Original image by Slava Samoilenko.

Things have been a bit different here lately – I recently left Facebook and Instagram, and I haven’t really had the desire to work on this image for a while (I started it a few months back…).

I did post this up in the retouching groups on facebook asking for some constructive criticism – which was gratefully recieved – but then I deleted my facebook account and lost it all. That… was a real bright move. But as they say, a change is as good as a holiday. It is a bit of a bummer though, which means I’m now going alone and I think that possibly my progress may suffer for this?

I also then decided that I’d re-calibrate my screens (they needed doing) and somehow managed to make one completely different to the other. I’m refusing to redo them though until my new present to myself gets ordered and arrives (more on that in another post). That’s making it even more fun.

Onto the image!

A few months back I finally got around to joining Model Mayhem, where I cam across this gorgeous photo created by the talented Slava Samoilenko. I haven’t posted this there yet – I think I may have missed my opportunity to do so – but it was a learning curve, but great fun at the same time. I struggled with her neck for a bit (do I lighten it? – The retouching group suggested yes, do it to open it up), and I also made a version which darkened the background (but ultimately I just went with this version). I also added in a few more flowers and leaves, and removed the hand. I had also just watched Midsommar, and thoroughly freaked myself out, so I didn’t want to push it into that territory.

I’ve been working through more of Pratik’s course, as well as Earth Oliver’s course on Frequency Separation 2.0 – I can’t recommend them enough, and I highly suggest purchasing them (I use PROEdu – they’re great). I also wanted to see how far I could push myself before making it too fake (the hair was interesting – but I learnt a lot).

I also saw on the news last night that Norway has introduced a law which will mean that social media influencers can’t post modified photos without mentioning what they’ve done, as part of an effort to reduce body pressure amongst young people. I wish that this had been around when I was a teen.

Anyhow, that’s a wrap for this post. What are your thoughts? What would you change? What do you think of the new laws in Norway – yay or nay? Comment below and let me know – and as always, have a great day!