🎨Intro to Photoshop and Illustrator Unit 5 – Retouching and Restoration in Photoshop

What's This Unit About?

• Focuses on using Photoshop to retouch and restore digital images
• Covers basic retouching tasks like removing blemishes, smoothing skin, and whitening teeth
• Explores more advanced techniques such as frequency separation and dodge and burn
• Delves into photo restoration, repairing old or damaged photos (torn edges, faded colors, scratches)
• Discusses the ethical considerations surrounding photo manipulation
• Provides hands-on practice projects to apply the skills learned throughout the unit
• Offers tips and tricks to streamline your workflow and achieve professional-looking results

Key Tools and Techniques

• Spot Healing Brush Tool quickly removes small blemishes and imperfections
• Healing Brush Tool allows for more precise control when retouching larger areas
• Clone Stamp Tool samples pixels from one area and paints them onto another
• Patch Tool selects and replaces an area with pixels from another part of the image
• Content-Aware Fill intelligently fills a selected area based on the surrounding content
• Frequency Separation separates an image into high and low-frequency layers for targeted retouching
  • High-frequency layer contains detail and texture information
  • Low-frequency layer contains color and tonal information
• Dodge and Burn tools selectively lighten (dodge) or darken (burn) areas of an image

Common Retouching Tasks

• Removing blemishes, scars, and other skin imperfections using the Spot Healing Brush or Healing Brush
• Smoothing skin texture while preserving natural details with frequency separation
• Whitening teeth using the Dodge Tool or Hue/Saturation adjustment layer
• Enhancing eyes by increasing contrast, whitening the whites, and sharpening the irises
• Reshaping facial features or body proportions with the Liquify Filter
• Removing unwanted objects or distractions from the background using the Clone Stamp or Content-Aware Fill
• Color correcting and adjusting the overall tone of the image with Curves or Levels adjustments

Photo Restoration Basics

• Scanning old photos at a high resolution (300 dpi or higher) for best results
• Using the Clone Stamp Tool to repair torn edges, scratches, or missing portions of the image
• Removing dust, dirt, and other debris with the Spot Healing Brush or Clone Stamp Tool
• Adjusting the levels or curves to restore faded contrast and color
• Colorizing black and white photos using Hue/Saturation adjustment layers and layer masks
• Sharpening the image to bring out lost details, being careful not to over-sharpen
• Saving the restored image in a non-destructive format (TIFF or PSD) to preserve quality

Advanced Retouching Methods

• Frequency Separation for more precise control over skin texture and color
  • Duplicate the background layer twice, name one "High Frequency" and the other "Low Frequency"
  • Apply a Gaussian Blur to the Low Frequency layer to remove details
  • Set the High Frequency layer's blending mode to Linear Light
• Dodge and Burn for targeted lightening and darkening
  • Create a new layer filled with 50% gray and set its blending mode to Overlay
  • Use the Dodge Tool (set to Highlights) to lighten areas and the Burn Tool (set to Shadows) to darken areas
• Using layer masks to non-destructively edit specific areas of an image
• Applying the High Pass filter to create a sharpening effect that emphasizes edges and details

Ethical Considerations

• Being aware of the potential impact of manipulated images on viewers' perceptions
• Avoiding excessive retouching that creates unrealistic or misleading representations
• Disclosing when an image has been significantly altered, especially in journalistic or commercial contexts
• Respecting the original intent and integrity of the photograph and the subject
• Considering the potential harm or offense that certain modifications may cause
• Obtaining permission from the subject or copyright holder before making substantial changes
• Adhering to industry guidelines and best practices for ethical photo editing

Practice Projects

• Retouch a portrait: Remove blemishes, smooth skin, whiten teeth, and enhance eyes
• Restore an old family photo: Repair damage, adjust levels, and colorize if necessary
• Remove an unwanted object from a landscape photo using the Clone Stamp or Content-Aware Fill
• Reshape a subject's facial features or body proportions using the Liquify Filter
• Create a non-destructive dodge and burn effect to selectively lighten and darken areas of an image
• Use frequency separation to even out skin tone and texture on a close-up portrait
• Combine multiple techniques to restore a heavily damaged or faded photograph

Tips and Tricks

• Work non-destructively by using layers, layer masks, and adjustment layers
• Use keyboard shortcuts to speed up your workflow (B for Brush, S for Clone Stamp, etc.)
• Zoom in closely to see details when retouching, but also zoom out to check your progress
• Use a graphics tablet for more precise control when retouching or cloning
• Take breaks and look at your work with fresh eyes to avoid over-retouching
• Save your work frequently and create backup copies to prevent data loss
• Experiment with different techniques and find what works best for each situation
• Study the work of professional retouchers to learn new techniques and get inspiration