[byRo]

This is a little trick I use to give portraits a nudge.

Many times a perfectly good photo will end up looking just a little bit better - especially if it is a shot of a lady.*

1) Duplicate the layer**;
2) Measure*** the distance from the eyes to the tip of the nose (see attachment);
3) Divide the distance by six (doesn't have to be exact);
4) Do a Guassian blur with this radius;
5) Divide the eye-nose distance by two (doesn't have to be exact);
6) High-Pass filter, on the same layer with this radius;
7) Set blending to Soft Light (probably) and tweak opacity to taste.

May not look much different - but turn the layer off and you'll see how the portrait got...well...rounder?

The attached action is part of the 10 minute Toolbox.

*No, that is not a sexist comment, guys won't usually thank you for smoothing their face out!
** actually I use only luminosity, doesn't make much difference here;
** press <I> and you get the eye-dropper, now press <Shift><I> twice and you get the ruler

Hope you found this useful

Rô

[Paris]

Hi Ro,

Neat little tip, thanks for sharing this.

The difference is subtle, but it's there.

Paris

[hpycmpr]

Thanks again, byRo. That helps.

[arcadhia]

That's what I call 'Expertise'
Thanks ByRO...