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It’s day 24! In today’s episode, we continue our retouching work. Learn advanced techniques like using the new Remove Tool to fix blemishes and frequency separation to even out skin tone. Get amazing results without losing any texture, and even better, we’re including the frequency separation action for you to download for free!
Follow along with all 30 episodes as we explore the the magic of Photoshop together!
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Image Source
- Eric Soubeyrand
Images sourced from Unsplash.
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AFTER
BEFORE
Flawless Skin Starts Here
One of the most powerful retouching techniques is Frequency Separation. It involves separating the texture of an image from the color and tone. This allows you to edit each independently, so there’s no risk of damaging one while you edit the other. Today we’ll show you exactly how to do this, and we’ll even cover Aaron’s favorite workflow.
Getting Started
Start by addressing individual imperfections on the skin, such as small scars, blemishes, or scrapes.
1. Select the Spot Healing Brush tool (Keyboard Shortcut “J”) and, in the options bar, ensure the “Create a new layer” option is checked. This keeps your edits non-destructive. Also, make sure “Remove after each stroke” is unchecked.
2. Use the tool to paint over each blemish. When you’ve highlighted all the areas you want to remove, either hit Enter or click the checkbox in the options bar to apply the changes. This method lets you handle fine details before moving to broader corrections.
Apply Frequency Separation
For evening out overall skin tone, you’ll use the Frequency Separation action.
3. First, check your image mode by going to Image > Mode to see if it’s 8-bit (for JPEGs) or 16-bit (for raw files), and then load the correct action from your Actions panel (Window > Actions).
4. With the action loaded, select the appropriate version (8-bit or 16-bit) and hit the Play button. A dialog box will appear, asking you to blur the skin texture.
5. Adjust the radius until you can’t see the skin’s fine details, then click OK to let the action create the necessary layers.
Blend Skin Tones
Once the action has run, you’ll have two main layers: one for texture and one for color.
6. Create a new blank layer in between these two.
7. Select the Brush tool (Keyboard Shortcut “B”), and lower your flow to about 10% (for pressure-sensitive tablets) or 1-3% (for a mouse or trackpad).
8. Hold Alt/Option to sample a smooth skin tone, then gently paint over uneven areas to blend the colors. The texture from the layer above will remain intact, preventing a blurry or artificial look.
9. You can adjust the layer’s opacity or use the Eraser tool (Keyboard Shortcut “E”) to make any corrections.
That’s a wrap on today’s episode. In tomorrow’s tutorial, we’ll cover how to match color so you can ensure your images have a cohesive and professional look.
