Genius

Do not under estimate this man. One day this photo will be famous.

 

This image was taken from 1 RAW and converted in to 4 shots +1EV, +2 EV normal, -1EV. From this then "Photo-Dynamic HDR4". That gets you most the way there. I used "Eye-catching" and "Dramatic light radius and strenght" up to max. Then first edit in Photo-Bee. In this use the "Soft Studio Light" which gives a diffused look.

 

The next process is a little more difficult and takes some practice. CS4 photoshop and you need to use "Accented Edges" with Edge width 2, brightness 22, and smoothness 1. Take care with this as you may need to modify this setting a bit.

 

Next use burn/dodge to balance hard/soft areas on the face for example.

 

You may also need to use curves and colour settings to tweak things.

 

Finish with "Smart Sharpen on default settings to start with and that will probably do it.

 

Good luck.

 

It seems few people want to give these secrets away.

 

This technique works wonders on dark wooden surfaces and works well on buildings like St Pauls in London in this shot.

Done