Photo Retouching: how to give your portraits a professional makeover

Next in our popular Raw Tuesday series we turn our attention to photo retouching. Over the next several weeks, our ultimate guide to photo retouching will show you how to give your portraits a stylish and professional makeover.

We’ll show you a range of key photo retouching techniques you can use to make eyes sparkle, how to make perfect teeth and beautiful lips, as well as sculpt body shape and make amazing hair.

In our first post, however, we examine the different techniques for one of the most important elements of photo retouching: how to create flawless skin.

When it comes to retouching skin, there’s a fine line between flawless and fake. You want to tone down imperfections and get the perfect look, but you don’t want your subject to look too plastic or immaculate.

Professional retouchers spend hours painstakingly working over skin in minute detail to remove flaws in such a way that the subject will not look overly retouched.

For the rest of us, there are a few excellent shortcuts. The key is to smooth over the area you are working on with a touch of blur but still allow the skin’s texture to show through. Also, always work on a separate layer so that you have control over the strength of any alterations.

How to get blemish-free skin

01 Heal spots
Add a new empty layer then select the Spot Healing tool. Check Sample All Layers in the Options bar then start dabbing over any imperfections you find.

02 Lose bags
Add a second layer then select the Clone Stamp tool. In the Options bar, change the Effect Mode to Lighten, set Opacity to 33% and choose Sample: All Layers.

03 Bright eyes
Hold Alt and click on the cheek below the eyes to select a source, then paint over the dark areas beneath the eyes to lighten them and make them look fresh.

Key tools for smoothing out skin: Clear skin with the Spot Healing Brush

We’ve reduced the background Opacity to show how spot healing on a new layer works. The marks highlight each Healing Brush stroke.

The Spot Healing Brush tool is perfect for removing spots, blemishes, stray hairs and lines. It’s almost as if Adobe designed this tool specifically for working on skin.To use it, just dab with a brush that’s slightly larger than the problem area, then watch it disappear.

The Content-Aware feature in CS5 and CS6 has made the tool even more intelligent. Now you can paint over edge areas and it pinpoints and fixes with incredible accuracy.

Key tools for smoothing out skin: Blur to smooth skin

The Gaussian Blur filter is great at smoothing large areas of skin. Hit Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate your background layer then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Choose a pixel value that blurs the skin just a little, then hit OK.

We want to hide the blur over the detail areas, so hold down Alt and click on the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers Panel to add a full mask, then hit B and paint over the skin with a soft-edged, white coloured brush.

After adding blur, use a Layer Mask to bring back detail in the eyes, lips and so on. To enter mask view, Alt-Click on the mask thumbnail.

Smooth skin using the Photoshop High Pass filter

One excellent photo retouching technique to smooth skin and create realistic final results makes use of the High Pass filter. This filter is often used for sharpening, but if you duplicate the layer and alter the Blend Mode you’ll find that you get the opposite effect. Final Destination This gives a silky finish and preserves skin texture for a great final result.

01 Duplicate
Press Cmd/Ctrl+J to duplicate your layer. Name duplicate layer ‘High Pass’.

02 Set Blend Mode
Change the Blend Mode of this duplicated layer to Overlay.

03 Invert
Press Cmd/Ctrl+I to invert the layer and give yourself a different perspective.

04 Set pixels
Go to Filter>Other>High Pass and enter a value of exactly 10px.

05 Set Blur radius
To get the right sized brush, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and set radius to 3px.

06 Add full mask
Hold Alt and click the Add Layer Mask icon in the Layers Panel for a full mask.

07 Blur skin
Hit B for your Brush tool then paint over skin with a white, soft-edged brush.

08 Lower Opacity
If you feel the blurring is too strong, lower the Opacity in the Layers Panel.

 More

Photograph retouching services

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More: www.StudioImpres.com

Photo editing software for photographers-the best tool for photographers

Photo editing service for photographers is really a useful tool for photographers as it helps them edit a photo to suit the occasion and other settings. There are thousands of photo editing software available in the internet that can convert even a dull and lifeless photo into the most colorful and lively one. Such is the magic of a photo editing software. Photo editing service for photographers helps photographers in the following ways-

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Retouching Eyes Professionally – Photoshop CS6

Retouching Eyes Professionally – Photoshop CS6

When retouching portrait photography my go-to starting point is checking the eyes and retouching what is needed. On almost every image, the eyes are the focal point, the point of the image, which if you get them right, make your entire photograph look much more “professional”-whatever that means. I’m interested in making it look better, if it does that, I’m in. Let’s jump in and take a look at retouching eyes.

Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A87ebhA9IeY

1. Light In The Eyes

That old cliche “Get it right in the camera” is a good rule to follow in general. When it comes to eyes, having a good starting image makes all the difference in the world. The key is to have the eyes well exposed and if there is a catch light, that’s even better. NOTE: The catch light does not have to be a light that you have set up, oftentimes when shooting natural light images, the entire sky will become this big, beautiful catch light across the top of the eye.

2. Blemishes On The Eye

I lead off by getting rid of red lines, and any other blemishes in the whites of the eyes. Create a new layer and grab the Clone Stamp tool (S) and set this tool to an opacity of 50%. Next go ahead and sample somewhere on the whites of the eye and, with a series of short strokes, begin painting over the blemishes on the eyes.

3. Add Light

Go Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Curves and hit “OK” then set this Adjustment Layer to the Blend Mode of “Screen”. Grab your Brush tool (B) and set the brush opacity to 10% and choose a small, soft-edged brush. Go Image>Adjustments>Invert to flip the mask color from white to black. We can now use our brush to slowly and carefully paint some light into the eye. I typically add light to the bottom of the iris, brighten up the catch light, and add some light to the whites of the eye JUST outside of the iris. Check out where I point with the arrows in the screenshot below.

4. Add Darkness

To increase the contrast of our eyeball here, we want to darken certain areas of the eye as well. Add another Curves Adjustment Layer like we did a moment ago but set this layer to the Blend Mode “Multiply and Invert the layer mask as we did in the last step. Use the same brush tool to darken the very center of the pupil and trace a small dark line around the very edge of where the iris meets the whites of the eyes also darken the “edges” of the actual eyeball to make these eyeballs look a tiny bit more 3D. You can also add a little darkness to the eyelashes to make them pop a little if you like as well. Check out my screenshot to see where I darkened.

5. Vibrance

Add a new Vibrance Adjustment Layer and pull a little vibrance out of the image (I’m going with -15). Invert this mask and paint white over the eyes. NOTE: Make sure you’ve set your brush back to 100% opacity for this to work.

6. Add Catchlight to Eyes

Sometimes we want to really accentuate that catch light. To do this we need to create a new catchlight and use it to boost up the sparkle in the eyes. TIP: Be very careful when doing this, you can really make your image look plastic and/or fake if you make the catch light to bold or bright. Create a new layer and grab the Elliptical Marquee Tool (M) and drag out a small ellipse on our layer.

7. Make the Catchlight Work

Fill this selection with white. Hit Cmd/Ctrl + J to duplicate this layer and drag it over to the other eye in the same position on the eye. Keeping out catchlights in the same spot on both eyes will help this look more realistic.

8. Blending to Finish

Set both of these new catchlight layers to the Blend Mode of “Soft Light” and reduce the opacity until it looks good. With these eyes, an opacity of 50% looks great. I also like to add a very subtle blur to the catchlights. I’ve added a 1.5px Gaussian blur to these catchlights to help them blend even more. TIP: Depending on how much “edge” you want to see on the catchlights or the strength, simply adjust the Gaussian blur and opacity for many different possible results.

'We have a moral obligation to ban the airbrush': Debenhams vows not to retouch model shots... and calls on others to follow suit

'We have a moral obligation to ban the airbrush': Debenhams vows not to retouch model shots... and calls on others to follow suit

The airbrush backlash is now well underway as Debenhams announces a ban on all retouched lingerie model shots.

The high-street department store puts and end to such images as they 'want to help customers feel confident about their figures without bombarding them with unattainable body images'.

The use of some digital photography techniques to create unrealistic body shapes and flawless skin can make men and women feel more insecure about their natural looks and size. 

Recent research shows that half of schoolgirls as young as 12 are unhappy with their weight and some are skipping meals in an effort to slim, 'due to exposure to airbrushed images'.

Millions of pounds a year are spent by organisations retouching perfectly good images

A lingerie shot before and after retouching: Debenhams will no longer whiten teeth, slim limbs or boost breasts

A further 58 per cent of girls aged 14 or 15 said they wanted to lose weight, according to the study by the Schools Health Education Unit.

Debenhams now calls on its rivals to ban airbrushed images too. 

'We want other retailers to follow suit and encourage positive body-image through minimal retouching rather than bombarding them with unattainable body images,' said a spokesperson.

 

'As well as being a positive from a moral point of view, it ticks the economic boxes as well. 

'Millions of pounds a year are spent by organisations retouching perfectly good images,' says Sharon Webb, Head of Lingerie buying and design for Debenhams.

'As a rule we only airbrush minor things like pigmentation or stray hair and rely on the natural beauty of models to make our product look great.'

The before and after images show an example of just how much the image could have been altered, including all of the following

•    Face and neck slimmed

•    Under-eyes smoothed and lightened 

•    Teeth whitened

•    Eyes whitened

•    Waist pulled in 

•    Arms slimmed

•    Tidy hands

•    Underarms tidied 

•    Legs made thinner 

•    Stray hairs tidied 

•    Skin tone changed, smoothed and brightened

•    Cleavage enhanced

Debenhams previously ran trials with size 16 mannequins in windows and has worked with disabled models and paralympians and this move furthers the store's commitment to promoting positive body image and inclusivity.

The retailer's campaign is 'all about making women feel fabulous about themselves rather than crushing their self-esteem by using false comparisons'.

Caryn Franklin, fashion commentator and co-founder of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk, says: 'Fashion and beauty imagery that is honest, is absolutely crucial for all women to see. Retailers have the power to take a stance on digital manipulation, so, I'm delighted that Debenhams has taken the lead here and customer feedback will no doubt validate this important step.'

'Debenhams previously ran trials with size 16 mannequins in windows and has worked with disabled models and paralympians, this move furthers the store's commitment to promoting positive body image and inclusivity'

'Airbrushing and other trickery are not necessary in order for women to look beautiful,' says lingerie designer, Aliza Reger.

'Hopefully this act will demonstrate that products such as lingerie modelled by real women who have not been retouched can sell just as well as products advertised with extensive airbrushing, which has become the norm.  

'Men and women can feel good about themselves knowing that beauty is not about achieving the unachievable.'

Debenhams' move comes just weeks after a row between Beyonce and H&M as claims surfaced the singer was furious to discover the store had Photoshopped images of her for its swimwear campaign. Originals showing off her real curves were then used around the world.

The chief executive of H&M admitted the company had a huge responsibility to portray a healthy body image to customers, reported the Telegraph.

In 2011 Britney Spears let airbrushed images from a Candie's shoot to be released along with the originals

Karl-John Persson said: 'I don't think we've always been good. Some of the models we've had have been too skinny.'

Rosi Prescott, Chief Executive, Central YMCA commented on Debenhams' announcement.

'Digital manipulation contributes to the unattainable body ideal portrayed in the majority of media and advertising.  

'Millions of young people want to look like the pictures of models they see everywhere and the fact that 95 per cent can't makes them feel bad about themselves,' he said.

Other advertisers regularly use digital techniques to slim waists, lengthen legs, perfect teeth, and even change eye colour and skin tone.

'We've been showing natural beauty for years and will continue to present women in a natural and positive way,' says Webb.