses and how to achieve them, tips and tricks on how to compensate for problem areas and to enhance your client’s best features. Hands, detail shots, bathtub poses, camera angles and variations of many poses are all covered. Also included are countless tips on how to make your client look as natural and relaxed as possible with hand and arm positioning. The art of “flow posing” is demonstrated – being able to flow from one pose to the next to keep your shoots flowing efficiently and capturing a great number of flattering, sellable images.

The 100 individual poses are ready to be uploaded to your mobile device and used as a reference during your shoots or to be studied on your computer.

The new posing guide is also available in combination with our first posing guide as well as the Boudoir Lighting Guide – visit the store to see the savings !