I got this pic of my niece to play with and i wanted it to have more of a polished look. I know it's not that great but i'm a little proud of it lol....now i need to know what are the best ways to create a "studio look" ...ya know just plain backgrounds. I need help knowing which way the reflection should go to. Feel free to show me ur renditions and how u achieved it...i'm here to learn :D thanks!
ash

i'd also like to know, what process do you guys use to mask out fly away hairs?

looking good.
i would change the tone of the girl.

she looks like shes still in the sunlight

i tried that...i tried adjusting curves, briteness/contrast, shadow's and hi-lites and i just can't seem to get it to look right....care to share any ideas on the best way to do that?

i would play with the color balance (green & blue)

is this any better? i adjusted the green and blue as u said then also took down the saturation a bit

looking better.

i think that the shadows on her eyes and under her arm also needs work.
because there to sharp

Ash - A higher resolution original would be nice. It would make it easier to capture the mood. :)

sorry..i don't have a higher resolution...my older niece took that pic with a cheap digital cam :(

*and if anyone is wondering about the title life lessons it's because her dog died...so i thought it was a cute pic to catch a 3 year old with such a pose...poor baby

is this any better :D

I just use the extract filter that comes with PS7..
I just read about the life lesson so included a closer crop with a more downward head tilt for atmosphere even though the background no longer fits the situation..
Used the original reflection because it was correct.. If you want to make your own reflection then use the original as a guide when you free transform or use whatever squish the pixels around program you use

Cute Girl BTW! and I think you are doing great with all the modifications you are making..

wow! I think you managed to extract the hair very well! (it's always a difficult matter)
and the idea of the background with the reflection is really excellent
there's only a small detail where my eyes go which ruins a little the overall composition: I feel that the reflection under her foot should be a little bit darker, just to show some shadow so that she really looks is sitting there.

she's so cute! she will be a wonderful model for you..... i'm really sorry for her dog, she must feel very bad.. :(

as for the hair what I do is to use the selection tool with a higher feather and then use the smudge tool to create some "loose" hair and, if necessary, draw new hair with a tiny soft brush

good job olbaldy...i like the colors! looks good :D

thanks myfairies for ur compliments on masking the hair. I hate fly away hair when it comes to masking lol but it' inevitable i suppose lol. Also, good observation on the foot shadow. I'm at work right now but as soon as i get home i will work on that.

As for the reflection, i noticed last nite i had the reflection wrong but never got around to fixing that much....so that will be another issue i address.

Thanks to all of you who've responded! :D