Free Professional Retouching! Helping me is helping you!

[Connor Hibbs]

Because of US copyright law, TPF requires you have a valid use license to post photos that you do not own copyright too.
It is OK to post a hot link to a photo that you do notr own rights to
I suspected the photos weren't yours so I did not do an edit of one as an example since to do so would require the copyright owners permission to make the derivative of the original.
A couple of good web sites to learn more about copyright is Photo Attorney or U.S. Copyright Office
http://www.photoattorney.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Excuses-excuses.pdf

Ideally we hope to get a photo as close to right in the camera. Light direction and quality is very important.
So here are a couple of good sources for you:
Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers Using Photoshop (Voices That Matter)
Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image (Voices That Matter)
Direction & Quality of Light: Your Key to Better Portrait Photography Anywhere]/url]

KmH, thank you very much for the resources you have provided me with, I will absolutely be combing through all of the links you sent my way. I truly appreciate the help you have provided.

As far as copyright goes, I already understand a great deal. I own the rights to these photos as I was the one who shot them.
I have no interest in stealing people's images to work on. Ideally I am looking for someone who will give permission for me to use their images to practice on or to find some sort of stock site where I can pay for the photos to practice with.

I strongly believe in protecting a creators rights to limit and supervise the use of their creation.

Again, thank you very much for your assistance KmH. I appreciate you taking the time to put all of that material together.

 

[astroNikon]

When I started "editing" my own photos I went a bit whacko and over cooked them. It looked good to me !! (just read some threads on HDR to get what highly overcooked is like).
Then over time I noticed as my experience grew that they were over cooked and started toning them down quite a bit - Looking for more natural colors, more detail, exposing the dark areas, etc etc

keep practicing and comparing your work to others.
Learn how to pull details out of shadows. how to lightly using sharpening and all the other features one by one.
I went through LightRoom and played with each individual function to see it's impact. And I'm still going through PhotoShop Elements in the same way.

So you have to learn how to use the tools
and also learn separately how to improve the photos to a high quality.
two different things to learn and both takes time.

 

[KmH]

FWIW
I did an edit of a member's portrait photo in this thread and stated what edits I did and what tools I used:
New to photography: Portrait critique please | Photography Forum

 

[Buckster]

You'll find plenty of free images that you can work on and even use commercially in your portfolio by going to Flickr, search "portrait", then under licensing choose "Creative Commons only" and then check both "Commercial use allowed" and "Modifications allowed".

Like this:

This link should choose those options for you:
Flickr Search: portrait

You can also find source images to use at any of the photo stock sites, such as Fotolia.com though they will cost you (not much, especially in bulk). Just be sure you choose the license that allows you to do what you're intending.

A great resource for boning up on your retouching skills is Phlearn.com where you'll find both tons of free quickie lessons, plus exceptional paid Pro tutorials that don't cost very much and are WAY worth every penny.

 

[dennybeall]

Must admit I thought it was a joke when I looked at the initial view of the before and after photos.
On my screen the edges were all sparkling on the after shots.
I would suggest the poster spend a couple days looking at youtube Photoshop videos to see what the after should look like.