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New Portfolio

Stephen has just completed a port of his old portfolio to the new website framework. New pieces of work will be added over the coming weeks… see more >

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Adobe Design Master

sf Graphic Designer formally announces his enrolment and certification as an Adobe Design Master and Adobe Design Specialist… read more >

Photo retouching, the art of Illusion.

Photo manipulation through various retouching and image editing techniques is the art of making real the unreal, of seeing beyond the surface layer of reality to a world of imagination and wonder. Like illustration, photo retouching can illuminate its subject through a careful study of its underlying qualities. Subtly enhancing through tone, colour and composition brings these features into the foreground.

sf – Photoshop Retouch Pro, Melbourne Australia.

Stephen Franklin can trace his retouching skills back to traditional darkroom techniques, masking images with rubylith, hand spotting negatives with opaque or burning in tone. The switch to digital photo retouching with the first release of Adobe Photoshop was therefore a natural progression to Stephen's image editing capabilities.

Digital image manipulation must be handled with great attention to detail. Approaching physical enhancements and colour correction in a methodical way creates a visual balance. This is the manner in which the illusion of reality is created. The viewer must be able to step into a world created through subtle visual augmentation or the overwhelming affect of vibrant colour changes.

Attention to detail is just one facet of Stephen's skills brought to bear when presented with a challenging retouching project. The portfolio examples presented here will provide some insight into the unwavering focus he can provide for your next visual creative brief. Get in contact today!