seepea

I struggle so much when cloning.  I use PSE 11 and simply used the clone tool.  I get this softness in the area I cloned which I hate.  What is the best way to avoid this?

Yes, that's what I'm finding too.  Well, before I met you, my pictures looked great in my viewer and lousy in print.  So I think I'm still way ahead of the game now that they look great in print and lousy in FastStone!  I'll get over it.  Have a great day, and thanks again, as always.

I am viewing on my laptop screen.

Thank you.  I turned on Color Management in FastStone and checked that I was in sRGB.  My photos still look crappy in FastStone.  I never had that problem with my old computer.  I'll get used to it!  I appreciate your response!

I just got a new Acer laptop with a wide-gamut screen.  I calibrated the monitor last night.  Today, I edited a batch of photos in PSE 11, but they look totally over-saturated when viewed in Faststone.  Google leads me to believe that Faststone is not color-managed,  Since I learned about Faststone from you, Damien, I'm wondering if you know of any settings in Faststone that will help what is displayed there look more similar to my photos in elements.  

Sorry for posting 2 after photos--couldn't figure out how to delete one.

Thank you for this technique.  I detest careful masking, so I used several solid layers to just even out the background a bit.  

Oh yes, the pink flowers are exactly why I'm not sure I would print this.  Sadly, these are the flowers this moth loves best, so I'm having trouble getting a printable photo.  I'll play with the background using your suggestion--thank you!

Yes, I did get your emails, thank you.  Glad I didn't miss the new module in the Print Sharpening Class--it was very helpful.

Honestly, I'm not sure if I will print this photo or not.  I run into this issue quite a bit, though, so I would like to learn how to do it as if the photo would be printed. I have been using cloning to soften the transition between the different greens and new layers to lighten and darken areas.  Never completely thrilled with the results though.  Thought I'd ask if you have a better way.

I find the different shades of green in the background to be distracting.  I'd like to even out the color a bit.  What would be your preferred method for doing that?