Retouching Practice in Photoshop 2024

Welcome to Day 20 of your Photoshop journey, where you have learned Retouching Practice in Photoshop till now! You’ve now learned the essential retouching tools like the Healing Brush, Spot Healing Brush, and Clone Stamp Tool. Today, you’ll apply all these skills to complete a full portrait retouch, focusing on blemish removal, skin smoothing, and colour correction.

This exercise will help you master the art of portrait retouching, which is widely used in photography, fashion, and advertising to create polished and professional-looking images.

1. Step-by-Step Retouching Practice in Photoshop

Here’s how to approach a portrait retouch from start to finish:

1.1. Step 1: Remove Blemishes Using Healing Tools

The first step in portrait retouching is to remove any blemishes or imperfections. Use the Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush, or Patch Tool to clean up the skin.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool
   • Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool from the toolbar or press J on your keyboard.
   • Ensure Content-Aware is selected in the options bar for natural results.
2. Zoom In on the Face
   • Zoom in on the face so you can see blemishes. The shortcut is Ctrl + (+) (Windows) or Cmd + (+) (Mac).
3. Click on Blemishes to Remove Them
   • Click on each blemish, spot, or imperfection. The tool will automatically replace the area with nearby pixels, blending it with the surrounding skin.
4. Use the Healing Brush or Patch Tool for Larger Areas
   • For larger blemishes or spots, use the Healing Brush Tool (similar to the Clone Stamp Tool) to manually paint over the area, or the Patch Tool to select and replace a larger region.

1.2. Step 2: Smooth the Skin

Now that blemishes are removed, the next step is skin smoothing. Be careful here—smooth skin shouldn’t look artificial. The goal is to create a natural, soft look while maintaining texture.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Duplicate the Layer
   • Right-click on your image layer and choose Duplicate Layer. This ensures non-destructive editing.
2. Apply a Surface Blur
   • Go to Filter > Blur > Surface Blur. Adjust the settings to slightly soften the skin without blurring out important details like eyes or lips.
   • Set the Radius to 5-10 pixels and the Threshold to around 10-20 levels, depending on your image.
3. Mask the Effect
   • Add a Layer Mask to the blurred layer and invert it (press Ctrl + I or Cmd + I). This hides the blur, allowing you to selectively apply it.
   • Select a soft brush, set the opacity to 50%, and paint over the skin areas you want to smooth out. Avoid areas like the eyes, lips, and hair for a natural look.

1.3. Step 3: Color Correction

Once the skin is smoothed, it’s time for colour correction. This involves adjusting skin tones, brightness, and saturation to give the image a balanced, vibrant look.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Add a Curves Adjustment Layer
   • Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves. Use this tool to adjust brightness and contrast by dragging the curve up to lighten the image or down to darken it.
   • Focus on mid-tones to enhance natural skin colour without losing detail.
2. Adjust Skin Tone Using Hue/Saturation
   • Add a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer. Use the Reds slider to fine-tune skin tones. Adjust the hue slightly to correct any unnatural skin colour, and reduce saturation if the colours seem too intense.
3. Add Vibrance for a Final Touch
   • Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Vibrance. This boosts colour intensity in a subtle, controlled way, especially for skin tones.
   • Increase Vibrance by around 10-20%, while keeping Saturation adjustments minimal.

2. Assignment: Complete a Full Portrait Retouch

Now it’s time to put everything you’ve learned into practice. In this assignment, you will perform a full portrait retouch, including blemish removal, skin smoothing, and color correction.

Assignment Guide:

1. Step 1: Choose a Portrait Image
   • Select a portrait image that needs retouching. Make sure the image has some blemishes or imperfections that you can work on.
2. Step 2: Remove Blemishes
   • Start by removing any spots, pimples, or marks on the face using the Spot Healing Brush or Healing Brush.
3. Step 3: Smooth the Skin
   • Use the Surface Blur technique to smooth the skin and apply a Layer Mask to control where the blur is applied.
4. Step 4: Correct the Colors
   • Use Curves, Hue/Saturation, and Vibrance adjustments to correct the skin tone, enhance brightness, and make the colors more vibrant.
5. Step 5: Final Touches
   • After retouching, take a step back and review the overall image. Make any final adjustments to ensure the retouching looks natural and professional.

3. Quiz: Retouching Tools and Techniques

Test your understanding of today’s lesson with this quiz:

1. What is the primary function of the Spot Healing Brush Tool?
   • a) Adjusting saturation
   • b) Removing blemishes and imperfections
   • c) Smoothing the skin
2. Which tool should you use for adjusting skin tone?
   • a) Clone Stamp Tool
   • b) Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer
   • c) Patch Tool
3. What is the purpose of adding a Layer Mask when using Surface Blur?
   • a) To permanently blur the entire image
   • b) To selectively apply the blur only where needed
   • c) To change the colour of the skin

Answers:

1. b) Removing blemishes and imperfections
2. b) Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer
3. b) To selectively apply the blur only where needed

4. Conclusion and Next Steps

Great job on completing Day 20! You’ve now experienced the complete portrait retouching process, from removing blemishes to correcting colours. This skill is essential for creating polished, professional images, whether for personal projects or professional work.

Remember, practice is key to mastering retouching. Keep working on different portraits and experimenting with the tools to develop your style.

Previous Chapter:

• Day 19: Dodge, Burn, and Sponge Tools

Next Chapter:

• Stay tuned for Day 21, where we’ll dive into Advanced Portrait Retouching techniques!