How do I Photoshop newborns?

[Shrinnk]

I just took my aunts two month old baby pictures,(I am very amiture) we didn't have very good lighting and the well the babys skin is blotchy. I am just wondering what the best way to photoshop the baby would be?

[Saralonde]

I'm not the best at editing, so maybe someone else has a good idea.
Baby skin is often blotchy. Try changing some into b&w. Perhaps a little gaussian blur can help smooth things out. You can also try this free action from Rita at Coffeeshop Actions called "Powder Room".
Next time you shoot, check out these tips.

[private]

Sara - what a GREAT site! I've booked marked it and printed a hard copy - in case my puter crashes...

[SusanH1970]

Originally Posted by private

Sara - what a GREAT site! I've booked marked it and printed a hard copy - in case my puter crashes...

I second that (except for the hard copy part - didn't do that yet). Thanks for posting this!

[Saralonde]

If you are looking for more free actions that are similar, check out Pioneer Woman.

[Shrinnk]

Thank you so much for all of your input I will try it out asap. And wow that link/download should speed things up a bit can't wait to try it. Thanks again

[RoyL]

Post am image and some might be able to give advice. I will if I can.

[Shrinnk]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3636055...hoto3354286713


Here is the picture I don't know if I did it becuase this is my first go at this. So let me know if you if you can'r see it.

[Kit]

Hi SHrinnk,
I hope you don't mind me having a play with you picture, but here's my version of post processing:



Here's what I did:
1. adjusted levels to get black background
2. reduced saturation to reduce blotchiness
3. eye pop to bring out eye and correct red eyes
4. blurr to reduce blotchiness and give a soft look
5. cropped for composition

please tell me if it's not O.K to post this and I will remove it. HTH

[RoyL]

What a cute shot. Nothing blotchy about her skin, that is natural.

Kit has already shown you how you can crop the image. I haven't done that to mine but should have. I finished and saved my edits before doing so.

Also I prefer the fabric background as it has texture, whereas kit has blackened the background.

To soften things up I took a copy of your image, created a new layer from the image.
With the layer I added a Gaussian Blur of 2.4 to soften the image.
Reduced the fill on that layer to 50%. This leaves a nice soft skin tone.
Using the History Brush Tool I took away the top layer for the eyes, mouth, and bracelet to make them sharp. (did a real rough job, you can get the idea though).



The second version I converted the layer to Black and White with the same steps as above. Some people prefer the paler look. I do.



And for something completely different. I inversed the image then using photoshops filter gallery-Film Grain to add some grain and increase highlight area.....



Only idea's all can be improved on, it is just a matter of experiment until you have something you are happy with. Then if you want praise or even critique repost and get advice.