Cheekbones Vs Man Make up

[lackajack]

Hi, this is the first post i've made. But i wanted to get some critique on some processing i did on a photo of me from a recent night out. Anyway, i was playing around with my Nikon Coolpix L5 all night, and although i can't exactly remember i think this was taken in portrait mode.

I did some post processing, overlay Gaussian blur, dodge and burn on the eyes and teeth, wind filter on the surround to make it less obvious i was in the toilets.

But what i specifically want to get feedback on was the dodge and burn on the cheeks to make it appear to have cheek bones. Has this and the post processing in general gone too far and given the impression of man make up?

Any comments appreciated.

[Murtasma]

It's hard to tell since this is an attachment also we don't have an original to compare to. I think getting closer to him would have really helped the image as well, there are a lot of distracting elements in the image here.

From what I can see on the image now I don't get the impression that he has cheek bones.

[lackajack]

oK, Thats good, I re-did it a bit, and think its got the same problem where I am trying to highlight a lacking bone structure. But i think i took your suggestions on board.

the second image is the original image

[candleman]

you've definatley brought out some cheekbone.
but theres too much gaussean blur and his face looks out of focus because of it.

[lackajack]

Yes, i totally see what you're saying. I've had a tweak, unsharpen masked it, and think the lack of fuzzyness is definatly a bonus, and it seems to have created more distinct shadowing which improves the appearance of cheek bones.

Do you think that some people will just never look like they have a good bone structure though?

[mandyatm]

I think the crop and sharpening helped the image. If it were me I would probably clone out the sink all together, but that would take some time. I think the face is fine without adding cheekbones. That is what the face looks like! My husband has very strong cheekbones and a very soft jawbone, but I wouldn't try to change it because that is what he looks like and I think he's hot, for what it's worth.

[lackajack]

strong cheek bones and strong jaw line is what i was trying to achieve. But i think im understanding now why bone structure is so prized, because you cant fake it. or at least I can't

I was considering trying to add some red under the hand to look like blood, to try and make this photo more of a story but it just looked like some red paint that was added in GIMP.

[Murtasma]

It's certainly not easy to recreate the effect of strong cheek bones but it is possible. A closer image of his face with more detail would also have been easier to work with. You can also do a lot with light to highlight what cheek bones are there as well.

[lackajack]

So what do you think of my post processing job? in total, out of 10?