Damien Symonds

Can you do this for me?

What about if you check the Image Size immediately after cropping, before saving or closing or reopening? By the way, I strongly suggest clicking on the little cog in the Options Bar, and choosing "Use Classic Mode".

Ok, yeah, this is REALLY bad. May I see a screenshot with your crop tool selected, with the preset crop chosen?

Yes, I'm thinking that too. Also this to reduce the shiny "catchlights".

The version of Windows is irrelevant. Which version of Photoshop do you have?

This is difficult for me to address, because I can't really tell which part of the process you don't understand. Do you know how to add a drop shadow via the "Fx" button in the layers panel?

I don't even think cloning will work, to be honest. You'd need to do a lip swap from another photo, if possible. Or embark on some very painstaking lip creation. Or simply accept that the bubbles are freakin' gorgeous, and leave them.

Oh gee, I'm getting more confused. What do you mean by "low resolution display on the monitor"?

Ok, let me know if it occurs again.

This is exactly the kind of stupidity one comes to expect. Yes, always do it this way.

Have you tried switching those around?

You've got the layer thumbnail selected, rather than the mask thumbnail. Click on the mask thumbnail in the Layers Panel, so that it has the little border around it.

First, a Levels layer and move the black slider on the Red channel to 20, and the black slider on the Green channel to 5. Mask it to the circle. Then this to tidy it up.

I'm wondering if the problem is your screen. Can you view these images on another screen, and see if you see it there too?

Oh right, that's ok then. Ok, show me that file as well as the SOOR.

You're welcome.

Of course. PSD files are uncompressed, so they're much bigger than jpegs.

Ok, I'm stepping away. I want no part of an edit involving an illegally-obtained image.

Oh yeah, reduce it to a web sized jpeg as you normally would.

When you crop, do you see the photo changing size on screen? It should remain exactly the same size (apart from the removal of the cropped edges, of course).

Ok, wow. What a beautiful photo. May I see a screenshot including the layers panel? Oh, and post the SOOR also, thanks.

Just to check, have you opened a file that is a bit older (from a time when you know that everything was running smoothly) and see if the same problems are happening with that file now?

I painted on the D&B layer with a 3% opacity brush. Anything higher than that will be too brutal, I think. I used a 10% brush for the colour fix layer.

Oh, I think only that main band of shadow. Like this.

It's not you. Refine Edge is a terrible function. Abandon it. You can't blur that way. This is how it's done.