Photoshop Manipulation

I found this "before and after" image of Faith Hill on the internet. It clearly shows what can be done to an image with Photoshop.

While Ms. Hill doesn't look all that bad without manipulation, it is obvious how much nicer she looks after a little bit of work. Look at the slimming of her left arm, the slimming of her body and shoulder, the addition of a right arm, the removal of the bags under her eyes, the reshaping of her lips, the softening of her smile lines, the addition of some eye makeup, the color work on her hair, the removal of extra skin by her back near her dress, the slimming of her waistline, the softening of her collar bone, and the smoothing of her skintone. Be sure to click on the image for a closer look.

Often I will get someone jokingly ask whether I can make them look slimmer in a photo... or if I can make them look better than they are. Sure, I can... but it takes time and effort to do it.

To make someone slimmer within Photoshop isn't too difficult if you just want a simple size reduction of a few pounds, but taking someone extremely out of shape and making that person "skinny" is another story. Knowing how far to go to enhance but not overly distort an image is the key to success.

Other computer programs besides Photoshop also give me the power to improve things like complexion. Taking out acne and other blemishes from the face isn't all that difficult, but again, it does take time and effort.