Koray wrote:
I like your subtle and tasteful approach

But first I would remove the whiteish thing around her nostril

Then I would soften and even the shadows on her forehead. The hand, some parts of her body and face are a bit too bright and distracting for my taste which I also would take care of. Then I would add a custom vignette to frame the image and direct the viewers eye more to her face.

Thank you! I tried to not to over-do it too much--the skin smoothing especially, because I didn't want to come out looking like I was plastic, or like a cartoon or something. So I'm very glad to see you use the word 'subtle' haha

I'm assuming you mean my nose piercing when you say 'the whiteish thing' around my nostril? Otherwise, I'm not sure exactly what you might be talking about... As for softening and evening the shadows though, how would I go about doing that? Should I use a lightening tool for that? And on parts that are too bright (my hand, face, etc.), what tool would you suggest I use in the future to darken high exposure so they're not as bright and distracting in the retouch?

Thanks for your help!

The Perfect Image Inc wrote:
I'm also interested in learning more about retouching in Photoshop. Can someone who replies to this thread say WHAT tools to use, and HOW to apply them in order to get the results mentioned in the above reply?

Yes! I would definitely love to know what kind of Tools to use and How I should apply them...

Lexi Gorton wrote:
I really like it
Perhaps the flyaways could go? I find them a little distracting

Thank you! Yeah, I did notice the flyaways were pretty distracting too, but I kind of just left them the way they were on purpose; because I was focusing more on getting the skin and makeup right. I definitely plan to go in and see what I can do about removing them though! I think then it might be safe to call it a well-rounded first attempt?

KN Smith wrote:
Thank you! I tried to not to over-do it too much--the skin smoothing especially, because I didn't want to come out looking like I was plastic, or like a cartoon or something. So I'm very glad to see you use the word 'subtle' haha

When I say smoothing (and I'm guessing that's what the poster meant too) I'm not referring to using blur or another tool to make the skin look smooth. If you look at the image, there are noticeable dark and light bulges on the shadows part of the forehead that make the skin look not uniform that AREN'T pores (which is what you want to keep the texture of).

XKRetouch wrote:
It's pretty good for a first attempt!

I'd like to emphasize the "smoothing the skin on the forehead" thing, it's quite distracting. A lot of the shadows could be smoothed out as well. Also, the skin on her face is slightly too magenta. Maybe use selective hue/saturation to take care of it?

XKRetouch wrote:
When I say smoothing (and I'm guessing that's what the poster meant too) I'm not referring to using blur or another tool to make the skin look smooth. If you look at the image, there are noticeable dark and light bulges on the shadows part of the forehead that make the skin look not uniform that AREN'T pores (which is what you want to keep the texture of).

THAT'S what I'm looking for! Thank you so much! While I appreciate the kind words from everybody, I've been waiting for someone to really explain to me in detail what/how to achieve the right look, so I appreciate it a lot that you took the time to do that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! That being said, I can definitely see the things that you're talking about now. I didn't really before, but since you pointed them out, it's much more visible to me now. I will definitely try to smooth the shadows on the forehead out. I didn't really notice the magenta undertones either, but I do now... Perhaps if I did a mask and switched up the levels, that might work?

KN Smith wrote:
THAT'S what I'm looking for! Thank you so much! While I appreciate the kind words from everybody, I've been waiting for someone to really explain to me in detail what/how to achieve the right look, so I appreciate it a lot that you took the time to do that. Thank you, thank you, thank you! That being said, I can definitely see the things that you're talking about now. I didn't really before, but since you pointed them out, it's much more visible to me now. I will definitely try to smooth the shadows on the forehead out. I didn't really notice the magenta undertones either, but I do now... Perhaps if I did a mask and switched up the levels, that might work?

No problem

I wouldn't do levels per-se. Try hue/saturation adjustments layer, change the setting to the magenta, change the hue a little, and use a low opacity brush to mask it in.

It's all good. Part of retouching is having the eye to see those little things. Another thing that helps is to put it away for a few hours, do something else, and come back to it. That way your eyes are no longer adjusted to the image, and you'll see things that you've missed before