Hi,

I touched up some photos recently.
here are some of them:
http://picasaweb.google.com/kdorner77/BirthdayTouchUps?authkey=A2vuTCwFKeU

Please let me know what you think.
Keren.

It is difficult to assess low resolution images, but it looks like you're on the right track.

Glamourizing 'snapshots' is challenging because of all the distractions, e.g., other people (some with goofy expressions), objects, bad lighting, harsh flash reflections, etc.

Your results will improve dramatically if you start with the intent of taking a glamour photo. Closeups usually work better; watch your background.

In this example I added some contrast, brightened the eyes and teeth a bit and painted out the junk in the background. Eliminating distractions brings attention to the subject.

I hope this feedback is useful.

Keren...
These look like fun photos to work with. You're off to a good start. I agree with Danny that it is best to consider lighting, background and composition when shooting but converting "snapshots" to glamour shots is fun.

You didn't say which program you are using so I don't know what tool capability you have. I did mine with PSCS. I started with your "after" photo shown on the left.

First, I ran the image through NeatImage noise reduction software to "soften" photo. Then I re-cropped to better center her face and remove some of the very bright white dress and darkened the background. I used the burn tool to darken the eyebrows and around the edges of the eyes. Selected the eye whites and teeth and lightened using Levels. I used the burn tool on the highlights in her hair and enhanced the natural highlights on her face. Keep learning and practicing.

I am using Photoshop CS3. I tried playing with the noise in Photoshop, but I didn't like the results.
Did you use Gaussian Blur to smooth the skin?
I really liked what you did. You made me look beautiful, but I wanted to keep it more natural.

I didn't do anything with your skin except push the noise reduction filter a little harder than I normally would have. BTW NeatImage is available in demo form for free. It's all I have used for about three years.

To achieve a more natural look, I will typically blend the final "over done" image with some percentage of the original. Attached is a blend of my final above with 40% of the original. Work kind of neat to get the look you want.

Did you use the NeatImage software only to reduce noise?

Did you ever use adobe Lightroom software? if yes, how does it compare with NeatImage?

As already said, you are on the right track, but with these backgrounds it is uphill all the way.... try removing the background at take it from there..

Jasz