Add your comments, questions or general discussion about the Contest entries here. This is also a great place to share your techniques or ask others about theirs.

Most members are eager to hear comments/suggestions about their entries, so please take the time to help each other out. :)

Sorry for the delay. The contest should be up and running tomorrow evening.

This may sound dumb but how do you get rid of the dead pixels? I tried the clone and patch tool but it doesnt seem to work. Any one want to give me a way to do this?
Thanks
Charlie

Much the same way as in my tutorial - Fix a Blown Out Sky. The principal is the same and that's all the help I'm gonna give you.. LOL

Swampy, I'd hate to see a friend eliminated because of 5 measly pixels.

The rules say exactly 545 x 800 pixels - yours is 540 x 800.

Rô

Thanks for the hint swampy I read your post but it just does'nt seem to work for me I still see them. I went ahead and downsized for the web and they went away. I still want to figure out how to get rid of them.
Thanks for the help.
Charlie

Anyone else think the lady in the picture looks a lot like Jennifer Anniston? Or is it my lack of sleep talking?

Who's Jennifer Anniston?

Ro, Thank you for the tip. Chalk it up to being one of those dumb blond's who tends to transpose numbers.

Who's Jennifer Anniston?

Gary, take a look at http://jenniferaniston.celebden.com/
Dan

Exactly what is the difference between "beauty retouch" and "glamour retouch"? I can't seem to find a definitive answer.

Lonnie, I think most people think of porcelain skin, built up eyelashes, etc. as "glamor" stuff. I interpreted the instructions literally when they spoke to "natural beauty" so I tried to do just that without going overboard.

It is a very fine line swampy

Swampy, "I think", "most people think" is certainly not definitive, but rather emphasizes the ambiguity that I'm questioning. The contest rules state very explicitly, 'this is not a "glamour" retouching contest' and again '* DO NOT turn the image into a glamour shot'. If nobody can provide a definition of the difference between "beauty retouch" and "glamour retouch", the rules are moot. It seems to me that someone must have a specific difference in mind else those "rules" would not have been included.

The only difference I've been able to ascertain from various sources is that glamour may suggest "erotic", which seems irrelevant in this context.

I agree Cassidy. It's a very fine line. One I certainly can't distinguish. That's why I bring it up... and to find out if anyone else is confused.

Lonnie, I think the part of the rules that says..."so the changes that you make should be more natural and subtle"... was my key to what I expected to do. To "glamorize" would be (according to the dictionary), "make (something) seem glamorous or desirable, esp. spuriously so : the lyrics glamorize drugs." And spuriously being "spurious |ˈspyoŏrēəs| adjective not being what it purports to be; false or fake : separating authentic and spurious claims.

I don't want to belabor the point, but in looking at the numerouse entries to-date, most folks just color corrected and softened her skin.

According to Vincent Versace, on the Digital Innovator DVD entitled Photographic Workflow, a properly retouched photograph should show no trace of the work performed. The viewer should get the impression of viewing a pleasing photo that has the elements of clarity, proper lighting, realistic color with normal looking hair and skin texture. The eyes should appear normal and be the central focus of the image.

A glamor photo normally has extreme softening with exaggerated eyes and lips. The photo appears as obviously retouched.

Gary, take a look at http://jenniferaniston.celebden.com/
Dan

Nah, don't think I'll bother thanks. :) I know who she is really, I was just being facetious.

But thanks for the thought.

I think my entry went past Photomaster's Versace ideal, but doing it sure was fun. There's a large number of good entries (I'm trying to say they were all good and that there are lots of them). What intrigues me is the latitude available for 'color correction on' an image containing a person you don't know. There are valid interpretations all over the map.

One observation - I'm awfully glad I don't do this for a living - would end up very hungry and sleep-deprived.

<C>

Considering my previous inquiry about the difference between "beauty retouch" and "glamour retouch", I think Ant hit the nail on the head with this statement made in the business forum:
... There is no glamour retouching in NY nor other big cities around the world. It's a small town, soft and normal porn, girl on a car calendar, erotic, your mom at Sears thing. There is no real client for glamour retouching. If it's to be a glamor type shoot (very rare, but this term glamour has such a loose definition it seems) then it is done at the shoot, not all in post. This glowing, smoothing thing with tons of makeup like work just isn't out there. Strike "Glamour" from your vocabulary. It's only real usage would be within the discussion of "Boudoir","Cheesy", "Low rent", "Bad Taste","Pageant" "porn", etc.

I tend to agree with Ant. I think of all the shots I've seen that peple may call "glamor" , but all that high key, plastic skin look could be called "effects" more than "glamor"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glamour_photography

Natalia hangs here too (Godmother) - makes me shiver http://www.glamour1.com

I've just been looking through the entries and I think this months contest is going to be very hard to vote on. Well done everyone who has entered so far.

I decided to jump in and post my first challenge attempt. Doing the retouch was fun but I have to say that getting the exact height and width was frustrating. If sharing the technique isn’t against the rules I’d sure love some tips! There are so many great entries, it’s going to be hard to vote. I can see that participating will really push me to try to improve.
Doreen

Doreen

You can use the "Image Size" dialog box if you use Photoshop to set the pixel dimensions, but you have to turn off the "Constrain" option.

No Irshgrlkc, you are not sleep deprived, I thought she resembled Jennifer Anniston too.

Seeing that this question is really getting to a lot of us about this particular entry. I would like to say how I interpreted the rules and what I did.

The rules specifically state that the photo should look natural with subtle changes. So, what I attempted to do was color correct the photo, then "clean" it up and enhance her eyes, hair and lips very little, while leaving the pores of her skin not so "china smooth", but a little more pourous to make her look more natural rather than "make-up made up". I also left her eyebrows as they originally were except for a little darkening, because I considered that a part of the naturalness (is that a word?) of the photo. She is a pretty girl as the picture stands once that was done.

That's how I interpreted the rules. I hope I succeeded in that attempt. Great entries everyone, and good luck!

Thanks Swampy, I thought taking constrain off would distort a person but I've never tried it so I'll give that a try.
Doreen

Doreen, it will distort the image, but it's probably the best you can do to get it the exact size required by the contest rules. I was 5 pixels off and got "caught" (thankfully) by Ro. :-)

frankly, i lost all concern for the 'natural' vs 'glamour' as i began working. i think she's a natural and adding 'glamour' just seemed wrong.

but i have another question. patrons and moderators are allowed to post 200k images as opposed to the normal 100k. in the normal forums this isnt a concern, but here, in a contest, to keep the playing field equal, it seemed more fair to post at 100k. so, i did. besides, 200k would probably just show my mistakes up even more :)

Doreen, it will distort the image, but it's probably the best you can do to get it the exact size required by the contest rules. I was 5 pixels off and got "caught" (thankfully) by Ro. :-)

All I had to do was open the Image Size dialog and with Constrain Proportions checked simply enter 545 in the Width field, the Height field changed to 800 automatically. No distortion.

49136

Regards,

Michael

Probably should have added this sooner, but here's some info on the photo that may help you with your retouch. I took the photo in 1973, with a Nikon F (35mm) on slide film. The girl was 19 at the time and was the quintessential blue-eyed, blond (aka "dirty blond"). If it helps you correct color, her sweater was a pastel pink. She had a very fair complexion, despite the roughness in the harshly lit photo. She wore "sorority girl" makeup. The original was obviously underexposed and push-processing caused much of the grain and clipped highlights. The color shift resulted from using outdoor film with hot incandescent indoor flood lighting amplified by the underexposure. The color further deteriorated due to poor storage condition over the years. (I found it in a box of slides my Dad had buried in his closet.) The digital is from a scan of the slide from my Epson 2400 scanner (slide adapter) a couple of years ago at 1200dpi.

Hope that helps with your effort.

From the "Master Retoucher" thread in the Photo Retouching Forum about a month ago when asked why the pros seldom, if ever, post some of their work:
Maybe the August contest of the month could be a beauty retouch image. I'm sure most of us would participate.
OK! Show us your stuff :)

Lonnie, Thank you for your information on the photo.

I managed to fix the color cast just fine on the first try but later decided that the red gave the photo the touch that it needed to look "finished". Don't know. Can't find the exact word I'm looking for, can only say that the red made it look better than without it.

You are right about the grain/noise. It was a difficult fix and the .jpg compression plus smaller file size when posting exaggerated it. (I noticed that after I posted.)

Nevertheless, she is a beautiful woman. The portrait itself speaks volumes. I learned a lot and had an enjoyable time during the process. Thank you.

Janet

Thanks Graphics23, that's what I finally did but I still have a lot to learn on the resize side.
And thanks to Swampy too for the idea of at least trying to take constrain off if next time it doesn't work the other way.
There are so many great posts on this contest, it's really a learning opportunity and so thanks to all who are posting their work. It gives newbies like me a chance to see what can be done with the photo.
Doreen

frankly, i lost all concern for the 'natural' vs 'glamour' as i began working. i think she's a natural and adding 'glamour' just seemed wrong.

but i have another question. patrons and moderators are allowed to post 200k images as opposed to the normal 100k. in the normal forums this isnt a concern, but here, in a contest, to keep the playing field equal, it seemed more fair to post at 100k. so, i did. besides, 200k would probably just show my mistakes up even more :)

...we can? Guess I just got used to posting 100k images. Well at least I'm playing fair ;)

OhioUSA

How come your entry is posted as "Swampy_1.jpg"? Since mine was the first entry, you might have downloaded my image to work on instead of the original as provided by T.Paul.

OhioUSA

How come your entry is posted as "Swampy_1.jpg"? Since mine was the first entry, you might have downloaded my image to work on instead of the original as provided by T.Paul.


Swampy, I think that's probably what happened. When I first looked at this contest I remember being amazed that your entry was posted already. If I was at all unfamiliar with the contest mechanics I could see myself making the same mistake.

Try this:
1. Select dead pixels area with your favorite selection tool
2. Drag the selection to a non-dead pixels area and copy
3. Paste the selection and position it over dead pixels area (erase parts of it if you have to).
4. Clone at 70% over the pasted selection (Don't forget to select all Leyers)
5. use the healing brush over the area cloned to bring back the texture
6. play around with opacity

NESSIE-08 -

* Final image must be exactly 545 pixels wide and 800 pixels high.

Did you miss/forget this rule?

<C>

Thought that I would join in the Fun!!
looks great. betouched

Regarding this "Beauty" retouch contest. This is much more a restoration job than anything. The file is junk, poor scan of an underexposed, under lit image. This isn't really worth doing and explains a lot of the entries looking so nasty. Seems a lot of people need to calibrate their monitors, but anyway. This is supposed to be about beauty retouching and 88% of the work needs to go into rescuing/restoring this file which will never look really good. I think it needs to be run again with a quality image.

Ant, I can't disagree with anything you are saying (especially your point about folks needing to calibrate their monitors). Of course this is the nature of the beast for non-high end retouchers like most here. Therein, too, lies the challenge. All I can suggest is to help by submitting one or more suitable "quality" image(s) to Doug for contest use.

I'll get Doug an image as soon as I can come up for air a bit.

Regarding this "Beauty" retouch contest.

I couldn't pass up commenting on this post, knowing full well there was a good chance of bringing an Ant rant down upon my own head. He is absolutely right. HOWEVER, who cares what it's called? IMO these contests are an opportunity for us plebes to trot out our skills and stack them up against other folks and at the same time have a chance to cop a cool toy as a prize. They're also a great learning experience.

<C>

Postscript: It would be an even greater learning experience if Ant gets in a really good image and the rest of us get to see what the big guns can do with it.

Regarding this "Beauty" retouch contest. This is much more a restoration job than anything. The file is junk, poor scan of an underexposed, under lit image. This isn't really worth doing and explains a lot of the entries looking so nasty. Seems a lot of people need to calibrate their monitors, but anyway. This is supposed to be about beauty retouching and 88% of the work needs to go into rescuing/restoring this file which will never look really good. I think it needs to be run again with a quality image.

Ant rant lol. i like that.

well, ant, yes, it is a lot of restoration. your point being? this is exactly the type of image that a lot of us work on every day. so, saying it's not worth doing seems a bit odd. that it's a poor file is exactly why it is a contest candidate.

as for calibration of monitors, i'd like to know specifically who here, since this is always a bit of a question mark here on RetouchPRO. do they not like my work because my monitor is off, their monitor is off or the work simply wasnt that good.

and as for the 'will never look really good' part, i disagree. i see a lot of good entries where the work does look good. that it may not be maxim magazine, cosmo, other glam mag good, that wasnt the point of the contest. in fact, the whole point was to make it look good without being of that type.

so, i dont quite follow your point here.

well, ant, yes, it is a lot of restoration. your point being? this is exactly the type of image that a lot of us work on every day. so, saying it's not worth doing seems a bit odd. that it's a poor file is exactly why it is a contest candidate.

as for calibration of monitors, i'd like to know specifically who here, since this is always a bit of a question mark here on RetouchPRO. do they not like my work because my monitor is off, their monitor is off or the work simply wasnt that good.

and as for the 'will never look really good' part, i disagree. i see a lot of good entries where the work does look good. that it may not be maxim magazine, cosmo, other glam mag good, that wasnt the point of the contest. in fact, the whole point was to make it look good without being of that type.

so, i dont quite follow your point here.

I didn't look at your entry, and I probably won't. If your monitor is not calibrated, you are making moves in the dark. Sure, you could do it by the numbers for an overall look, but what about balancing throughout? Can't do it.

Point is, it is a Beauty Retouch. The contest is not Restoration and beautify. The attempts here are one of Turd Polishing. No matter how much you shine it up, it's still a turd. The point of the contest is beauty, not turd portraiture. What point don't you get?

"i see a lot of good entries where the work does look good."

As a whole, no it doesn't, not one. The winner will be the cream of the crap, not a good restoration and retouch.

Point is, it is a Beauty Retouch. The contest is not Restoration and beautify.
no, the point is exactly that T-Paul said:

* Color correct the provided photo.
* "Beauty" retouch the photo
* DO NOT turn the image into a glamour shot
* Final image must be exactly 545 pixels wide and 800 pixels high.

color correct and beauty. restoration vs retouch is moot in this case. the contest is the contest.

as for your 'turd polishing' anaolgy/metaphor, i'll assume you're talking about the quality of the photographic process in this case and not about the person in the shot. and in actual fact, i think that is the point of this contest, make a silk purse from a sow's ear but keep it real. whether that's 'restoration' or 'retouching' is again, moot. that you seem to be saying there's no way to make a silk purse from this, well, your sig seems to say everything there; that 'betterment' is worthless and only perfection or near perfection is worth anything, and, in your profession, at your level, perhaps that's so.

this isnt high fashion retouching. this is more 'here's a picture a friend shot and i'd like it fixed' type work. yes, that really is more restoration, but again, semantics and moot in this case.

i'm told you're a high end retoucher and i've seen where you claim work in high end magazines and that's fine, but perhaps your standards are too high here, in this context. for the mags, fine, this shot might never make it. but, in this context here on RetouchPRO, i do see a number of good pieces, very nicely done. so, i find your invalidative, sweeping, 'it's all bad' remark out of place here. if i were in your studio, working for your clients, then ok, perhaps. likewise, the 'cream of the crap' remark.

now, perhaps you are trying to impart to folks what a true, high end pro has to do and what quality is demanded of such, but a lot of your approach basically sucks, being mostly invalidative. i like frank and you are that. that part is refreshing. i noticed in another thread you said something like 'calling crap, crap'. nothing particularly wrong with that except that you take no one's current level of ability into account. you know the standard you have to work at, but seem to forget that most arent at that level and the invalidative approach as the only approach wont help any of them ever get there. even simon cowall (sp?) says something constructive at times.

i also noticed no posting of images from yourself at all here, in this contest or on RetouchPRO in general, or none that i could find easily. i'm not challenging you to 'prove yourself' here. that's old high school argumentitive crap. but, at the same time i would love to see what a professional retoucher could do with such an image as is in this contest. i also realize your time is limited, perhaps and that you also think the base image is worthless from a professional standpoint, but what do you think could be done? i'm not asking for the 'silk purse' here, just what is the best, in your opinion, could actually be done (other than burning the original) that fits the contest criteria? and if you say it's something you actually wouldnt ever touch and therefore arent interested in, that's fine too. but i would be interested in seeing some of your work if not this contest image.

I just wanted to clarify that those entering the contest should be downloading the image provided in the link in the first post and not downloading the first contest entry which happen's to be Swampy's entry.

August 07 Contest- Retouching Contest
For this month’s contest you are to color correct and “beauty retouch” the provided photo. Please note that this is not a "glamour" retouching contest, so the changes that you make should be more natural and subtle.

Download Image: Portrait (http://www.retouchpro.com/contests/source_images/girl.jpg)

Thanks to LonK for the image!

There are several entries that will get disqualified if they don't update their entries to meet the rules.

The three issues I am seeing:

1. Final image must be exactly 545 pixels wide and 800 pixels high.

2. When you submit your entry put your username in the filename (ie: tpaul.jpg). This is so users can save the images to a local directory and remember who did what--important when it comes time to vote.

3. Make sure you downloaded the right image and not a contestant's entry (Swampy's image is a contestant's entry and not the download image)

THANKS

~T

Hi Ant,
I can understand what you are saying but I would like to say that as a newbie there is still a lot of learning value in challenges such as these. Not all of us believe that we'll end being or working on 'professional' quality photos (although that would be fun). I believe that there are many people out there that would be thrilled to have a picture result that equals many of the posts I've seen for this challenge. I never expect to see my work in a magazine but would sure love to delight a loved one by being able to bring back a fond memory for them from an old or poorly shot photo. Just my 2 cents, thanks for reading my post and I hope one day you'll use all that energy you have to help newbies like me.
Doreen

Thanks Doreen

I'm new here and trying to decide whether to even enter the contest! I'll give it a shot anyway.

Yes, it's a poorly exposed image, scan, etc, etc., That's what people give me and say "Help! It's the only shot we have!" I'm happy to make even crap into better crap.

Lynnette

Thought I'd have a try as well.

Arrgghhh!! Now it won't let me post my image. I had put the wrong file name on my image, changed it, then uploaded but no image appeared. When I tried to upload again it said that the file was already attached .........No it isn't LMAO

Ant said he hadn't looked at Kraelin's pic, and then went on to say that not one of the contest entries was any good. Maybe he could share his technique of evaluating pictures without looking at them? It'd be a real time saver.

How does one evaluate so many entries in this month's contest? Here is a tip that will make it easy for you Windows users. This may be basic stuff to many of you, but may help others.

1. In Windows Explorer, create a folder on you hard drive named "Aug Contest" or similar.
2. After the contest closes, download all of the entries to this folder. (This will insure you have all of the latest edits.) To do this, open each entry in RetouchPRO, then right click on the photo and select "Save image as". Navigate to the "Aug Contest" folder and click "Save".
3.When all of the photos are safely on you hard drive, in Windows Explorer, right click on any picture and select "Properties". Select "Opens With" and choose "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer" if this is not your default viewer.
4. Now, to view a photo, double click on the image. The picture will open in "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer". Now you can move from one picture to the next using the right or left arrow keys. To view the larger version, click on the "Actual Size" button at the bottom of the screen.
3. Next create a new subfolder entitled "Favorites". As you review the entries, click and drag your favorites to this folder.
4. In the "Favorites" folder you can now click and drag images to arrange them in your order of preference and they will remain in this order unless you move them again. In "Windows Picture and Fax Viewer," using the right and left arrow keys, you can quickly move back and forth between images to compare them. At any time you can go back to Windows Explorer and rearrange images by clicking and dragging.

Using this method it simple to compare images and decide on your favorites. I hope this helps you sort through the many great entries for this month's contest. Good luck to all!!

Thanks Photomaster for the idea, I was trying to think of a way to do it but couldn't.

Well said Kraellin. I agree with you. When I read his post it did actually make me feel as if I wasn't good enough. I then went and looked at the entries and thought that they looked cool to me. Sure we are not pros and I know I am still learning, and always will with photoshop. It is comments like his that destroy,(not sure if that is the right word here), peoples' confidence.

It is a shame ANT that you put your post the way you did. You came across to me like the ALMIGHTY of retouching but you won't even dain to get your fingers dirty and show off your magnificence. I would like to see an entry from you, show us how the ALMIGHTY operates!

Oh, and maybe you can fill us all in on how you did your work and then maybe we can be as good as you.

I wasn't going to enter this month, but the discussion was too much for me not to be able to say something.

To Ant -- Some of your points are very true, and I've taken note of them. Unfortunately, on this site, we're not dealing with the ultimate in professional photography. The photos we work on are not taken with high-end fashion models. The lighting and make-up is not perfect.

We're here to learn how to deal with those imperfections -- photo restoration and retouching with everyday photographs.

I've haven't been here for a while because I'm also working with an organization that is desperately trying to restore photos for people who lost them in the floods of Hurricane Katrina.

Professionals and amatuers alike are spending countless hours to try to turn water destroyed and mud-embedded nothing photos into the "creme de la crap." That's part of the real world of photo restoration. We might not have perfect results, but the recipients are thrilled with the product and memories returned to them.

I thank RetouchPRO for teaching me what I need to know to help these people.

To everyone in this contest -- Good work.

Lorraine

Ant, I think you lack tact. You comments however true are very abrasive and rude. Didnt your mother teach you to keep your tounge when you dont have something nice to say? Or at a minimum tryin being constructive about it? Maybe you are just one of those forum trolls that likes to stir the pot. No matter, having entered a file and looking at all of them I see some that arent too good some that are ok and some that are very good. Whatever you call the type of work that is being done, its still valid.

...
To Ant -- Some of your points are very true, and I've taken note of them. Unfortunately, on this site, we're not dealing with the ultimate in professional photography. The photos we work on are not taken with high-end fashion models. The lighting and make-up is not perfect.

We're here to learn how to deal with those imperfections -- photo restoration and retouching with everyday photographs.

... I'm also working with an organization that is desperately trying to restore photos for people who lost them in the floods of Hurricane Katrina. ... That's part of the real world of photo restoration. We might not have perfect results, but the recipients are thrilled with the product and memories returned to them.
Lorraine

Lorraine -- excellent post! :)

Lynnette, sorry about the delay....I haven't checked to see if you posted your contest results but if not, please do. All the posts I've seen from Ant run in the same vein and do not reflect the other 99% of people on this site, in my opinion. By now you've probaby read Lorraine's post to which I reply - Bravo!
Doreen

Got room for one more?

WOW! Most popular contest in well over a year! I'm pleased to have contributed the source photo -- not knowing it would be used for a contest, but one I knew would be challenging to retouch in any case.

Of course, a young pretty woman is my favorite subject to retouch. So, I had to have my go also before time ran out.

Admittedly, this was more demanding than I first anticipated. Here's what I did, in a nutshell:

Correcting the color shift required treating the hair and skin hues separately as each was effected differently -- I used masked color curves. A primary goal was to soften the harsh Rembrandt lighting. Once that was done, I set about to fix the skin: lots of D&B, de-noise brushing, hue and tone airbrushing, some PWL and some Neat Image. To retain contour and modeling and to avoid over-flattening, I also used judicious local contrast adjustments.

Next I enhanced her eyes, the undeniable focal point of the portrait, emphasizing color and "sparkle". Natural beautifying included pretty standard makeup (for 1973) touch-up: lipstick, blush, eyeliner and mascara, and fixing a major flaw in the photo - bringing back the eyebrow that had been blown out by faulty exposure/processing.

I toned down the hot rim lighting and muted flyaway hairs to her left and below her chin. Lastly, I added a hint of vignetting.

Of course there were dozens of other very subtle adjustments made along the way.

Finally, I resized for contest, sharpened a bit and saved for web.

Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given.
- Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) Russian dramatist and writer

Doreen, yes, I did post an attempt -"I ain't skeered" :)

Lorraine can you tell us more about the organization you are helping?

Lynnette

Lynnette, sorry about the delay....I haven't checked to see if you posted your contest results but if not, please do. All the posts I've seen from Ant run in the same vein and do not reflect the other 99% of people on this site, in my opinion. By now you've probaby read Lorraine's post to which I reply - Bravo!
Doreen

Lynnette,

The organization is Operation Photo Rescue http://www.operationphotorescue.com/

Quite a few members of RetouchPRO are involved.

Thanks for the interest.

Lorraine

and just to respond to lorraine's post about OPR images, we've had several operation photo rescue posts in the restoration forum. it's perfectly fine with me to post these there when you need help with one or want it looked over. just make sure you have the owner's permission to do so or, just post a small portion if the copyright is an issue.

Finally. Used CS3

Just to add my 2 cents worth about Ant's comments, I thought this was to be a learning experience for beginner to expert photo retouchers and for us to have fun. Any time anyone puts any effort, their best effort, into doing a task is not "turd" work to me. Some of these people work long and hard to make the submissions look as good as they can to the best of their ability. It doesn't matter what kind of photo is submitted, it is our task to follow the rules and put forward our best efforts. Who cares about all of the other stuff? Hats off to all of the people who have entered any of these contest . . . just continue to have fun. I know I do! Let Simon's, "errr" Ant's comments be reserved for magazines like Cosmopolitan, GQ or Glamour.

To help with voting here is a temporary link to the entries in Photo Album format:

August Contest Entries (http://www.retouchpro.com/contests/source_images/AugFin/index.htm)

I'm wonder how the votes will come out when there are so many uncalibrated monitors. Some of the entires are so bluish or redish, how will the be judging? This includes mine too, I happen to see my entry on another monitor and it looked darker. Just a thought

This turned out to be quite a popular contest. I hope everyone had fun!

Well the voting has been tallied and the winner is……..
SYD!

Prize: Genuine Fractals 5, donated by onOne Software (http://www.ononesoftware.com/detail.php?prodLine_id=2)

Genuine Fractals 5 is the industry standard for image resizing. As a Photoshop plug-in, it is renowned across the photographic and printing industries for its ability to increase image size well over 1000% without the loss of sharpness or detail that you would normally expect. Its patented, fractal based interpolation algorithms work like nothing else and the results speak for themselves.

Top 5
Syd – 57
Splata – 46
Lorraine – 40
Cassidy – 31
byRo - 31

Hey well deserved congrats Syd, Splata and Lorraine
Byro congrats too, I am really flattered that I tied with someone as skillful as you

Congratulations and happy retouching. You did a fine job Syd!

Janet

Congratulations Syd.

I'm honored even be in the running. Great job everyone.

Lorraine

Congrats Syd. I would be disappointed otherwise. I will take you on, in the next challenge LOL. Enjoy, You deserve it.

Congatulations everyone!
Quite educational and fun for me.
Doreen

Well done, Syd :bigthmb:

....and congratulations to all who entered the contest.

Remember, participating is more important than winning. (Except for Syd, of course)

OK, let's get started on the September contest - I've got a tie-break to run with Cassidy. :) (just kidding)

Rô

A worthy winner.......congrats Syd

Well done Syd and the other place getters. And also well done to all he other entrants as well.

Many thanks to Cassidy, Janet. Lorraine, Chillin, Doreen, Ro, Gilbert and Scuba Margie for your wishes.

Sincerely Syd

Congrats, Syd. You turned my "disaster" source photo into a wonderful keepsake.

Thanks Lonk and thanks for providing the source photo. The most challenging part of it was restoring the colour and I think you did the best job on that by far.

Regards Syd

Congrats Syd and all those that were apart of this contest. Can't wait to see what the Sept. contest will be.
Charlie

Hey, Syd, congratulations! :-)

Nicely done everyone, and congratulations Syd.

Congratulations Syd. Well done Splata, Lorraine, Cassidy and byRo.

Many thanks Splata, Swampy, Doug and Jaime. Splata congratulations to you too!

Syd :-)