GreigPil wrote:
I'd say the Before on the second image is near perfect. Matching the skin tone of the hand, increasing the density of tone similar to the After, cleaning up the hair at the nape of the neck and the eyebrows a little (really, a little) and you'd be set. Maybe bring some light into the iris, too.

I think the colour work on the After is a bit much, but that's just me. It's also on the sharp side.

You can retouch entirely in CaptureOne. I've noticed quite a few photographers/retouchers doing just that these days. Might take a while to get your workflow up to speed when compared to Photoshop but if you get great results, why not? There will always be some things that need worked in Photoshop; but things like skin tone uniformity are done really well in CaptureOne.

I noticed too that you're getting rid of freckles and moles. I'd say leave them in unless they interrupt the line/flow of the image. This person's moles add character and I like them.

EDIT: Just checked the higher res images. Yeah, a little more work required than what I said - but my main points still stand. Leave those moles and pumps. Just get rid of the blemishes/skin flakes stray hairs, leave all the interesting bumps

Maybe dodge out the two dark spots on the headpiece above the ear, too.

Great work, though. CaptureOne is great, eh?

Thank you so much!!! i really appreciate your comments! i'll keep tryin'. And yes, C1 rules! (LR sucks now xD)