Photoshop  Tutorial-­‐  Skin  Retouching  Technique      Photo  retouching  tutorial  with  frequency  separation,  burn  and  dodge  tools  in  Photoshop:    

   Today  we  are  going  to   learn  how  to  do  a  basic   skin   retouching   technique  by  using  dodging  and  burning  tools,  as  well  as  frequency  separation.  You  may  find  that  when  you   first   try   it,   it  does  not   look  very   impressive.  Once  you  get   some  practice   in,   you  will   find   that   you   can  use   an   image   retouching   technique   to  retouch   a   face   in   just   a   few   short   minutes.   Remember   though,   this   is   a  basic  Photoshop   tutorial,   not   an   advanced  one,  which  will   come   later.   You  want   to  create   a   natural   look,   yet   maintain   a   smooth,   natural   skin   appearance   and  texture.    The   following   sections   will   explain   how   to   retouching   portrait   in  Photoshop.    Open  the  image  and  the  background  layer:    In   this   skin   retouching   tutorial,   the   first   thing   you   will   do,   is   the   frequency  separation.   In   order   to   do   that   you   will   need   to   open   the   image   and   the  background  layer.      

   

   Create  2  duplicate  layers:    Next,   you   will   need   to   create   2   duplicate   layers   of   the   background   by   right  clicking   on   the   background   layer.   The   1st   layer   will   need   to   be   renamed,   “to  color”.  The  2nd  layer  will  be  called,  “to  texture”.    

   

     Isolating  the  color  on  one  layer:    What   you   will   be   doing   is   isolating   the   color   on   one   layer,   and   the   texture   is  isolated   on   the   other   layer.   So   then   on   the   color   layer   you   would   go   to  filter/blur/Gaussian  and  blur.      

   Now   you   want   to   increase   the   radius   until   you   observe   the   colors   mixing  together,  I  am  selecting  15  for  this  image.  Next  hit  “OK,”  when  you  are  finished.    

     Isolating  the  texture  on  the  other  layer:    Next,  go  to  the  texture  layer,  and  go  to  image/apply  image.  Then  you  will  need  to  select   your   color   layer,   as   you  are   simply  adding   the   texture  back,   set   your  off  limit  scale  to  2,  and  offset  to  128,  and  hit  OK.      

   Then  select  your  blending  mode  set  it  to  linear  light.    

   Applying  clone  stamp  tool  in  the  color  layer:    Then   in   the   next   part   of   the   Photoshop   tutorial,   you  will   begin  with   the   color  layer.  You  would  start  with   the  clone   stamp.  Opacity  and   flow  are  set   roughly  from  30-­‐50%.    

   Select  an  area  underneath  the  eyes,  as  that  seems  to  make  a  huge  difference,  and  clone  color  from  the  upper  part  of  the  cheekbone  as  it  seems  to  be  lighter  there,  and   bring   that   up   to   just   under   the   eyes.   Lighten   the   skin   there   on   both   sides  under  the  eyes.  It  is  often  helpful  if  you  make  and  extra  copy  of  the  background  layer  and  see  the  different  of  before  and  after  image.    

     Then  you  would  want  to  lighten  a  bit  on  the  side  of  the  nose  to  remove  any  dark  shadows  there.  Use  the  tool  to  lighten  at  the  bottom  of  the  nose,  as  many  people  have  redness  there.  So  basically  you  would  retouch  different  parts  of  the  face  to  remove  lines,  bumps,  shadows  and  redness,  and  general  lightening  of  the  skin.    

     Applying  clone  stamp  tool  in  the  texture  layer  to  remove  spots:    Next  you  will  move  on  to  the  texture  layer.  Here  you  want  to  use  the  same  clone  stamp  tool.  Just  simply  go  over  the  face,  and  find  the  obvious  blemishes,  selecting  the  clear  area  and  dragging  them  to  the  spots  area  of  skin.  If  you  find  any  redness  remaining,  just  go  back  to  the  color  clone  and  remove  it  as  before.    

   

   

   

   You   can   also   use   the   clone   stamp   tool   to   clean   up   any   stray   hairs   or   eyebrow  hairs   if   you   choose.   I   like   to   remove   any   fine   lines   around   the  mouth   area,   or  creases  under  the  lips  too.    

 

 Dodging  and  Burning:    This  next  area  of  the  portrait  retouching  tutorial  covers  how  to  use  the  dodging  and  burning  tools.      

   Open  a  new  layer,  click  on  soft  light  and  fill  width,  set  at  50%.    

   You  will   need  2   of   those   layers.  One   named   “dodge,”   and   other   named   “burn.”  Here  you  will  be  using  the  dodge  tool  and  the  burn  tool.    

   Click   on   exposure   of   50%   for   each   one.  With   these   you   can   paint   with   pretty  much  any  color,  white,  black,  blue,  or  others.      Applying  dodge  tool  in  dodge  layer:    Start  out  around  the  eye  areas,  or   in  the  eyes   like  the   iris,  under  the  brows,  by  the   brow   bone.   You   need   to   consider   areas   that   a   girl   would   use  makeup   for,  lightening  uneven  skin  tones,  remove  blemishes,  etc.  Finish  any  areas  that  need  brightened,  (nose,  cheeks  or  eyes).    

 

     Applying  burn  tool  in  burn  layer:    Use   the  burn   tool   to  darken   the  eyebrows  a  bit.  You  can  also  darken   the  outer  corner  of  the  eye,  and  give  the  impression  that  it   is   lifted  just  a  bit.  This  can  be  useful  if  you  have  someone  who  is  squinting  a  bit,  or  has  droopy  eyes.  The  burn  tool  can  also  be  used   to  add  definition   to   the  cheekbones.  You  can  also  darken  the  eyeliner  a  little.      

   Now  you  can  do  a  new  layer,  set  to  soft  light.  Just  use  the  black  paintbrush  and  create   extra   eyeliner   if   you  wish.   If   you   over   do   or   smudge   the   lines,   you   can  always  clean  it  up  with  the  eraser  tool.  You  can  even  add  an  eye  shadow  color,  lip  and  check  color  if  you  wish,  some  people  really  like  that  effect.    

   See  the  different  in  the  bellow  image.    

     So   there   you   have   it,   how   to   do   retouching   portraits   in   Photoshop,   using   the  frequency  separation,  and  the  burn  and  dodge  tools.  You  will  find  that  these  work  very  well  for  portraits  and  photos  of  faces  as  well  as  other  areas.  Hope  you  have  enjoyed  this  portrait  retouching  tutorial  and  have  a  better  understanding  of  basic  skin  retouching  in  Photoshop.      This  tutorial  is  published  on  http://www.clippingpathindia.com/blog/2014/05/28/photoshop-­‐tutorial-­‐skin-­‐retouching-­‐technique/    

 About  the  author:  Rokaiya  Yeasmin  Munni  Graphic  Designer,  SEO  Specialist  and  Deputy  Manager  (Marketing  Division)  At  Outsource  Experts  Ltd,  which  is  the  mother  company  of  Clipping  Path  India