tutorial days 1 and 2

The first Photoshop technique I have seen and admired is background blurring. Like I mentioned before, I have been watching You Tube Photoshop tutorials. After my unsuccessful attempt to take a Photoshop class in person, I decided to take matters into my own hands. This blurring technique takes the focus off of any "noise" in the picture and puts the focus back on the subject of the photo. You can learn more here. The second technique I learned is the brightening of eyes.... making whites whiter (sounds like laundry, doesn't it?) Trust me, its way more fun. You can learn more here.
Before:

After:

Notice the blurred background and whiter eyes? Success. I will keep trying these two techniques on more portrait-style pictures for a few days.
Practice makes perfect.