Photography technique for luminous skin

I take a lot of portrait and wedding shots and hear the fears of sitters that their skin isn't as perfect as the models in magazines. People forget that these models are often employed because they have perfect skin. Some have spots, though, and people like me then photoshop away any blemishes. Where does that perfect result leave the non-modelling client?

Taking a pic to leave a smooth skin is in two stages: the first is to light the person softly either with studio softboxes or, as in the example above, use the soft light from an overcast sky. The shot should be over-exposed to lose detail in the light skin tones. The next stage is to photoshop away any marks or roughness by cloning or tonal changes.

The subject here is my nine-year-old son whose young skin doesn't need much help. The benefits to those of us who won't see our tenth birthday again are much greater!