Saturday, 19 March 2016

Retouching Abilities


In order to make it into the industry I need to be prepared and I need to know what to expect and what is expected of me. I have searched for helpful advice and tip and one website I came across was Retouch Pro; which is a forum website for retouchers to ask advice and get help with any problems. This is not a job website but I still think it is going to be useful for me; the first article I read on this website was “What are the 10 abilities needed to be a succesful Retoucher”
The person who was asking this question was looking for Photoshop abilities as they were a beginner and were looking to start learning but wanted to know what was considered the most important part. Some of the answers went of topic but I wrote a list of everything that was mentioned :


-          clone tools
-          healing tools
-          patience
-          good coordination
-          good eyesight
-          open mind
-          organization
-          find a workflow
-          attention ot detail
-          know how to use the blend modes
-          know the curves
-          know the brushes
-          Learn body anatomy
-          PATIENCE
-          Learn how to use Google
-          Teaching other helps you learn
-          Customer service skills
-          Masking
-          Tact
-          Diplomacy
-          Communication
-          An Ability to visualise
-          Know hwen to seek assistance
-          Willingness to experiment



Another thing that was mentioned which I think is very useful was to create a catalogue on a word document of all the tutorials and useful articles that I find, this means I then have access to lots of tutorials and step by step guides that I think are useful even if I do not have access to the internet or time to go searching.

This got me thinking about ways that I could show I am learning new skills and how would potential employer know that I have these skills; I had an idea to create an online catalogue of step by step tutorials in a “how to” blog about Photoshop. I am going to work on this over summer as a way to keep myself active on Photoshop and to show potential clients I am working and still immersing myself in the world of Photoshop. I think it will be good for me and show a positive learning attitude that I am doing this for myself and not because I have been asked; this would the equivalant of photographers doing personal projects inbetween jobs and clients.

I am going to write this as a blog but there is also the possibility of writing a booklet and getting some prints done as part of my marketing and press pack. I think this would be a unique skill to have and would be more memorable than leaving potential employers with just a business card.
I have skills in Photoshop but currently I have no way online to show potential employers I am skilled in Photoshop apart from the work I have created. This does not show my full range of skills in Photoshop as some of my techniques are used so that they appear invisible (such as healing and blemish removing).
Tools I think I have learnt:


-          Non destructive workflow
-          Blend modes
-          Masking
-          Healing brushes
-          Brush Tools
-          Selection Tools
-          Curves
-          Cloning


 It is important that I know how to work non destrucively; if a client wants a minor change making and I have used a destructive workflow this means I would probably need to start the whole documents again; but working non-destructively means I can make chnages as I need too without restarting, this means I can save time and increase productivity in my workflow.
Skills I think I have learnt:


-          Communication
-          Organization
-          Coordination
-          Patience
-          Open-Mindedness
-          Attention to detail
-          Knowing when to ask for help




I also need to find a way to prove I have these skills and this is something I think the blog can help provide me. 

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