Hello,
Any Great tip's on retouching skin.

I took a seminar on that subject at photo expo some years ago with this teacher and it was quite illuminating,

This is the latest book that covers this from her availlable:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/073571350...nce&s=books&n=507846

it is for PS 7 but there's a 3rd edition comming out, perhaps worth waiting for it,

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/032131627...nce&s=books&n=507846

I heard the the Marting Evenings books are very good too but have no idea on how well they cover this subject.

The Martin Evening books are perfect. It's almost all beauty/fashion retouching. If you get any book make sure it's at least as current as CS. That is of course if you're using CS (and hopefully CS2)

J

1) Learn to use blending modes properly on seperate layers. It's the single best tip I was shown. In particular lighten and darken modes.

2) Never forget to put noise back in! Always clean on seperate layers so you add noise easily in the final stage.

3) Lots of practice!

Simple but very highly effective tips.

I know this might be obvious, but it does bear repeating...

Invest in the best graphics tablet you can afford and learn to use it properly. A 6x8 Intuos is great for retouch work. It will make creating your layer masks much easier and make them more "natural" looking.

Use the Healing Brush or Spot Healing Brush ("J" as a quickkey) before going to the clone/"rubber stamp" tool. Better outcome, and you don't have to add Noise, which can be a real pain and never really looks good.
Also, don't flatten the poor girl's face off. The worst thing you can do is take the character out of someone's face, so be careful with the Brush Tool ("B" quickkey), bring the opacity down below 10, sample the color you would like to blend in to an area (alt-click), and subdue those dark "I didn't get much sleep last night" under-eye circles.

This guy who wrote last is right on the money. If you're doing serious retouching, buy a tablet. They were MADE specifically for Photoshop retouchers... a great investment, and your quality of work will only improve.
later,

If your looking for THE retouching book then I can't recommend this one enough. I was really useless before I got this and now I'm doing OK.
Check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/059600849...nce&s=books&n=507846

His site: http://www.retouch.ca/

Regards,
Mark

www.markandersonphoto.com

Skin is a wonderful book and it will give you serious insight into the retouching world.

If you are looking for something a little more interactive, check out the video tutorials at Lynda.com