[B]Step[/B] 9
So now all we have to do is run the *Neat Image plugin on this new layer (
Layer 1) and there you have it, perfect, creamy smooth skin. The settings that
you make inside the NI plugin will determine how much smoothing is applied to
the layer. Just remember that it won\'t hurt to be on the aggressive side with
the amount of noise reduction because you can dial down the effect using the
opacity slider.
*The use of Neat Image settings, profiles and parameters will be discussed in
a separate tutorial.
[B]Step[/B] 10
And here we have the before and after example. Notice that the Neat Image filter
only affected our masked area and left the rest of the image as is.

There are endless possibilities with this type of technique. For those of you
familiar with selections and layer masks, you have an almost unlimited ability
to fine tune that look you are after. Of course, the methods shown here can be
applied to general noise removal as well. I use multiple selections to isolate
different areas and types of noise, then apply varying NI settings to achieve
the ultimate in noise control.
Hope this tutorial made some sense and that you can get some use from it. Here\'s
a simple synopsis of what we did:
Duplicate the original first and always
Select our skin tones with Select Color Range
Use the Quick Mask to refine our selection
Make this selection a new layer with Ctrl-J
Apply the Neat Image filter
Some tips on making the selection:
Select only skin areas, not eyelashes, eyebrows, etc.
You can feather the selection at any time using MENU - Select - Feather. Use a
small radius of 2 or so to blend in nicely.
You can expand or contract the selection as well from the MENU - Select - Modify
submenu.
Regards,