Have I fully integrated the software into my workflow?
Used it once, walked away, and went back kind of liked it more but had some issues with the credit system, and the fact that it was a separate software. Now I do use it regularly on specific projects. It is still evolving, it’s getting better, and I cannot see how a photographer these days can go passed it and not give it a try.
Not my first EVOTO video, and probably not my last. I can say now that more than half my work goes through the software, for obvious reasons at least for me.
I played with it recently and tried something I don’t do often: use the software and retouch an image from A to Z without going back into Photoshop. Here are the main steps I will speed up some parts of the video, to make it short, but it will give you a rough idea of how I would use EVOTO in my work.
It's powerful for general skin work, the tools get better after each update. Reducing or erasing skin problems like blemishes has never been that easy, it now takes seconds. It always took me some time to even the skin tone and color, and now I can do this with the push of a slider.
I began to use the contour & makeup panel more for some of my portraits. Just to give volume and depth to my face. I still avoid the creative makeup part, just some contouring when it feels appropriate. I still believe that for any advanced makeup work, a makeup artist cannot be replaced.
Brightening up the eyes with software just got better. You can fine-tune each eye individually and target specific parts. I now use this feature more often. I still stay away from the body and face-reshaping tools as much as possible as It’s just not my thing.
Before / After
If you missed it, please take a look at my very first video about this software:
A year has passed since that first video and it's crazy how many new features were added and how it got better in such a short amount of time. But let's be honest here, there is still a bit of room for improvement. For High-end beauty shots, especially headshots or closeup shots, I would still do the work manually in Photoshop. For the rest, EVOTO will be your best companion if you wish to spend less time in front of your computer and more time shooting in the field. Removing stray hairs doesn’t always work for me, so be careful, and still check your edits before exporting them.
The following links show some of my work edited with EVOTO Ai
Last year I would only use it for specific images and would only use it for retouching skin. I decided a few weeks ago to do some of my color work in the software too. I wanted something simple, I don’t want to go crazy on the colors So If that’s what you are after then EVOTO Ai might be the right tool for you. You won’t feel lost, everything will feel familiar if you have already used Lightroom or Capture ONE... For those of you who were looking for alternative software, again, this might be it!
Another tool I use a bit more is the Clothes and accessories touch-up. You can fine-tune your mask, and target specific parts of the image, and it does a pretty good job at de-wrinkling clothes and reducing creases.
I am not a studio guy but I sometimes do work in studios. I sure enjoyed being able to smooth and clean my plain backdrop with the software.
Months fly by, the software gets better with time, new features arrive, and it won’t be long before 100% of my work will go through the software. A few years ago I wouldn’t have guessed this would be how I retouch and edit my work… but here we are.
If you haven’t already, you should give this a try and judge for yourself. They just introduced a tethering option recently something I will probably try out soon.
As you used both Evoto and Retouch4me, which one would you recommend as of today for someone doing portrait/corporate work, no high-end commercial but web and social ?
I am looking at them mainly for skin, D&B and background retouching/cleanup. Evoto's results seems to be better, but as a LrC/PS user I kinda like Retouch4me plugins and layers approach. Do you see a clear gap in quality between them now?