Since I just became the proud (and much less wealthy) owner of Photoshop CS3, I figured I'd better learn to use it. There's definitely room for improvement, but for a first try I'm pleased w/ the results. Lacking an abundance of models here in Iraq - I just used self-portraits, but here are the before/after results of two I retouched. #2 wasn't exactly sharp to begin with, but I think I overdid the smoothing.

Before
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2198/2226654565_3d14b7b065_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/macktruckturner/2226654565/)

After
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2352/2226655755_67e129ee97_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/macktruckturner/2226655755/)

Before
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2205/2227444706_1720e88eb2_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/macktruckturner/2227444706/)

After
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2157/2226655917_914de44025_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/macktruckturner/2226655917/)

Macktruckturner.. Welcome to RetouchPRO!

Yeppers on the over smoothing on #2.. Also isn't there a lens correction in cs3.. You might explore that avenue to get away from the distorted face..

#1 looks pretty good for the first try..

Look at all the tutorials here, ask anything you want, and post lots..
Keep up the good work and Practice cubed

Enjoy the cool weather and stay out of the dust! Keep safe and return home unscathed..
Your efforts in the sand pit are respected by us on this side of the pond, in the land of the big PX... Thanks!

Thanks for the welcome, I'm not sure if CS3 has a lens correction tool, but my RAW app does (I rarely use it.) Any facial distortion is probably just me screwing around, or something - the photos look a whole lot like the same face I have to shave before work every morning!

I'll definitely post a lot more often when I'm back in the land of internet-that-actually-works, and I'm quite glad I found this site - there's a lot of useless tutorials out there, and a lot of very useful ones here.

Filter/distort/lens-correction -

thanks Markzebra

Useless tutorials are very few, plus, many pages of tutorials have a rating system so you can esaily see if is good or not.

I like what you did! I haven't posted anything here yet but I do like playing with my pictures.. anne

Useless tutorials are very few, plus, many pages of tutorials have a rating system so you can esaily see if is good or not.

I was talking about the rest of the internet, not this site specifically. There are some excellent, and very detailed tutorials here. Elsewhere you get such brilliance as "open the file, buy this plugin, and let it do the work - or pay me $100 and I'll do it for you!"