Basic Skin Retouching

Alright, so we all know that no matter how much make up they put on, celebrities (and normal people) usually still have flaws. So how do you get that beautiful, perfect-skinned photo, the one where the subject just shines in radiant beauty. That, my friend, is what I hope to help you with.

I'm going to start out with this photo from Disney's Oceans premiere: click here. Now, as you can see, while Nick looks good, he could definitely look better. He's got some lines on his face, his eyebrows are growing a bit close, and he just doesn't shine like he should. (Click here to see what I'm talking about.) We're gonna fix that.

Step 1 - Removing Blemishes

Alright, so the first thing we're going to do is remove any blemishes on the face. Fortunately, Nick doesn't have any real problematic pimples, just some freckes to get rid of. However, we are going to fix his eyebrows while we're on this step.

To do all of this, we're going to use the clone tool. The clone tool simply copies a selected part of the picture and places it over another.

For blemishes/freckles, select a soft-edged brush at about 17-21 pixels. Zoom into the photo, right near the blemish you want do do away with. (Screenshot.) Now, using the clone tool, hold ALT and click on a clear part of skin near the blemish. Make sure your opacity is set to 100%, then simply click on the blemish. If done correctly, the blemish should be completely covered. Repeat this process for any blemishes and/or freckles you want to remove.

Click to see my now freckle-free Nick

Now, for eyebrows, select a harder brush. This will avoid any awkward-looking fuzziness around the eyebrows, making the picture look odd. Using the same steps as above, zoom in and hold ALT and click on a clean part of skin near the eyebrow. Then simply click on where you want his eyebrows thinned.

Click to see my freckle-free, less-unibrowed Nick.

Evening/Smoothing Skintone

Alright, so as you can see, where Nick's eyebrows were done looks a little peculiar, and his whole skin tone could use a little evening out. To fix this, we'll first use Surface Blur.

Go to Filter >> Blur >> Surface Blur, and adjust the settings to match the picture. It will give you a preview box, where you should pay close attention to the hair. If the hair looks fake, or painted, then your settings are off, and you should adjust the radius and threshold as needed to make the hair look real. Here are my settings for Nick. As you can see, his skin as considerably evened out, while his hair still looks quite normal.

Surface blur doesn't fix everything, however. If you zoom in on your picture, you'll see spots where there are rough pixel lines along his skin. To fix this, use the blur tool. Pick a large, soft-edged brush, make sure the opacity is set to 100%, and begin blurring out the rough edges. BE CAREFUL not to get the eyes, eyebrows, hair, or clothing, and avoid facial lines (from smiling), or shadows, as blurring these will make them look odd. (Screenshot.)

Once you're done blurring, the skin tone should look considerably more even, and much more smooth. Click here to see my Nick.

Final Adjustments

Now, there are just a few final adjustments to be made before the photo is complete. Depending on the picture, and how much you want done to it, you may or may not want to continue with these steps.

The first thing is to bring out his eyes. This can be done using the burn tool. Simply select a soft-edged brush, preferably a small one, and click the outer and inner edges of the eyes. This will darken them and bring them out a bit more. (Screenshot.)

Next, add a little bit of blush to their cheeks. To do this, select the paint brush and a large, soft-edged brush. Create a new layer, set it to Soft Light, and place two large red blotches on the subject's cheeks. Adjust the settings as need be to get the desired amount of redness, erasing any parts that go over the eyes and/or nose. (Screenshot .)

Finally, to make the subject glow, duplicate the bottom layer and set it to Soft Light. Adjust the settings to get the desired amount of glowyness. (Screenshot.)

The Final Product

Now you're finished! Sit back and marvel at the amazing changes you've made upon this photo. Finding it hard to see the end result? Compare it to the original! Here's mine: