How to get rid of the hot spot? (Flash was too bright)
 

I am aware of the photographic shortcomings of this photo, this is more an example of a problem I sometimes have. What I would like to do is to get rid of the flash reflection to the left of the duck's beak. The best solution is of course to use correct lighting to begin with but this is not an option for me, it will have to be done in post processing.

What would be the best way to attack it?Attachment 45

There are any number of ways to fix this. I prefer a somewhat "quick and dirty" method. That method will work up to a certain size. The bigger the print or web-pixel size, the more accurate you'll need to get, otherwise it will be easy to spot the corrective work.

Would you consider this an improvement? See image below.

If so, I can tell you what I did. It was a simple matter of two layers, clone, erase and dodge. It took maybe 1 minute of work at most. Downloading the photo and opening Photoshop took longer than the work itself, at least for me. (Photoshop user for 15+ years now.)

Attachment 46

That is most certainly an improvement. :)

How did you do it?

I'm wanting to create a Flash 10 (h264-based) video guide for this. It's why I've not answered yet.

Thanks for the info - I'm looking forward to the video guide!