First Photoshop edit(on a photo i've never liked...)

[KD_89]

Finally got photoshop(yay!) so ive spent today playing around with an old photo that ive never really liked to see what I could do with it. Still learning.

N.B. I think I've been staring at it too long to see the mistakes in it anymore so I know it's still a bit of a mess. The photo has also been through portrait professional to get rid of my freckles as this photo was taken last summer and I was covered in them! The idea was to make the eyes pierce the photo but I don't think it worked. Any thoughts?

Bright version


B&W version


For Original on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[windrider86]

The black and white is way too blotchy. I like the eyes int he first one but agian the skin is off. Its too pink and still too blotchy. You could try to do a gaussian blur on a seperate layer and then mask off the eyes. That will help with the blotchy skin. The pink in the skin also needs to be tomed down. You can do this by also using an adjustment layer and use the color balance

[zona5101]

i parrot Windriders's comments.

[edbayani]

windsurfer is correct, they are both blotchy and too pink, like sunburn. there are some portions with greenish tints
another way to do this (photoshop can be overwhelming, sometimes) is to duplicate the layer, then create a blank layer above it and with a soft brush, click with the eyedropper tool the color of the skin and with opacity set at 10% you can slowly brush over the affected areas. it is better to use a low opacity and brush over it again till you find it alright. vary the brush size also. learn the keyboard shortcuts to change tools, size and others to make your work faster.
when you'ved even up the skin, you can flatten and desaturate a little.

[edbayani]

oops, very sorry. my mind must have been wandering, i typed windsurfer. sorry windrider86!!


lol. no big deal

[KD_89]

I have no idea how to do that haha. will certainly look up a few tutorials online. And yeah i'm a natural redhead and burn very easily so I am constantly red haha. Thanks for the help everyone

[MrBeta]

I like the portrait. I'll agree with the blotchy skin but I love the eyes. Why did you remove the freckles? I'd like to see the before picture. I'm a fan of freckles and don't understand why people remove them. It's like a magazine advert I saw the other day where they removed Cindy Crawford's mole. Weird...
Keep up the good work and g'luck with the photoshop.

[KD_89]

The original - on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Edit number 2. People keep saying I should keep the freckles and brighten it a bit so i did. Do they look any better?





I am unfortunatly prone to blackheads and visible pores on my nose. But I don't really want to edit them out as it's a part of me

[Indigo November]

The freckled versions are a lot better, I really like the color version with freckles.

The ones w/out freckles look unnatural and yes, blotchy! Sorry, JMO.

[Woulretje]

Yes, the picture looks a lot more natural with your freckles (which are lovely, by the way!).

I prefer the black and white (sorry, artofindigo because your eyes still stand out in that picture. The lock of hair in front of your eye is nice - it adds some depth.