Can we have the original sources for these 2 rejected cuts @iLLs`?

Please avoid using image enlarging software, or whatever tool you used to make him look like a waxwork. Using an AI image enlarger just “guesses” what certain pixels should look like when you make the image larger, and the result looks blurry/out of focus on certain details, with unrealistically smoothened skin, and unnatural looking hair/beard/eye/teeth details.

https://nachwuchs.eintracht.de/u21/2023-2024/kader/arthur-inaka-kuki/

Whatever you've done to that very good source image has made the final cut look like a bad taxidermy or a waxwork. Please avoid doing it again in any future cuts 👍

I just can't imagine how to make a better cut-off from this source

The second cut contains face imperfections and is therefore better than the first cut, which was overly and unnecessarily photoshopped.

I sometimes use "Reduce noise and sharpen" from "Improve cuts" PS action. I find it has a pretty good effect sometimes. But it probably adds a little bit of unreality

That's one action I never really use these days. That action file was created a fair few years back when sources were very poor and fuzzy, and it helped improve the eventual cut. With larger, good-quality sources such as this one, it's not really needed.

Thanks for the advice!