How to do Professional Facial Retouching in Photoshop

Today i decided to create one new tutorial where you can learn how to do professional facial retouching that professionals use for photo processing in fashion magazines.

Step 1

Open photo and resize it by using Image > Image Size to 1500 px width and 1000px height.

Step 2

Let’s start by correcting color on photo. Copy layer by using Ctrl+J. Blur photo a bit using Fliter > Blur > Gaussian Blur with following parameters:

Step 3

Change layer blending mode to Color for this layer.

Step 4

Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options and on Advanced Blending remove check marks from R and G channels.

Now adjust color slightly to your taste on this layer using Image > Adjustments > Curves.

Step 5

Now we are going to remove skin defects. Create a new layer. Choose the Healing Brush Tool, then select Sampled in Source parameter and select All Layers for Sample parameter. Choose the part of the face, that we’ll be using as a sample.

Step 6

Using the Healing Brush Tool (choose soft edges of the brush) and holding the Alt button we choose the most clear skin area, then overlay the sample image on the problem skin area to remove the defect.

Step 7

Then go to forehead area and remove defects by using the same method.

Step 8

We also remove small wrinkles that possibly annoys the eye (still working with the Healing Brush Tool).

Step 9

In the end we should have the following result:

You can see on photo below where i applied Healing Brush Tool:

Step 10

Up to this moment we should have three layers – bottom layer (original photo), layer with color correction and the upper layer, on which we have carried out skin cleaning. Copy all the three layers twice by using Ctrl+J for each layer, then move the copies of the three layers grouping them like on image below. Finally merge both new layer groups together, using Ctrl+E and you will have five layers. Temporarily turn off visibility of the upper layer and work on the other layer (Layer 1 copy).

Step 11

We are going to work on creating the perfect skin texture. Choose the Polygonal Lasso Tool and select the face (it’s not necessary to select regularly).

Step 12

Invert the selection using Select > Inverse and delete everything that is situated in the selected area by pressing Delete button. On the layer you should only have the face now. Select eyebrow area using the Polygonal Lasso Tool and delete it using Delete button.

Step 13

Press Ctrl+D to deselect selected area. Remove the second eyebrow and start deleting eyes on the same way.

Step 14

Now do the same thing to the lips area.

If you turn off visibility on all other layers you can see we should have something like a mask on layer. Turn back on visibility on all layers except upper layer.

Step 15

Apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to this layer with following settings:

Step 16

Change layer opacity to 65%.

Step 17

Turn on visibility of the upper layer.

Create Clipping Mask for this layer using Layer > Create Clipping Mask. Apply Filter > Other > High Pass with following settings:

Step 18

Change blending mode on this layer to Linear Light.

Step 19

Change layer opacity to 50% for this layer.

Step 20

You can stop here if you’re satisfied with the result. But there are too many red and yellow color tones on the portrait, sometimes it can be noticeable on the last steps, as in this case. It can be easily corrected, for this purpose merge all the layers into one using Ctrl+Shift+E and apply Image > Adjustments > Color Balance with the following parameters to newly created layer:

Final Image

Now this tutorial is complete. You can make extra color correction as well or convert photos to grayscale or sepia mode. Hope this tutorial was useful to you.

An Easy Way To Find Neutral Gray In An Image

Step 1: Add A New Layer

With our photo open inside Photoshop, the first thing we need to do is create a new blank layer, so click the New Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to create a new blank layer above the Background layer:

Click on the New Layer icon.

Nothing will happen in the document window, but we can see in the Layers panel that Photoshop has added a new blank layer named "Layer 1":

Photoshop adds the new layer and names it "Layer 1".

Step 2: Fill The New Layer With 50% Gray

Next, we need to fill our new layer with 50% gray, the same gray we're looking for in our image. To do that, go up to the Edit menu at the top of the screen and choose Fill:

Go to Edit > Fill.

This opens Photoshop's Fill dialog box. Select 50% Gray from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box:

Set the Use option to 50% Gray.

Click OK when you're done to close out of the dialog box. Photoshop fills the new layer with gray, temporarily hiding the photo below it from view in the document window:

The new layer is now filled with 50% gray.

Step 3: Change The New Layer's Blend Mode To 'Difference'

Go up to the Blend Mode option in the top left of the Layers panel and change the blend mode for Layer 1 from Normal to Difference:

Change the blend mode for Layer 1 to Difference.

The Difference blend mode isn't one that's used too often since it tends to make images look, well, different (some may even say frightening), as we see with my image after changing the blend mode to Difference:

The Difference blend mode certainly makes photos look different.

Believe it or not though, there is a method to the madness. The way the Difference blend mode works is that it compares the layer with the layer(s) below it and looks for differences between them (hence the name). Any areas in the layer which are different from the layer(s) below it show up as strange colors in the image, which is where the purples, blues and yellows are coming from, but any areas which are identical between the layers show up as black, or at least almost black if they're not 100% identical but still pretty darn close to it. In other words, with the Difference blend mode, any areas between the layers which are identical become the darkest parts of the image, and we can now use that to locate any areas that are supposed to be neutral gray!

How? Simple! We're now comparing our image on the Background layer with the layer above it that's filled with 50% neutral gray, which means that any areas in our image which are closest to that midtone gray color will now appear as the darkest parts of our image. So now, finding a midtone gray area is as easy as finding the darkest part of the image!

Step 4: Add A Theshold Adjustment Layer

Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel:

Click on the New Adjustment Layer icon.

Choose Threshold from down near the bottom of the list of adjustment layers:

Choose "Threshold".

If you're using Photoshop CS5 as I am, the Threshold controls will appear in the Adjustments Panel, new to CS5. In Photoshop CS4 or earlier, the Threshold dialog box will appear. Click on the little white triangle at the bottom and drag it all the way to the left:

Drag the white slider all the way to the left.

This will turn the image in the document window completely white:

The document window now appears filled with white.

Now slowly drag the triangle towards the right until you begin to see black areas appearing in your image. The first black areas that appear are the neutral gray areas you're looking for (assuming, as I mentioned at the beginning of the tutorial, that there actually are areas of gray in the photo). Continue dragging the triangle until an area of black becomes just big enough that you'll be able to click on it to select it, which we'll be doing in a moment. This is the exact same way you would normally find the darkest parts of the image when you're removing any color casts from the shadow areas, but now, thanks to the Difference blend mode, these darkest areas represent the areas closest to midtone gray. Click OK when you're done to exit out of the Threshold dialog box (Photoshop CS5 users can simply leave the Adjustments Panel open):

Drag the white slider towards the right until a small area of black appears.

Step 5: Click On The Black Area With The Color Sampler Tool

Select Photoshop's Color Sampler Tool from the Tools panel. By default, it's nested behind the Eyedropper Tool, so click and hold on the Eyedropper Tool for a second or two until a fly-out menu appears, then select the Color Sampler Tool from the list:

Select the Color Sampler Tool.

With the Color Sampler Tool selected, click on an area of black in the image to add a marker. Zoom in on the area first if it makes it easier to select your black area, as I've done here:

A small target symbol will appear at the spot you click on with the Color Sampler Tool.

Step 6: Delete The 50% Gray and Theshold Layers

Our layer filled with 50% gray and our Theshold adjustment layer have served their purpose and are no longer needed, so with the Threshold adjustment layer currently selected in the Layers panel, hold down your Shift key and click on Layer 1 below it to select both layers at once. Then drag them down on to the Trash Bin icon at the bottom of the Layers panel to delete them:

Drag the top two layers onto the Trash Bin.

Step 7: Add A Levels Or Curves Adjustment Layer

Click once again on the New Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel and this time, select either Levels or Curves, you're choice. Either one will do. I'll use Levels:

Choose either Levels or Curves from the list of adjustment layers.

Step 8: Select The 'Set Gray Point' Eyedropper

As with the Threshold adjustment layer, Photoshop CS5 users will find the controls for Levels or Curves in the Adjustments Panel, while CS4 and earlier users will see the Levels or Curves dialog box appear. Click on the Set Gray Point eyedropper to select it (it's the middle of the three eyedropper icons):

The Set Gray Point eyedropper is the middle of the three.

Step 9: Click With The Eyedropper On The Marker In The Image

With the Set Gray Point eyedropper selected, simply click directly on the small marker in the image (the one we added a moment ago with the Color Sampler Tool) and Photoshop will neutralize the colors in that spot, effectively removing any color cast from the midtones.

Personally, I don't find the eyedropper icon to be very helpful when trying to click on a marker, so you may want to press the Caps Lock key on your keyboard which will change the icon from an eyedropper to a target symbol, identical to the marker's icon, making it easy to line them up over top of each other and then click. I'll leave mine set to the eyedropper icon here just to make it easier to see in the screenshot:

Click directly on the marker to neutralize the midtones in the image.

And with that one click, any color cast in the image's midtones has been neutralized:

Any midtone color cast has been removed.

Step 10: Remove The Marker

To remove the color sampler marker from the image when you're done, with the Color Sampler Tool selected, simply click on the Clear button in the Options Bar at the top of the screen (don't worry if you forget to remove the marker since it won't print anyway):

Click the Clear button to remove the color sampler marker.