Please Help/Tutorial

[Stacey]

I am trying to learn PhotoShop CS2 and I am currently working on this photo of my friend Jen. I'm trying to make it look like a "magazine" photo..or as close to it as I can get. But I am struggling. All I've managed to do is whiten the teeth some and remove some blemishes. Could someone break it down and tell me what to do? I'd greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[glaston]

Your focus is off in that photo. You know that right?

Anyway, what do you mean by a magazine photo? A glamour shot?

If you're talking about a photoshop makeover, there are alot of tutorials out there that walk you through it.
There's many steps to it. They aren't that difficult, but to sit here and go through it would take alot of typing and time.

My advice would be to do a google search on photoshop makeovers and glamour shots.
I know there are a few simpler ones on the Adobe site even.

 

[Stacey]

Your focus is off in that photo. You know that right?

Anyway, what do you mean by a magazine photo? A glamour shot?

If you're talking about a photoshop makeover, there are alot of tutorials out there that walk you through it.
There's many steps to it. They aren't that difficult, but to sit here and go through it would take alot of typing and time.

My advice would be to do a google search on photoshop makeovers and glamour shots.
I know there are a few simpler ones on the Adobe site even.

It was just a snapshot so I didn't really care if she was in focus-it was taken with a point and shoot on a whim so I didn't have time to make sure it was all perfect. I have been sitting here for probably about 5 hours trying to figure out how to give her a glamour shot "make over". I can't tell you how many tutorials I have looked at, watched, and read-I just cannot pick up on it. I feel incredibly stupid for not understand it but I have absolutely NO idea as to what I am doing. I read something in the tutorial and then I yahoo/google the phrase to see what it means. I started using this tutorial http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=171753&highlight=airbrushing and I am at number 6, if I followed everything correctly (which to my limited knowledge, I believe I have) but I don't understand how to change the color of my brush and now it won't even let me paint anything. I don't know what to do from here. I'm sorry if I sound rude but I really wanted to figure this out tonight and I just am not understanding it. Its frustrating b/c I am usually quick to learn stuff and I'm just not... So if you have any other suggestions or links that I can follow I'd be more than happy to check them out rather than having someone type out a bunch of stuff.

 

[glaston]

That tutorial assumes you have basic knowledge of photoshop. Which it seems that you don't.
You need to do some tutorials on navigating the interface and using tools and setting options.

On step 6 in that tutorial, you only have to switch between black and white. The foreground color and background color. They can be set in the toolbox (the floating panel on the left side of your screen).
On the bottom of the toolbox, there's a small black square and white square that indicate your fore/background color. There's also an arrow that allows you to quickly swap them.

I want to help you. But it's hard because you need working knowledge of at least navigating the interface and using basic tools.
And I'm sorry to say that if you are having this much trouble right now, I don't see how you could possibly accomplish even a half-assed makeover tonight unless someone did it for you.
Even if you knew the basics but never did a makeover, it would take some time to get right.
Photoshop isn't something that you can just sit down to casually and expect to get good results such as a glamour makeover in one nights time unless you've done it before and know exactly what you're doing.
It's a process. One that takes time to learn, AND execute.

My advice would be to prepare better in the future, and give yourself time to learn without having something that you need to get done in a hurry.
Trying to do a decent makeover in a hurry pretty much ensures that it won't be a good makeover even if you're already skilled at it.

You really don't want to try to do anything related to computer graphics or image editing in a hurry.
Even an experienced artist wouldn't want to have to do it like that.