How can I alter the original to obtain a similar result to this?

[ovisergiu]

Gimp: 2.10.24
OS: Linux Mint Cinnamon x64
Level: Beginner

Hello!
Can someone, please, tell me what did they do to the original picture so they obtained a cleaner and clearer version?

My untrained eye saw this:
- the retouched version got rid of the shadows from chin, arms, red dress
- I think they put a lot of Sharp (everything is so much clear)
- they faded the colors (see lips, see skin tone)

How can I obtain a similar result altering the original?
Thank you!

[Tas_mania]

Colors > Curves (take it up a bit)
G'MIC > Details - I use freaky details, mighty details or magic details depending on the outcome (play with the sliders)

[lylejk]

edit:

Miss understood you so deleted my input.

[sallyanne]

Or, you could try levels. While leaving it on 'value' take the middle slider back to approx 1.53

Another way to get rid of just a shadow is to 'select' that area, feather it then copy and paste in place as a new layer - deselect and making sure you have the new layer selected use curves or levels.

[racer-x]

G'mic > Color Grading filter.

color-grading.gif (798.4 KiB) Viewed 11920 times

Obviously this is a gif and so the quality isn't as good as the real images.

[lylejk]

Thousand ways to Sunday to address this. I chose Retinex (selectively) and blended to taste.

[ovisergiu]

Colors > Curves (take it up a bit)
G'MIC > Details - I use freaky details, mighty details or magic details depending on the outcome (play with the sliders)

Thank you, Tas_mania for the Curves suggestion. That's something I like.
I did not know about G'MIC and I had trouble installing it, but I managed. I tried the Freaky, Mighty/Magic details but I am not sure I understand them.

edit:
Miss understood you so deleted my input.

No, problem lylejk!

[align=center]Or, you could try levels. While leaving it on 'value' take the middle slider back to approx 1.53
Another way to get rid of just a shadow is to 'select' that area, feather it then copy and paste in place as a new layer - deselect and making sure you have the new layer selected use curves or levels.

No, that, sallyanne, that was something! Thank you!
I tried what you suggested and the things look very good.
I wonder why my 1.53 sliding does not look exactly like yours.
Could you, please, have a look at my settings and tell me if everything's OK?

G'mic > Color Grading filter.
Obviously this is a gif and so the quality isn't as good as the real images.

No matter what I did there under G'mic > Color Grading filter, I could not get close at all to your result, racer-x.
thank you!
Could you, please, show me the exact settings you did?
The fact that the skin has clear areas like in paint-by-numbers might help me (because the reason I need to retouch this picture is to convert it to cross stitch with another software).

Thousand ways to Sunday to address this. I chose Retinex (selectively) and blended to taste.

Thank you!
I could not get close to your result at all, no matter what I did with those sliders.
Could you, please, lylejk show me what settings did you do?
See my settings attached.

[sallyanne]

I am pretty sure I only moved the middle slider and nothing else. Your settings seem right. - Maybe you need to just use 1.53 as an approximation.