Trying Very Hard...

[Stacey]

Hi all! I have been sitting in front of my computer for hours trying to learn Photoshop and I think I am doing okay. These are 2 photos I took..one is of my cousin and the other is of my mom. I think maybe the one of my cousin is a bit over processed but I really do like the one of my mom! Someone said that I should learn curves as a beginner so I've doing a bit of that...I hope I'm doing ok. Please C/C but remember to be kind! Thank you!

Alexis:<br>

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My Mom:<br>

 

[molsen]

#1: skin is smoothed TOO much. you did a good job and it's nice and tight, but it has lost its pores! otherwise, it's an excellent picture and the lighting is great!

#2 is really neat. i think the colors have little too magneta, but it's a nice sharp photo that isn't overprocessed. although, if i know anything about mom's, she'd probably like you to do a bit of skin smoothing! just a little bit though. nothing noticeable unless you compare the two. that's the trick with facial touch-ups...it shouldn't be noticeable unless you compare it with the original

cheers and great job

 

[Stacey]

#1: skin is smoothed TOO much. you did a good job and it's nice and tight, but it has lost its pores! otherwise, it's an excellent picture and the lighting is great!

#2 is really neat. i think the colors have little too magneta, but it's a nice sharp photo that isn't overprocessed. although, if i know anything about mom's, she'd probably like you to do a bit of skin smoothing! just a little bit though. nothing noticeable unless you compare the two. that's the trick with facial touch-ups...it shouldn't be noticeable unless you compare it with the original

cheers and great job

Thanks so much for the kind words! I am confused as to something though. What is your technique for skin smoothing? All I do is create a duplicate layer, sharpen, apply a gaussian blur and then reduce the opacity...I actually did the exact same thing to both photos! What is another (easy) way to skin smoothen? I try looking up on the internet & I just get so confused! I am just now getting the manipulation of the eye color down & this whole photo shop thing is so much fun! ( I took a picture of myself and started to change my hair color...this is such a hoot! lol) I'm having too much fun! Thanks for your help though! Much appreciated!

 

[BuZzZeRkEr]

Thanks so much for the kind words! I am confused as to something though. What is your technique for skin smoothing? All I do is create a duplicate layer, sharpen, apply a gaussian blur and then reduce the opacity...I actually did the exact same thing to both photos! What is another (easy) way to skin smoothen? I try looking up on the internet & I just get so confused! I am just now getting the manipulation of the eye color down & this whole photo shop thing is so much fun! ( I took a picture of myself and started to change my hair color...this is such a hoot! lol) I'm having too much fun! Thanks for your help though! Much appreciated!

The best way to do it without looking over post processed is the old fashioned way. Get out that air/paintbrush/smear/blur tools with the magnifying glass and go at it! Doesn't hurt to even cut and paste like textures

 

[molsen]

What is your technique for skin smoothing? All I do is create a duplicate layer, sharpen, apply a gaussian blur and then reduce the opacity...I actually did the exact same thing to both photos! What is another (easy) way to skin smoothen? I try looking up on the internet & I just get so confused!

your method works fine, you just don't need to do quite so much blurring or adjust the opacity differently. it's all trial & error..that's how you learn.

 

[Stacey]

your method works fine, you just don't need to do quite so much blurring or adjust the opacity differently. it's all trial & error..that's how you learn.

I was doing a couple other portraits and I lowered the opacity by almost half and the photos look SO MUCH better!! It is definitely trial and error! But I'm definitely making improvement! Thanks for the tips!