It Still Looks Like Me, But...

I am usually only do very basic editing in Photoshop. Red-eye. Cropping. Brightness. Contrast. I feel that these are justifiable post-processing techniques. As much as I try to set up a great shot in-camera, sometimes it still just doesn't come out the way it's s'posed to, and the moment would be gone if I kept trying to change the settings on my camera in-the-moment. I'll even go so far as to clone out pimples, scratches, that little bit of cookie that I forgot to wipe off my nephew's mouth before I took the shot (granted, sometimes it's that bit of cookie that makes the shot!). I'm a very primitive Photoshop user. Beyond basic post-processing, I kinda feel like it's cheating to alter too much content.

But every now and then, I like to have fun. I get a bit artsy. Or a bit silly. I play around with photos. I often experiment with lighting and lens functions and what-not by taking self-portraits. Sometimes I keep even the less-than-stellar shots cuz I figure they might come in handy for something at some point. Yesterday, I took one of the plainer ones, and decided to Photoshop it big time. And it's still a far cry from the Photoshopping that professionals do to Supermodels and celebrities.

Take a look at the image below--the before and after. See if you can count how many changes I made to it in Photoshop. Then compare with the list below.

• Got rid of the circles under my eyes.
• Made my irises just a LITTLE bit fuller.
• Gave myself eye shadow.
• Gave myself just a bit of eyeliner.
• Removed a couple small pimples and skin marks.
  
• Gave myself blush.
• Plumped my bottom lip just a bit.
• Gave my lips a hint of colour.
  
• Gave my skin the basest of tans.
• Gave my hair some mild colour/shine.
• Tucked in the right side (your left) of my jawline to make it more symmetrical with the left (your right).

Subtle... and yet... (and just think of all the things I didn't do!)