Hi all, New to this forum and wanted to get some feedback on my portfolio. I enjoy the retouching process and trying to refine my skills in this area. I also have a passion for photography, digital art, and Photoshop compositing. Let me know what you like and any areas you think I need to work on. I eventually want to freelance and make money retouching but want to make sure my skills are up to par. Appreciate the feedback!

https://www.modelmayhem.com/portfolio/3855828/viewall

Your digital art interpretation of captain america is hilarious! also very well done.

However I'd critique that your cloning is really obvious and it's leaving the skin on all of your photos very blotchy and skims over the pixels and makes them blurry. The only thing you need to know when retouching when you clean up is to just d&b and heal and clone in small areas (with the clone tool on lighten and darken mode for dark/light areas respectively). Your work is on the clean side, so that's good, but I strongly suggest to check out current retouch standards via Vogue (not US, ever, but european Vogue editions, Vogue Japan, Vogue China, Vogue Brazil, etc), L'Officiel, and retouching for top fashion brands and houses if fashion is what you'd like to add to your repertoire :33

Fashion retouching is completely different from making digital art so you just have to make those adjustments. You have to read images differently. It also requires a completely different set of skills, as with any area in retouching. I also recommend that if you want to make money to figure out what sort of retouching you want to do because you can easily make money being a specialist in digital art as well. There's still life, corporate portrait retouching, fashion, beauty, automobile retouching, etc.

I am not an expert in retouching. But as a viewer I would like to comment on your current avi pic. I really love the colors, pose, and composition of this image. But the eyes are very unnatural looking. Upping the brightness and/or color here should be very subtle, IMHO, instead of obvious.

I like some of your composition work and surrealist, abstract retouches. The beauty and portrait retouches, however, do need a lot more attention.

Check out the work of Pratik Naik, Carrie Beene, Chris Tarantino and Michael Woloszynowicz for High End Retouching expertise books and video teaching. If it is low end retouching you want to master, Scott Kelby has written a great book on the subject. Focus on publishing your best work, not just anything you have retouched. Be selective in your retouches, see what is published in leading magazines, adverts and editorials. Work with local photographers and camera clubs too, for practice.

Most important is don't give up improving your knowledge and technique using Photoshop, Lightroom, Capture One and Camera RAW.