Suppose I wanted to use this picture: http://tinyurl.com/3bclxd
How will I darken the skin without taking away the natural texture? I tried just using the paint brush in low opacity, but it still took away the texture. Is there any other way?

Hi jammar190,
Try using a curves adjustment layer to darken the skin. Then use a mask so that only the skin shows the curves adjustment.

Ray

Hi there

Depends on what you want... lots of ways

If you just want a suntan then apply a warming filter

Turn off Preserve Luminosity

Move density until dark enough

All a levels or curves layer to brighten and add contrast if desired

Then use mask ...hide all and paint on skin

Butch

you can mask the picture using the quick mask mode, select the brush tool and just adjust the color levels.

Just a quick retouch though
see the attached file:

For skin I often convert to LAB color and apply a curves adjustment layer. The L channel can be used to darken the skin without affecting the color. The A and B curves can be adjusted to vary the color of the skin. The attached image is exaggerated to show an example.
Regards, Murray

Quick without retouching.
blend with a color you like, I used soft light.

Yeah their are a lot of ways to do that, its up to you which way you are comfortable...wish we did help you :-)