Cloning: Removing wrinkles or deep lines

It was the last day I could utilise my 5 free 8R pictures. My mother had some pics she had shortlisted and I wanted to make at least one or two abit better for my parents.

I didn't want my father's wrinkles that line his eyebags to be so obvious.

I googled for a tutorial to remove wrinkles using CS4 and I found this.

In short, it got you to add noise and gaussian blur to smooth the skin and remove the wrinkles in quite a natural way. Unfortunately, being the technophobic that I am, I could not master the smoothening techniques.

Got abit discouraged and looked at other pictures to see if there was anything else that I could do.

I searched on youtube for removing unwanted objects instead for this picture:

It was also very demoralising, because I was incompetent in using the technique to remove the few guys in the background, since the background is not just water and waves, like the one shown in the youtube was.

Then for some reason, it struck me that I could use the cloning technique to remove the wrinkles, especially when my father is tiny in the pic. The cloning shouldn't be too obvious when the pic is blown up to S8R.

Steps:

1) Click on 'clone stamp tool'

2) Enlarge the clone stamp range by selecting at least No. 19 Master diameter in 'Brush' (on the horizontal menu).

3) Press 'Alt' to clone a selected area

4) Clone away the wrinkles by going over them

I didn't want the change to be too obvious. My father can't be wrinkle-less, right? So I merely lighten the appearance of the wrinkles.

From this:

to this:

The result was especially pleasing when it is printed in S8R size.

I have always hated that fabric line across my bulging tummy. As if I don't know that I have a paunch. I always remember the quiet indignant I felt when I took over the camera from my sister,"Why didn't you tell me I didn't pull my clothes properly?!!"

I used the same technique over that line. Before cloning, I added another layer so as to clone the clothes that's blurred using the noise-adding and gaussian blur techniques.

However, I overdid the cloning and it is especially obvious on the right side of the camisole.

The experience was really satisfying nonetheless. : )