Very new, C&C would be nice!

[musicaleCA]

Glad we're on the same wavelength. Personally I don't go much beyond those simple adjustments myself usually, but I do occasionally do local adjustments, some cloning and other things, and if I shoot a person, and my job is to make them look good, well...it's time to get out that heal brush. *shrugs* The point usually is not to make the skin look plastic though; that's just a little weird. People have pores. Make them smaller and get rid of black heads, sure...but...not plastic. That ain't human.

 

[Yasa]

Ah, but a professional would answer "Yes, that's exactly what I was going for...I planned it that way. Aren't I just brilliant? Here's my invoice."

Haha, that's...uh...totally what I was going for! Thanks for everyone's advice, in a few comments here I've learned more about photography then I thought I could! Next up on my agenda of things-to-learn; white balance and fill flash.

Just a couple of questions to anyone that could answer;

When buying an external flash, what should I be looking for? What are the benefits of one flash over another? (I use a Canon Rebel XSi, if that helps with picking flash models)

As well, does anyone know and tips and tricks to faster manual focusing? In situations where I need to focus quickly, I find myself unable to and I end up with blurry shots. I figure this is more a practice issue rather than pure technique but any tips would be great! Should I be paying more attention to the AF points in the view finder, or just relying on my own eyesight?

Alternatively, when shooting at night, should I turn my LCD screen off all together and just use the view finder to meter? I find that the brightness of the screen, even in the seconds before it shuts off automatically when I get close to the view finder, it can really screw up my eyes and my own ability to focus.