FotyMody: What is necessary for you in post-production?Maryana Didychenko: I need good monitor, keyboard and mouse that are working clearly without any blasting or glitching. Everything must be customized and operate as one team.FotyMody: What Photoshop tool do you use most commonly?Maryana Didychenko: Perhaps it is Stamp. I brush the pimples and blue eyes.FotyMody: And what if there are no pimples and blue eyes?Maryana Didychenko: Then I just correct the colors, contrast and brightness. It is like an obligatory program, because initially in the raw state the picture is pale as a rule.FotyMody: And not as a rule…Maryana Didychenko: If a photographer will do his best he can shoot to be without post-production or use minimum of it. To plat with a light, to set necessary settings on the camera, but not with auto settings.FotyMody: And how much time do you spend on post-production?Maryana Didychenko: Much strength and time are spent on body`s “refinement”. There is no ideal skin, skin needs attention. The more clothes on body the less expenditure of energy. It is an opposite proportion. =)FotyMody: What photos do you like to work with: natural or strange?Maryana Didychenko: Strange. I like when a photo has its interest – then I`m interested in its post-production too.FotyMody: And what is your productivity of quality of photos per day?Maryana Didychenko: Well, if work alternates with rest, then many – 40.FotyMody: But there are people who look through 2000 photos per day.Maryana Didychenko: Yes, they look through. Install actions and packages. We specified not on quality but on certain! aesthetics. One photo is for cover, you can`t put more. 10 or 15 are for fashion story, but no one hundred and fifteen.FotyMody: Do you use Liquify?Maryana Didychenko: Yes. Almost always. To make a figure more ideal. To make face features more ideal, to pull beaks. To make a nose smaller. Waist. Hips. I stretch legs.FotyMody: Do you make eyes bigger?Maryana Didychenko: No. =)FotyMody: The theme of issue – “Without a Photoshop”. Will a disappointment appear?Maryana Didychenko: I think, there won`t be any disappointments, because photographers will do their best, won`t rely on post-production, that everything will become ideal, but they will make a picture beautiful primordially thanks to their skills.FotyMody: Do you like colour or black-and-white photos?Maryana Didychenko: Black-and-white photos are easier to be post-producted, because you don`t need to smooth a colour. It takes much time. Face and arms are more red then all body. It is in the nature… Armpits take much time too.FotyMody: How much?Maryana Didychenko: One minute now.FotyMody: One armpit? =)Maryana Didychenko: =) Two armpits.FotyMody: Well. Experience, skills, knowledge about man anatomy are important in your pfofession?Maryana Didychenko: Yes, all these things.FotyMody: Do you keep tracking for new Photoshop plugins?Maryana Didychenko: No. I have a feeling what is needed. I look at good shootings.FotyMody: How to become a professional in post-production?Maryana Didychenko: You need to sit and retouch, retouch, try. I learnt it by myself, by trial and error.FotyMody: And do you like to click “before” and “after”?Maryana Didychenko: I like. When a conversion on digital techniques took place, I retouched photos shot on handy-cam Olimpys. Those photos were so awful that only post-production could save them. =) And when I compared, I can say that final shots were masterpieces. Maybe that was my school of survival – when I needed make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. And not models but level of camera and light were “caca”. By the way, light was on halogen lamps and that was awful. Photos weren`t colorful but yellow with overlightening, camera`s matrix couldn`t stand, but after post-production these photos looked like they were shot with a professional light. =)FotyMody: Digital techniques grew up nowadays…Maryana Didychenko: … it is a pleasure nowadays, undoubtedly. Photo has efficiency, beautiful colours, nothing is fuzzy and soaped, and nothing needs global post-production.FotyMody: What is the better – more or less post-production?Maryana Didychenko: It depends on shooting.FotyMody: Do you make strong sharpness?Maryana Didychenko: I add just a little of sharpness in the end. Sometimes I add little noise to make photo more accurate.FotyMody: And is there a thing when a person who is retouched by you begins to impress you or anger you?Maryana Didychenko: Sometimes you can post-product ten pictures from model`s portfolio in one hour but it can happen that you are sitting and linger, linger, linger, and later you find out that photographer had some difficulties with this model at the shooting too.FotyMody: Whose taste should retoucher orientate: photographer`s, magazine`s or final clients’?Maryana Didychenko: You listen to everybody but do from your own point! =) That means – on your own taste.FotyMody: Are similar photos easier to be retouched for you?Maryana Didychenko: Nooo, because it is like you are doing the same work. You retouched one photo, you spent time on it and then you need to do almost the same but the difference in photos is that model turned her nose to another side. It is interesting for me when each photo is self-sufficient and interesting. Because each photo needs attention, a part of soul which you put into it. I do my work as a painter but not only “click something”.FotyMody: Should your work be visible?Maryana Didychenko: No. Vice versa. If my work is not noticeable it is professionalism.FotyMody: Are you hidden fashion character?Maryana Didychenko: =) Yes. Everybody knows a photographer, agency but nobody knows who made a post-production for a certain photosession. Retouchers are unknown, but everybody needs them.FotyMody: And why don`t you make collages, fantasy sketches, changing of background?Maryana Didychenko: Because it isn`t fashion photography. FotyMody: Do you follow creativity of the best fashion specialists?Maryana Didychenko: Sure. I know works of all top fashion photographers. And of the stylists. And of the make-up artists. I try to follow their works. I don`t pay attention to post-production technologies, I follow fashion aesthetics and fashion style.FotyMody: How many timed did you reread teach-yourself Adobe Photoshop?Maryana Didychenko: I turned over its pages for one time. But I learnt to do it by the hit-and-miss method.FotyMody: And what will you advice for those who wants become a retoucher?Maryana Didychenko: To work with photographers. To work in the context of photographers. Don`t do something by yourself but ask photographers what they want.FotyMody: I know that photographers have such schedule that they will give their works to retoiucher with pleasure, but they can`t find an ideal retoucher or even can`t find anybody. And they say: you know, I am not satisfied the way another person retouches my photos, I have to sit at the computer whole night again. And where retouchers might be found?Maryana Didychenko: I wish I knew it… It would be easier for me; I would give them a part of my work. I began to make a post-production because there was nobody to do it, and it becomes my profession in due course. I will tell about an occasion. I had to do much post-production at some period of time. At that time I had one pretender to learn how to do a post-production to make it her further profession. I told and showed her everything, gave several photos on trial. After some time she brought retouched photos for agreement. All parts of body were transformed much on those photos. Model became not only thin but offensive and didn’t look like her. And this girl said that she doesn`t want to do it, because she has eyes ache and this work appeared to be monotonous laborious task. It takes much time and you have to be plodding. Personally I do post-production quickly as for today – I know perfectly what and where I need to do with photo. A photo takes not a whole day as this girl said; I can retouch one photo for 10-15 minutes.Maryana Didychenko, retoucher, Profi Talk, FotyMody #5.

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