photoshop advice

[ghache]

Sometimes these guys forget who they are 'talking' to.

I'm sure you could make some improvements to the skin with Elements. Sure, Photoshop would be better...but we have to work with what we have.

I haven't used Elements in a long while...but I do think that is can use layers. If you don't know how to use layers, that would be a good place to start reading/learning. For something like this, you would want to create a new layer and then create a layer mask. You would want to 'mask' off all the areas except the belly, then you could apply a 'filter' or other affect (like Gaussian blur). The effect (when applied to the layer) would only show on the areas that are not covered by the layer mask. So you could blur the belly without blurring the rest of the image.

But before you do that, I'd suggest getting in close and trying to reduce the appearance of the marks. In Photoshop, I'd use the healing brush and/or clone stamp tools...to take some of the clear skin and 'copy' it over the marks. Take your time and be careful. It would also be a good idea to do this on a new layer, so that still have the original image as the bottom layer (background) in case you need it.

Thank you It is sometimes frustrating when I ask something like this and the majority of responses are "you're using the wrong program, you need to spend a ton more money to use what I think is better". Granted - CS is truly better, but out of my price range at this point.

Thanks for the tips too. I tried using the clone stamp, but I was having a hard time getting the color to match up at all.

this is WHY using a layer seperation technique in photoshop is so effective. you only touch the details, the colors and light is untouched, you can keep all the skin details and its fast.

no need to spend 1300$ bucks on photoshop, the internet is having a free giveaway all year long.

 

[MWC2]

Stephras07 - how old are your children? If they are school aged you can purchase CS5 student addition at a greatly reduced cost.

 

[KmH]

Yep! Adobe has an Education store: Adobe.com Site Requirements

Adobe only offers a Student Edition of Photoshop CS5 Extended ($999, retail) but at an 80% discount or only $199. Adobe.com Site Requirements