5.1 Portrait Retouching: Skin, Eyes, and Hair

Portrait retouching is a crucial skill in photo editing, focusing on enhancing skin, eyes, and hair. This process involves smoothing skin tones, removing blemishes, brightening eyes, and refining hair texture while maintaining a natural look.

Mastering these techniques requires understanding various tools and methods in Photoshop. From frequency separation for skin to selective adjustments for eyes and hair, these skills allow photographers to create polished, professional portraits while preserving the subject's essence.

Skin tone smoothing techniques

Non-destructive retouching methods

Top images from around the web for Non-destructive retouching methods

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  PIXLS.US - Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose View original

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  Photoshop retouch before and after by Nikos23a on DeviantArt View original

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  Full Package of Portrait Retouching Actions by braxtonwood on DeviantArt View original

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  PIXLS.US - Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose View original

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  Photoshop retouch before and after by Nikos23a on DeviantArt View original

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Top images from around the web for Non-destructive retouching methods

• 

  PIXLS.US - Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose View original

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• 

  Photoshop retouch before and after by Nikos23a on DeviantArt View original

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• 

  Full Package of Portrait Retouching Actions by braxtonwood on DeviantArt View original

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• 

  PIXLS.US - Skin Retouching with Wavelet Decompose View original

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• 

  Photoshop retouch before and after by Nikos23a on DeviantArt View original

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• Frequency separation separates texture and color information onto different layers allowing for precise skin retouching
• Adjustment layers (Curves, Hue/Saturation) used with layer masks selectively adjust skin tone and color
• Surface Blur filter applied selectively smooths skin while retaining edge details and overall texture
• Clone Stamp tool used with various blending modes blends skin tones seamlessly across different facial areas

Targeted correction tools

• Healing Brush tool samples and clones skin texture from one area to another removing blemishes and imperfections
• Dodge and Burn tools used with low opacity even out skin tones by lightening shadows and darkening highlights (5-10% opacity)
• Proper use of these tools preserves natural skin texture maintaining a realistic look in retouched portraits

Eye enhancement and sharpening

Contrast and color adjustments

• Levels adjustment layer increases contrast and brightens eye whites without affecting other image areas
• Color Balance and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers enhance or alter eye color while maintaining natural appearance
• Layer masks allow precise control when applying adjustments to specific eye parts (iris, sclera)

Detail enhancement techniques

• Dodge tool used with soft brush at low opacity (10-20%) lightens and enhances eye catchlights
• Unsharp Mask filter applied selectively to eyes increases perceived sharpness and brings out eye details
• Brush tool used with new layer set to Screen blending mode adds subtle highlights to eyes
• Understanding eye anatomy (cornea, iris, pupil) crucial for realistic and effective eye enhancement in portrait retouching

Hair retouching and styling

Selection and reshaping methods

• Quick Selection tool and Refine Edge feature create accurate selections of hair especially for complex or wispy strands
• Liquify filter reshapes and restyles hair while maintaining natural flow and appearance
• Clone Stamp tool used with soft brush and low opacity (15-25%) fills in gaps or thin areas in hair

Color and texture enhancements

• Layer blending modes (Screen, Overlay) add highlights or darken hair areas without affecting underlying texture
• Adjustment layers (Curves, Selective Color) alter hair color or enhance existing tones
• Dodge and Burn tools add dimension and depth to hair by enhancing existing highlights and shadows
• Understanding hair texture and light interaction with different hair types (straight, curly, coarse, fine) crucial for realistic hair retouching

Ethics of portrait retouching

Social and psychological impacts

• Digital retouching can perpetuate unrealistic beauty standards in society
• Heavily retouched images psychologically impact viewers particularly relating to self-esteem and body image
• Importance of transparency in advertising and media regarding use of retouched images

Professional guidelines and considerations

• Ethical guidelines and industry standards for portrait retouching set by professional organizations and publications (Association of Photographers, American Society of Media Photographers)
• Role of consent and communication between photographer, retoucher, and subject in determining extent of retouching
• Balancing enhancement of natural features with avoiding unrealistic or deceptive alterations in portrait retouching
• Legal considerations and potential consequences of excessive retouching in various contexts (journalism, advertising, personal photography)