newbie needs help removing shadow from face

[Jes1202]

Hi, I have a picture I want to frame and unfortunately there is a shadow across the face. Is there any way to remove this? I clearly have no idea what I'm doing lol

I've pasted the link below...... please help

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f3...6/LibPic01.jpg

[mistermonday]

Jes1202, yes, you can remove the shadow. Select the dark area and apply a brightening curve to it (dodge). Add a layer mask and fine tune the lightening or darkening as required. Then add a color layer above that to correct where the color has shifted.
Regards, Murray

[darylbubba]

This is a good example of a problem I am trying to learn to handle.
In my photo retouch attempts I need to isolate areas for contrast adjustment. However, when using the selection tool it is impossible to follow the outline perfectly. The results after retouching is that you have very distinct edges, curves that have flat spots, etc.

I am a complete beginner, so I am not sure if I have stated my problem clearly.
In other words, if I were to remove the shadow in JS1202's photo, I would end up with flat spots on the curves and a laser straight line across the hair instead of following the texture of the hair.

In my photo, I cut out a photo of an airplane and pasted it on a sky. It looked exactly like a 2nd grader used a scissors to cut it out of a magazine and glued it to a background.
How do you properly (perfectly) follow the shape?

[mistermonday]

Darylbubba, there are a number of tools in Photoshop that allow you to make accurate selection, particularly some of the newest ones like Refine Edge in CS5. I am not familiar with Gimp but other members here at RP are, so perhaps someone else can assist you.
Regards, Murray

[kevinashworth]

Here's a suggestion for making a selection that has soft edges - select the lasso tool (or Magnetic Lasso tool, Elliptical Marquee tool or Magic Wand) and in the options bar along the top make sure antialiasing box is checked. set the feather to anything above 0 pixels. use the tool to draw round the area that you want. Your area will then have soft edges. On the pic attached the feather was set to 4. I've put it against a white bg so you can see it better.

If the area to be selected has nice crisp sharp edges, the Magnetic lasso tool works a treat - it automatically clings to edges.