How on earth do you lot manage to smooth out a photo without losing the detail?
I did start of have a go at this, but I've decided it's best left to the rest of you!
Sandie
Not always very easily Sandie!
In actual fact its impossible to "smooth out" a photograph without loss of detail & quite often the detail you put back if any was never there in the firstplace. Am I making sense?
A lot of it is trick of the eye stuff. With a photograph that includes a face,
the eyes are the most important part of the photograph. I normally am quite careful not to touch it if at all possible if there is reasonably good detail there. The effect of a detailed face, particularly the eyes, draws the viewer away from areas that have possibly less detail (or unavoidable obvious fixes) than the original giving the overall effect that its detailed throughout.
Quite often with eyes, then mouth & nose, I finish off with one or two touches to each using the round sharpening tool set at a size no bigger than the object (with hardness & density set very very low) & where eyes are not very detailed the same touch with the "darken tool" can have a dramatic effect. If for example you have a muddy not very detailed building the same effect can be achieved by slightly darkening a doorway or window frame for example. Again it draws you away.
Finally, there more often than not is no "whole photograph" one fix for this. You have to be prepared to work with layers which I more often than not do with people. I can have 4 or 5 on the go before I put them all back & merge them.
Well that's my approach, I hope theres something here you might find helpful
