This photo was cropped to remove the dead flower from the bottom and other distractions from the original. Then the budding rose that was to be the focus of the remaining picture was enlarged/blurred. Text overlays (75% opacity for the quote and 100 % opacity for the author reference) were added last.

Here, a distracting leaf is removed from the upper-left hand corner. The background was cut and pasted, then airbrushed 'til smooth.

This man's wirnkles and other blemishes have been obscured and smoothed by extensive airbrushing to look many years younger.

The background for these devices has been simplified, and the photo has been recentered. Now the viewer's focus is the machines themselves, rather than the the space between the boxes.

Photos can also be made to look like paintings, with judicious use of colorization and filtering.

This picture originally had several elements drawing the viewer's focus away from the people. Several background items were removed, the couple was re-centered. Then the imperfections on the clothing were painted and blended away.

A casual snap-shot now looks like it was created with a studio back drop. The background person was erased, and replaced with a painted and filtered shape. The seat cushion was also filtered, then finally, a gradient was applied to focus attention on the baby's face.

This unremarkable picture is converted into a flight of fancy. Shadows have been added to create a feeling of depth, and the flight gear is then drawn in completely by hand.