Blog 10 - Photo Retouch Project

After spending Friday and Saturday working on finishing this assignment up, I realized in this process that while I can build up a full illustration from an empty photoshop file, adding to something that already exists is an entire separate area of skills! I kept trying to nitpick and add more depth until I came to the realization that I do not have this in my skill level yet with imagery. It was a very extensive learning process, however, and I appreciate this project so I could at least try (whether or not I succeeded).
 

 My chosen picture is of Thomas's parents at a very early anniversary. I loved this picture because it made me realize their smiles stayed just the same through every picture, even all the way back to a simple sofa picture in what I'm guessing is their home. The picture did not scan perfectly which worried me. Even though I colored and retouched the entire scene, something felt... vacant or shallow that I could not render more thoroughly without losing the vintage feeling. Because of this, I eventually took an extreme creative liberty and just followed that theme I felt like needed to be kept. I was not going to get it "perfect" so I decided to create the illusion of what should be "perfect" in a grungy, sweet, but still improved version of the image. I adjusted the colors to be not quite natural, but as if they were taken by a newer camera and added an instant film photo border to hint it's a natural, momentary snapshot. The skin tones are still faded into the background more than I'd like, but all in all I'm more confident in it than I was before.