Re #9, 12 and 13: I use both tricks. If you have a legimate Win 8 licence, you can get a free virtual XP from Microsoft that runs under the free VirtualBox. And I protect that virtual XP by using the free Toolwiz Time Freeze. It can be downloaded by itself, so you do not need the whole ToolBox. It is essential to keep the virtual XP as lean as possible. So it has NO antivirus protection.
If the software runs fine on the virtual machine. I reboot the virtual XP and install the giveaway once more, while capturing the installation with the free Cameyo. Take care to use the Disk format instead of the default RAM format. And I always delete the %Profile% folder. The Cameyo can then be tested on my real W8.1 64 machine. Only after testing I find real use for the giveaway on that laptop, I install it. First using TimeFreeze, then for keeps. That is very seldom the case. In this way I can test every giveaway and keep my production PC as clean as possible.
I also use SandboxIE to test software on the real PC. When the Cameyo fails on the real PC, I "install" the software there in SandboxIE. SandboxIE can even run on the virtual XP.
It is a pity SandboxIE has changed it licence policy. You will need a licence if you need more sandboxes. Some applications I want to run for a longer period I install in a dedicated sandbox.

If I am really 100% satisfied with the software, I will buy a licence.

Professionals have at least three machines: one for developing, one fort testing and one for using the software. With a virtual machine, TimeFreeze and Cameyo, I can emulate the three functions (developing, testing, running) on the same hardware without extra software cost.

Hi, I didn't bother (at first) installing this Software having already two versions of it on my laptop (v.1.1 and 1.2) - both giveaways and both registered, but when I looked them up today - BOTH 'became' unregistered to my surprise! When?? I didn't have any crash of my System, nor virus issues, so why? In the end being puzzled by this I installed today's Giveaway to a different location (drive), register it, AND - hey presto, ALL versions (well, 2 really, since I already had 1.2, now in duplicate) - became 'magically' registered. Can anyone understand HOW? I'm on Win7 and this Software was each time registered on this OS.

If the same happens again (and I'm beginning to belive it will..) - this time it goes straight to the bin, please note Developer! One of the reasons giving it away to be tested is surely good enough to grant that GOTD reg key to Users without 'taking it away' to promote buying 'Unlimited home license (with support and updates) at 70% discount'..? No, I'm not ungrateful, I just dislike tricks of that nature.

I use Paint.net and can do all this does for free

Installed this 'Mickey Mouse' software.
Tried to use it. It crashed. Reopened and managed to do something.
Now can't even save the edited file.
Absolutely useless.
It will be uninstalled.

@9 - He could be using a Virtual O/S, prior to copying the software to his hard drive. A reboot removes it from the VS.

#9 Anne

Just look for the free ToolWiz Time Freeze, included in the ToolWiz Care.

#9 Anne

http://www.toolwiz.com/en/products/toolwiz-time-freeze/

#6: "In other words, make the picture artificial and not real. All those changes are not making it better, they are exaggerating the shadows, blending of the colors and the ambient to something else. If you like to play with it, it is fine, but a professional photo loses all the value when re-colored or re-tinted, unless of course you wanted to fool someone into thinking that you are a “real” photographer."

This is NOT a critique, moriss2, but rather just info that hopefully someone might find of interest...

Very, very few photos that are sold have not been altered, either in the darkroom or in software or in both. In fact a Big difference between camera A & a more expensive camera B is that the more expensive camera does more to alter the image it captured before it's recorded to storage. [That's a huge advantage of saving RAW images -- you have the original data that's been captured & can therefore adjust everything. If you camera captures jpg, the images have been altered.] The truth is there is no perfect way to capture an image, using film or digital gear, using cheap plastic or the most expensive lens. By their physical nature both film & sensors are limited in the amount of data they can capture, and the raw data in a negative or from a sensor has to be massaged a bit on the way to becoming the picture you see. The best lenses are close, but none are 100% distortion free in all circumstances.

So, everything's altered just to get you minimally close to what you saw when you took the picture. In the old days the equipment processing your negatives performed the same sort of automatic adjusting lots of apps do today with digital photos. A photographer or enthusiast edits to come closer to that vision, & many add some vision of their own to make the image more striking than what the camera saw -- if you've got to edit anyway to get closer to the real world view, why not improve on it a bit? If their work is competing with other photographs, making the photo more interesting or striking increases their odds of being chosen.

Images of models for magazines or TV may be the most extreme examples -- not only do they often use stand-ins for less flattering body parts [no one is 100% perfect], but every mm of a published picture has been gone over, almost every pixel adjusted somehow -- it would take plastic surgery to come close to the results in the real world.

A pro or semi pro will take lots of shots [that hasn't ever really changed], making basic adjustments to all of them rather quickly, e.g. the light will probably be the same for all the pictures you took at one location, so you can adjust all the pictures you took there for the same lighting. Then they'll usually single out what they feel are the best few shots, & those will get an additional workup. How much additional workup depends on what the image will be used for, & often in the case of pros, how much the client is paying. Because photographers generally don't want to spend tons of time editing, they'll do everything they can to make the original shots closer to what they imagine, setting up & adjusting lighting & backgrounds for example, or scouting outdoor locations at all times of day/night. A great black & white photo [what editing apps call grayscale] for example Very often starts out as a color image taken with lighting that emphasizes certain colors, because that gives the photographer the maximum data where they need & want it.

>Karl Can you please explain the method you use to remove software by simple reboot? It would encourage me to download more software, test, and comment. Thank you.

SoftSkin Photo Makeup isn't anything extreme... It's not terrible software to use or install, adding a single "SoftSkin Photo Makeup" folder that holds the program's files. [Didn't record *Anything* like the mysterious updater that Richard Sebire posted (#2 comment).] As far as the registry goes, there's a new key for uninstall + a new HKCU\ Software\ softorbits\ SoftSkinPhotoMakeup key. If you read the software's readme.txt file you'll see it was tested with, & presumably designed for "Windows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6, Windows 2000 Service Pack 2 and Windows XP operating systems." That might explain irene's post [#3] about having to run SoftSkin Photo Makeup as admin for the app to show registered -- I've seen this on a few apps that weren't designed for Vista or later.

The software itself has a simple, easy to use interface, with a basic spot remover, auto image correction or enhancement, & a few paint-on tools. You can make a relatively crude selection, which you'll need for the smudge filter for example. Based on the ad copy up top ["... you no longer need to apply numerous layers in Adobe Photoshop."] My Guess is that it's targeted for the user who wants something hands-on -- as opposed to apps where most or all adjustments are automatic -- but doesn't want to bother with any sort of learning. That's not meant as criticism -- there are plenty of things I have little or no interest in, & I don't spend a lot of time learning anything related to them either.

So in a nutshell, SoftSkin Photo Makeup is very useable, & you can edit & hopefully improve the head shots you've taken with your camera -- I stop short of saying portraits because to me there's a real difference between a portrait & a snapshot of someone's face, & I don't think anyone is going to use today's GOTD for minimally serious portrait work. If it has a weakness it's that much [most?] of its intended market takes pictures with their cell phones, using the filters either on their cell or on the site they upload their pictures to. There's much better software available, but it takes time & effort to learn how to use it, and SoftSkin Photo Makeup doesn't seem designed to compete with those apps anyway.

installed fine-- I have a pic of a face with blemishes.
This seriously is a horrible program, nothing looks real.
I will uninstall thanks anyway

In other words, make the picture artificial and not real. All those changes are not making it better, they are exaggerating the shadows, blending of the colors and the ambient to something else. If you like to play with it, it is fine, but a professional photo loses all the value when re-colored or re-tinted, unless of course you wanted to fool someone into thinking that you are a "real" photographer.

sorry, I tried it, dropped in a picture added lipstick, didn't see how to remove it. ( it must be there ) tried another effect and it locked up.
started it again and it locked up after a few minutes again.
I had high hopes for this, oh well.

Installed and registered on a Windows XP platform without any difficulties. The program offers basic correction tools, but unless you have some idea of what you are trying to achieve, you might end up with a photo that is worse than when you started. After some practice, it should get easier. #2 is correct - there are loads of apps out there that do a better job, and the retail price is outrageously high. But I think software of this type is essential in anyone's digital toolbox. If you don't have any other alternative, then this is worth a try. My personal favorite is Perfect 365, which has pre-made "looks" that you can use and adjust.

That a program has to be activated as admin is understandable, because of writing to the registry, but that such an app has to be run as admin is rather strange. Or am I the only one (Windows 8.1 Pro x64) who gets "unrestistered" running without "as admin" and "registered" "as admin"?

Installed and registered without problems on a Win 8.1 Pro 64 bit system.

After entering registration key, the program thanks in the name of "Photo Resizer"...

A Russian company without name&address, but a phone number.

Produce perfect portraits out of ordinary snapshots! SoftSkin Photo Makeup perfects your portraits by removing small imperfections, improving skin tone and texture, and applying all the basics of virtual makeup. All that can be done easily in just a few clicks.

I always wanted to produce perfect portraits out of ordinary photos...

After program start, a resizable window opens, you add a photo or a directory, then you can makeup your portrait, you can bleach the teeth, make lips red (or another color...), red eyes to black ones, remove blemishes and yes, the automatic image correction isn't missing either.

Some small errors : right click on one of the options shows a list of greyed "toolbox", the "remove selected" does not remove the actual picture (if one), you have to restart the program to load the same picture again and so on...

You can switch to the "original" picture (does not work for the first default changes... off by one error?) and you see, that you'll have better be more carefully to take a good picture, than to "improve" a bad picture.

Does what it claims, the results are depending on your skills. You'll better "makeup" your model before the photo shooting...

Uninstalled via reboot, this can be done with my installed programs.