How's the pp on this?

meganc · May 21, 2008

I downloaded the free trial of photoshop elements (already did the other ones a while ago haha...plan on buying elements cause it's the cheapest and I don't have too much money right now) So this is pretty much my first time editing majorly. How is it? Does it look too fake? It's just a snapshot that was taken, and I spent some time editing it earlier (maybe it's just cause i'm slow..haha)
But yeah, anything is appreciated, thanks!

Now that i keep looking at it the skin does look a bit overdone..I'm not sure..I'll probably go back and do another version, that's not as much.

Also, not sure if this is the right place..I assumed it would be but sorry if it's not!

KristinaS · May 21, 2008

Hmm...I can't see it. Did you remove it?

meganc · May 21, 2008

My bad, fixed it

laxb0rder · May 21, 2008

At first glance it looked way to over done i think that since u have just been looking at it so much it didn't look like much changed but i think it is over done give it another go and see what you can get.

*Mike* · May 21, 2008

I'd also suggest toning down the skin processing... You're off to a good start though. The trick is knowing when to stop. ;o)

meganc · May 21, 2008

Heh yeah, so I think that confirms it, after looking at it so long I couldn't tell if it was just my eyes or what lol. This was really just a 'test shot' at doing the skin, and seeing how it worked and what not, just need to try a few times til i get it right lol

meganc · May 21, 2008

This one look a little better?

KristinaS · May 21, 2008

I think you are on the right track, but it still looks a little over-processed to me. The girl's face on the left looks splotchy on my screen.
What are the steps you are taking in elements to do this? Just curious to see if I could offer a better way for you to try.

meganc · May 21, 2008

I erase everything except for the skin and then do the gaussian blur...lol yeah.

JimmyO · May 21, 2008

Agreed, the blur is to much. This is a good start but you should move onto some more complex methods to get that affect.

SS3 · May 22, 2008

Maybe try surface blur instead of Gaussian, that way the edges wont come out so blurry

meganc · May 22, 2008

I also probably didn't erase enough around the edges of the skin cause I was trying to hurry...But I'll try it, thanks!

dkf10425 · May 22, 2008

Never use a blur in and of itself. There is a technique commonly referred to as "degrunge" (google it), which involves use of the high pass filter in conjunction with gaussian blur and layer mask. This allows you to create a more realistic appearance and avoid the dreaded "airbrushed" look.