PortraitPro?

[MattBurt]

I keep getting offers for this software and I'm pretty sure I don't need it but it got me wondering, do any of you use it?
Is it useful or does it just automate things we would normally do in LR or PS?

I don't focus on portraits but that part of my business has been picking up in the last year. I typically shoot for a natural look which may be another reason this may not be for me.

[TomFrerichs]

I own it and have used it on occasion.  Think "airbrushing" and you'll come close to what it can do.  If you use the defaults you can end up with "plastic people" -- the antithesis of natural -- very quickly, so probably not for you.  They do have a trial I think, so you might try it out.

I'd think the primary market is a high volume and/or glamor type of portrait studio.

Tom Frerichs

[Pictus]

After many years testing different products, nothing is better than this Photoshop panel
Delicious Retouch 3.0 http://www.photoshopchef.com/downloads/delicious-retouch/

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

I keep getting offers for this software and I'm pretty sure I don't need it but it got me wondering, do any of you use it?

Hi Matt,

Yes I use it, although portraits are not my main subject matter.

Is it useful or does it just automate things we would normally do in LR or PS?

No, it does way more than LR or PS, and it is a real time saver (productivity tool). Not that Photoshop would not allow to do most things this software does, but it requires a lot less skill to pull it off (and does it possibly better) than most people can achieve.

I don't focus on portraits but that part of my business has been picking up in the last year. I typically shoot for a natural look which may be another reason this may not be for me.

Like any tool, you decide how much to apply and how much to keep untouched. I do caution against going overboard with the Face shape 'adjustments', but they do have their use. I recently had to retouch a portrait of someone who naturally has a rather angry look. So I added a bit (just a bit) of a smile to the face, and it was interesting to see that the software didn't only change the corners of the mouth, but also some other facial muscle groups. I do not have enough experience to know about such subtle enhancements which keep it looking natural, but the software does.

As for skin adjustments, it goes way beyond simply blurring at some detail level, it uses a large library of skin tissue samples to address issues in the various parts of the face. Forehead pore structures are different for e.g. cheeks, noses, or upper lip areas. Also the relighting feature can take face shape into account, and add shadows and highlights in the right places across the face, because it has built in knowledge of physiognomy and bone-structure.

So if you want to use the built-in knowledge of skin and face structure and have a productivity boost, this tool is very much worth its money, IMHO. But as always, restraint reveals the master's skill.

Cheers,
Bart

[mshea]

It's definitely worth the money. But as Bart says, less is more. I rarely use the default settings; the look is definitely too plastic. I tend to give the face sculpting sliders a miss, except for the occasional eye that needs opening up a bit. The skin controls have been worth their weight in gold to me. My female clients have definitely appreciated the neck wrinkle reduction and jaw line firming!

Merrill

[sniper]

It's definitely worth the money. But as Bart says, less is more. I rarely use the default settings; the look is definitely too plastic. I tend to give the face sculpting sliders a miss, except for the occasional eye that needs opening up a bit. The skin controls have been worth their weight in gold to me. My female clients have definitely appreciated the neck wrinkle reduction and jaw line firming!

Merrill

We use it in the studio occasionally, it does a fair job. Yes you can do pretty much all of itside PS but it's a lot quicker to use Portrait pro.  Just remember that defaults are a bit over the top, dial in your own setting and job done.

[David Anderson]

Worst re-touching I have ever seen in their ads.
IMHO, They need to have a long hard look at themselves if this is the best they can do.

Avoid.

[Bart_van_der_Wolf]

Worst re-touching I have ever seen in their ads.
IMHO, They need to have a long hard look at themselves if this is the best they can do.

Avoid.

David,

Aren't you judging a book by its cover?
Have you tried it, do you need it to save time, and earn money?

Cheers,
Bart

[David Anderson]

Have you tried it, do you need it to save time, and earn money?

I would certainly have more time if I did retouching like that.
No business, but much more time.. lol

Seriously, I haven't tried it, and to be fair, maybe it's just their samples that suck and the software is fine ?

[akhbour29]

The examples used in the ad are at best lousy. But the app, when used correctly is great. I never touch the face sculpting, dial in the make up and skin options I want/need and once finished I dial the overall settings down to have the "real" skin show through. The result is something a real make - up artist could do and has nothing in common with the Barbie - effect you get when using the app in auto - mode.
One good thing is that you can save presets, so you can speed up even more your work flow.
And since words are only words, download the last trial version and give it a spin.

Sent from my GT-N5110 using Tapatalk

[fdisilvestro]

Seriously, I haven't tried it, and to be fair, maybe it's just their samples that suck and the software is fine ?

Their samples suck and the presets are way too extreme (at least for my taste). Used with moderation it can be useful. I almost never use the face sculpt feature since I mostly do mild adjustments on a layer and then blend with the original image

[MattBurt]

thanks!

[snowrs]

You can set the 'default' settings to zero for a male and female, or adjust them as you like.  Personally, I always start at zero on everything and never use the face sculpting as I can blend with the bkgrnd layer in PS when done if I overdue something.

With practice, this program does an excellent job.  Yes, one could do it all in PS, but this is really faster and is pleasing when done right.  I agree with everyone that their examples totally suck!  Plastic anyone?

bob snow