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I'm getting extremely blotchy skin using the default settings. It renders the software unusable. Here is a link to an example.

http://www.jackzucker.com/images/ppblotchies.jpg

Application: Portrait Professional Studio
Edition: Studio Edition
Product code: PPmaxL-F-en-v10.8.2 / ZRaw-v1.1
Fingerprint: MA82HNJLD5C2N67M7QUSHCAU
Platform: Windows
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional |C:\Windows|\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1 64-bit (6.1.7601) Service Pack 1
Language: 1033
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Number of Physical Processors: 1
Bios: BIOS Date: 12/30/09 18:47:15 Ver: 08.00.15
Bios Release Date: 20091230
System Model: System Product Name
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
Memory: 8192 MB
Free Disk Space on Boot Partition: 978438082560 Bytes
FreePhysicalMemory: 8014212 KB
FreeSpaceInPagingFiles: 15572436 KB
FreeVirtualMemory: 22801128 KB
Current Date/Time: 17/7/2012, 6:48:45
(07-17-2012, 11:49 AM)jzucker Wrote: [ -> ]I'm getting extremely blotchy skin using the default settings. It renders the software unusable. Here is a link to an example.

http://www.jackzucker.com/images/ppblotchies.jpg

Application: Portrait Professional Studio
Edition: Studio Edition
Product code: PPmaxL-F-en-v10.8.2 / ZRaw-v1.1
Fingerprint: MA82HNJLD5C2N67M7QUSHCAU
Platform: Windows
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional |C:\Windows|\Device\Harddisk0\Partition1 64-bit (6.1.7601) Service Pack 1
Language: 1033
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7 CPU 920 @ 2.67GHz
Number of Physical Processors: 1
Bios: BIOS Date: 12/30/09 18:47:15 Ver: 08.00.15
Bios Release Date: 20091230
System Model: System Product Name
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
Memory: 8192 MB
Free Disk Space on Boot Partition: 978438082560 Bytes
FreePhysicalMemory: 8014212 KB
FreeSpaceInPagingFiles: 15572436 KB
FreeVirtualMemory: 22801128 KB
Current Date/Time: 17/7/2012, 6:48:45
That almost looks like JPG artifacting is that within PP still or the saved image. It hasn't been saved more than once as a JPG has it?

There are various skin settings, have you tried others?
I never use jpgs except when saving for the web. This image was opened in raw mode in CS6

Workflow:

Canon 5d MK II Raw Adobe RGP
Open image in CS6 from LR 4 in 16bit PSD, Adobe RGB
Open PP plug-in
use defaults (though frankly it doesn't matter what settings you pick)
Save results back to PS
Artifacts are readily viewable in PS at 100%

Toggling between the history of pre and post PP reveals the artifacting.
I've already heard back from a bunch of people who had to dump the program because they are experiencing the same issues.
Apparently it works better on 8 bit low res images.
That is pretty much the same workflow as me, I haven't noticed the issue but I may switch it to 8 Bit before putting it into the PP plug in.

I also use a Mac whether that is relevant or not.

I am going to find one of my images I have worked on recently and do a comparison. Will let you know what I find but nothing has really jumped out at me.

I would recommend you raise a support call for this though as Admins seem to completely ignore these forums lately!
I've had this problem and I think the answer lies in the use of Texture controls.

In "Help" it says:-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This controls how much skin texture to apply in areas where skin texture is being corrected. This texture goes into touch-up brush strokes and areas where the sliders have had an effect. You will need to zoom in the picture to see the effect of changes to the skin texture. Pressing the Texture button opens the following sub-sliders:

Brightness
Finer control over skin texture brightness.

Saturation
Finer control over skin texture saturation.

Size
Makes the synthetic skin texture pattern larger or smaller.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not sure how PP decides where to apply skin texture correction but use of texture controls does only seem to affect areas where "roughness" has been created, at least in the images I've tried.

Hope this helps.




Portrait Professional help staff was able to reproduce this and added it to their bug list for the next release. The problem (discovered by another photographer I know) is that the spot removal tool set to anything other than 0 adds extreme noise in certain situations (depending on the pore structure of the subject). I now turn spot removal off. Unfortunately, it means that I always have to do a full healing brush removal of all spots and blemishes which negates some of the usefulness of portrait professional.
(07-17-2012, 09:19 PM)jzucker Wrote: [ -> ]I never use jpgs except when saving for the web. This image was opened in raw mode in CS6

Workflow:

Canon 5d MK II Raw Adobe RGP
Open image in CS6 from LR 4 in 16bit PSD, Adobe RGB
Open PP plug-in
use defaults (though frankly it doesn't matter what settings you pick)
Save results back to PS
Artifacts are readily viewable in PS at 100%

Toggling between the history of pre and post PP reveals the artifacting.
I've already heard back from a bunch of people who had to dump the program because they are experiencing the same issues.
Apparently it works better on 8 bit low res images.

I am only using the trial version and I almost wasn't going to buy this program when this happened to me also the blotchy look. Here is what I discovered, It only does it to the pictures I took with my Canon Rebel. My Sony Alpha pictures all are fine. So I'm thinking it's a setting on my Rebel camera. Try working with a pic that you didn't take with your Canon.