I saw this in the Dove campaign, how is this done? Also, how can the body be edited to be thinner without making the face thinner? Because I know editers fix seperate parts without affecting the others. I can't have directions like "first remove the head, do a mask", because I don't even know how to do that, haha. I'm a beginner, really new, actually used the program once. Help would be greatly appreciated =]

Here's a sample I did, let's say I wanted to make this girl a tad leaner in the hips, what do I do with the uneven background that was caused by the distortion I preformed?
http://i2.tinypic.com/44s1nkp.jpg (before)
http://i10.tinypic.com/2dgnuy1.jpg (after)

Here's another sample I did at lengthening the neck. I used transform/perspective and it still came out weird. How do I avoid the uneveness and the white background that appears?
http://i18.tinypic.com/433012q.jpg (before)
http://i2.tinypic.com/4biyyd2.jpg (after)

I guess you answered your question. First you got to learn what a mask is and learn some Photoshop basics.

Yeah, I have to read the tutorials when I find time. Do you have any quick directions you could give?

My best advice is to get a beginners book on how to use all the tools and stuff in Photoshop. My rec would be the quickstart book on Photoshop. Some would recommend Adobe's classroom in a book but last time I checked, Adobe hadn't hired an editor yet. After you get the basics down then you can move on to the more advanced stuff such as the proper way to mask things etc. The best book for masking is Katrin Eismann's Masking and Compositing. That will tell you everything you need to know about the subject for the most part. It is a fairly easy book but it helps to at least have the basics down.

Thanks, I'll remember to check that. Do you have directions for expanding the neck though and beauty editing like in the Dove video? I tried to look that up, no luck. I'll need those after I familarize myself with everything.

you already know how :) and you described it perfectly! Remove the head and/or mask! You then use the Transform tool to shrink, bend, stretch, etc.
I recommend Total Training for Photoshop DVDs but they do cost a bit.

oh, alright lol. didn't know i had the exact description. i'll be sure to look into those, thanks!

Like many before you, you have posted here wanting to achieve a specific look or technique in Photoshop, but you say you have only used the program once. Until you learn the basic tools and techniques, there is no way anyone here can spell it out for you because you won't have a clue what they are talking about.

Photoshop is one of the heavy lifting, deep and wide programs for digital editing. I've been using it for years and still learn something new every day. I don't know that anyone can fully master it. Even the pros that write the books and do the video tutorials have aspects of the program that they excel in and others areas in which they still feel they have much room to learn. Team that with the fact that Photoshop is ever changing, and new third party tools come on the market all the time to expand our learning potential.

No one here has the time to tutor you on the basic functions. You have to do it on your own. Take some classes, read books, watch videos, surf the net for tutorials. Browse through the Photoshop manual, get an idea of the various tool functions, learn the vocabulary so that when you follow a tutorial (here in RetouchPRO or other sources) you have a basic knowledge of what people are talking about. Otherwise it is a waste of our time to try to explain a technique and you will get very frustrated.

I've never seen the "Dove" stuff, so I have no idea of where you are trying to go with a graphic. Sorry.

in paint shop pro there is a tool called 'warp mesh'. you could use that to do what you want. in photoshop, i believe it's the 'liquify' tool. you might want to study that.

i tend to agree with everyone else's posts here about learning the basics, but i also remember when i was learning things, that i often had specific tasks i wanted to do and learn about just those at that particular moment. so, check out the liquify tool helps :)

Jammar, another good thing to do while you learn would be to look over the threads on here where members have posted images for others to practice on. Look at what they have done to the image and read their descriptions on how they have achieved those results.

Then try doing the same thing yourself. It'll help you to understand the many different methods that people use.
There is no short cut or short answer but a lot of trial and error. And little steps.

I added some samples ^