Skin
Acquisitions and Development Editor: Pete Gaughan
Technical Editor: Glen Martin
Copy Editor: Kathy Carlyle
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher: Joseph B. Wikert
Vice President and Publisher: Dan Brodnitz
Permissions Editor: Shannon Walters
Media Development Specialist: Kit Malone
Designers: Franz Baumhackl and Lori Barra
Compositor: Kate Kaminski, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
Proofreader: Nancy Riddiough
Indexer: Ted Laux
Cover Designer: Ryan Sneed
Cover Images: Lee Varis, Ken Chernus (water polo player),
Anthony Nex (boy on rope and swimmer)
Copyright & 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN-13: 978-0-470-04733-0
ISBN-10: 0-470-04733-X
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 5723447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising here-from. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web-site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (800) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the publisher.
TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dear Reader
Thank you for choosing Skin: The Complete Guide to Digitally Lighting, Photographing, and Retouching Faces and Bodies. This book is part of a family of premium-quality Sybex graphics books, all written by outstanding authors who combine practical experience with a gift for teaching.
Sybex was founded in 1976. Thirty years later, were still committed to producing consistently exceptional books. With each of our graphics titles, were working hard to set a new standard for the industry. From the writers and artists we work with to the paper we print on, our goal is to bring you the best graphics books available.
I hope you see all that reflected in these pages. Id be very interested to hear your comments and get your feedback on how ...
Acknowledgments
I could not have written this book without the help and support of many people. First, I need to thank my wife, Gila, for putting up with me these past several monthsshe is always ready to listen to and encourage me. Thanks also to my kids, Aaron and Erika, for being an inspiration to me and for being such great subjects for my example images. A special thanks also goes to my sister Oraea, who besides being a gracious subject for the retouching chapter has provided many years of creative inspiration through her music.
I must also thank my contributorsAaron Rapoport, Ken Chernus, Anthony Nex, and Erin Manning; Erin was also the subject for the basic portrait-lighting examples. This book would not be anywhere near as good as it is without the great photographs contributed by these fine artists.
Another fine artist, whose influence was felt in every page, was my technical editor, Glen Martin. Glen made sure I didnt slip up, and he caught the tiniest errors in screenshots, captions, and descriptive text. He made numerous suggestions for clarifying technically dense text and pushed me to go further than I might otherwise have gone. I cant forget to thank the many subjects of all the photos whose humanity is on display in these pages; few of them are mentioned by name, but all are deeply appreciated for their contributions.
Of course, this book wouldnt be possible without the Sybex team: acquisitions and developmental editor Pete Gaughan, copyeditor Kathy Carlyle, and the compositors at Happenstance Type-O-Rama.
A special thanks goes to my agent, Matt Wagner, who has been watching my back in more ways than one (thanks for the insights on tattoos).
I could not have accomplished anything in digital photography without the many teachers I have had over the years: Tony Redhead, Kai Kraus, Ed Manning, Dan Margulis, David Biedney, Al Edgar, Daniel Clark, Jeff Schewe, Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy, Katrin Eismann, Eric Magnusen, Bryan Allen, and many others who have helped me surf the bleeding edge of digital imaging technology.
Of course, no book on digital photography should fail to acknowledge the Knoll brothers, Thomas and John, who created Photoshop and let the genie out of the bottle to the delight of digital artists everywhere. And no book on photography techniques could begin to repay the debt owed to Ansel Adams, who established the great technical foundation for the art and craft of photography. I stand on the shoulders of giants to make my very modest contribution to the vast world of digital imaging.
About the Author
Lee Varis, who has been involved in commercial photography for the past 30 years, is a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He began working with computer imaging almost two decades ago, after one of his clients took him to see what they were doing to his photography on the Quantel Paintbox. Lee was hooked and spent many hours hanging out at Electric Paint, one of the first creative imaging services to utilize the new technology for movie posters and album covers. His first imaging computer was a Macintosh SEa tiny computer with a B+W monitor that could process RGB color files. Lee began exploring digital photography using some of the earliest systems available, and he helped Dave Etchells (of Imaging Resource) conduct the ...