The eyes are fine, but the face reads like a mask. Check these in order.
Reviewed by the Vextrify team, tested in our own laser workshops · Updated · How we test
Try Vextrify freeA face is mostly mid-tones. When tonal range is compressed, those mid-tones merge into one grey and the shape disappears. Dot gain, where the burn spreads and darkens, squeezes the range further. The fix starts in the file, with more separation between the tones inside the face.
Raise contrast and adjust the gamma in Photo Studio's tone controls while watching the face in the live preview, not the whole picture. Keep eyes, nose edge and jawline readable. Over-pushing closes the shadows into solid patches, so stop when detail is still visible in the dark areas.
A background with a similar tone as the skin merges with the face. Remove it with the background remover, which outputs a transparent PNG; Cut Pro on Vextrify's server handles hair and difficult edges.
Different dithering methods render smooth skin differently, some with a coarser texture and some with a finer one. Try several in the live preview on the face at full size. If the result is grey and lifeless rather than flat in shape, or too heavy, see the muddy and too-dark guides. Settings come from a material test grid on scrap.
Not every flat face can be rescued. A portrait taken in flat light, with no shadow on one side, has little shape to bring out, and a small or badly out-of-focus photo has little detail. In those cases ask for a photo with side light or a closer crop. When the source is only small, Photo Upgrade can enlarge it, and its Standard setting runs on the device. Judge the result at full size on the face, and engrave a small test before the real piece.
It can separate the tones that are already in the photo. It cannot create detail that the source does not contain.
It depends on the photo and the material. Compare several in the live preview at full size and then test on scrap.
Often. When the background is similar in tone to the skin, they merge, and separating the subject helps the face read.