Hi folks, I’ve been playing around with Photoshop for a little while, and have recently lurking around these boards. I decided it was time to register and get some opinions.

I should point out that these pictures were not taken by me; I am just using them for learning purposes.

Thanks in advance for your insight! :wink:

Before
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee185/DigitalReGenesis/18A.jpg

Retouched
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee185/DigitalReGenesis/18Blesscolor.jpg


Before
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee185/DigitalReGenesis/19A.jpg

Retouched
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee185/DigitalReGenesis/19Blowcolor.jpg

Blindy, I like the colors you got with the retouching, in the top one you might want some more detail on the nose, and the second one I think the eyes are too sharp.
cathy

I think the 2nd one looks kind of like horror movie eyes. Not very flattering. I don't see the need to make a 60 year old woman look like she's in her 30s. I don't think the original pic even need that much retouching.

:grin: Thanks! In review the eyes are far too sharp in comparison to the overall softness of the rest of the image.

lol, My intent on the 2nd image was more of a "can I" do a "fair amount" of resurfacing without making it appear as though I went at her with a peach crayon, as opposed to a "should I". :)

Thanks a lot for your thoughts!

Hi Blindv,

I had a go at the second image. That mark on the left hand side, below the lip was a real distraction me. What was missing from your image was a little bit of colour. I kept the lip colour, eyebrow, eyes and hair in this attempt. I think it makes her a little more balanced, even if she is a bit overprocessed :grin:

I have to say I may have gone a bit overboard with the desaturation layer with the image. A bit more color adds a great deal.

Thanks!

Hi Blindv,

I rather like this one as a B&W as well.

Did you just convert that to B&W, or did you have to do additional lighting changes as well? Also, any thoughts on the first image?

Thanks :)

Hi Blindv,

I used the black and white adjustment layer setting, I also used one of the presets and for the life of me I can't remember which one :ditsy: I fiddled around with levels and the shadow/highlight filter as well. I also used gaussian blur to get the soft effect and used a layer mask to bring back the important bits - eyes, lips, eyebrows. You've probably guessed by now that I am not a teacher, I forget to remember what steps I've taken :dizzy:

This is my attempt at the first image you did. Looking at the image now, compared to when I did it half an hour ago, I think that I have over processed the eye a little bit. I decided to crop some from the bottom of the image as well to put more impact on her face.

Hey Blindv, Welcome!

I gotta say, your style screams "Dream Sequence" to me, and i love it! My only suggestion would be to go out an take some photographs, or ask a friend for some photos that have JUST been taken, that way you can get some practice with what the camera really captures. Both these photographs have already been retouched/manipulated to serve their purposes, and this is the reason I would suggest getting some fresh photos. Great work though!

Thanks for your thoughts Nikolas! I've been searching around and I've found some images, both on this boards, and else where that I'm playing with. Perhaps I'll post something if I get the nerve :)

Thanks again!