Where do I start?

[S.Suhymee]

Hello RP. I am new here. I came to know about RP while searching and browsing for more retouching technique. Since I am new here, I would like to know where are the most relevant links and threads that the seniors here suggest. Any tips and tutorials etc. I appreciate all information and replies.

Here are few of my attempts if anyone is wondering what I am looking for from RP. The large retouched image files can be downloaded at the links below.

http://www.4shared.com/photo/jUx6jL2h/302E0260.html
http://www.4shared.com/photo/zwW3S8La/302E0719C.html
http://www.4shared.com/photo/QV8G1qWc/5G5A8344.html

[edgework]

You're off to a good enough start but there is much left for you to discover.

Your third shot has some weird artifact next to her armpit. Whether it was there from the start, or you got clumsy cloning, the eye is drawn to it and so you need to attack it. In general, try to come to the image fresh each time and pay attention to the things you notice. Usually they need removing. Good skin, whether a sleek beauty treatment, or a natural portrait, needs to present a uniform effect on the eye, a series of smooth gradients in all directions. Anything that jumps out at you or calls attention to itself is a problem. There are many such artifacts in your skin surfaces. I'd say you probably need to get used to working down at the pixel level on some of the areas of your images; if you work large, you tend to just transfer problems from one area to another.

You need to learn how to colorize lips without blobbing up all the texture. Your second and third shots look like they have colored putty spread over the the lips. Don't lose the gloss—lipstick is shiny—and if it's not there, learn how to put it in.

The thing is, there is no one set of rules for you to follow. Surround yourself with as much information as you can so that you can begin to make informed choices appropriate to the image you are dealing with. Check out threads here on D & B (dodge and burn), techniques for cloning and healing, and skin smoothing. Any threads that pop up in those searches will refer you to numerous other links, more than you'll have time to go through in a week. But it's where you start.

[S.Suhymee]

Thank you very much edgework for pointing out the flaws. That is what I am looking for, critics and criticism for my own good and improvement. Is there any thread where I can post my images for critics from RP forum members? I want hard criticism without mercy

I'll surely check out the threads you mentioned.

Thanks again.

[Boneappetit]

Hi S.S: Welcome aboard... You came to the right site. You should look under the line of Dodge and Burn and Spatial Frequencies Separation, since these are the 2 main techniques in Pro Retouching...