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Judging by the popularity of facial retouching software, there seem to be a lot of people out there who want to make their subjects look like they just arrived off a private jet from Monte Carlo. And they want to do it fast, and not get bogged down with little technicalities like learning how to use Photoshop. So, is it possible to just press a button and instantly have a complexion that looks like J.Lo after an hour in the makeup chair? Well, that’s what we’re here to find out, so let’s take a look.

 

First, let’s take a look at what we have. Perfect Portrait is one of six products that combined give you onOne Software’s Perfect Photo Suite 6. You can buy the whole bundle or you can buy just the individual products that you like. And while I’m not going to address the other products here, let me just add kudos to onOne for using the same interface for each product, something you’d think would be automatic with software suites but sadly is not.

The intriguing thing about lightpainting is you never know exactly what you’re going to get. And whatever you get, you won’t get it again. That’s part of the technique’s appeal: you’re creating a one-of-a-kind photograph.

 

Simply, a lightpainting photo is an image made with a handheld, constant light source in a dark room or environment. The camera’s sensor captures only what you choose to illuminate. Lightpainting images can range from relatively simple to fairly complicated. Striking photos can be created indoors with nothing more than a still life subject, a tabletop to put it on, and a small LED penlight to light it. Or you can think big: how about a mega-powerful spotlight illuminating prairie land in the Grand Tetons or a mesa in Monument Valley?

Near Carmel, California, there is a small beach studded with rocks, shells, and sand formed over thousands of years. The tide pushes in daily with a great, uninterrupted force of life, pounding the giant rocks and sand, yet gently feeding and refreshing the sparkling tide pools that spawn life in all its amazing micro detail. Nearby on the cliffs above are paths carved between giant boulders, set next to majestic Cypress trees and greenery. This area is Point Lobos, and this beach—Weston Beach—is named for a man who changed the way many people saw these natural wonders, and so many other everyday things as well. Edward Henry Weston was his own great force of life. His photographs have become synonymous with the beauty of the West and California in particular, inspiring many photographers and admirers, and leaving his indelible mark as one of the 20th century’s most important photographers.

Advertising photography could be thought of as simply making images designed to sell a product or service. Traditionally, this meant a company hired an advertising agency to create ads to sell their products and services, so the ad agency hired a photographer to do the shoot or sought stock or other image sources to fulfill their image needs.