Learning Photoshop Portrait Retouching

Learn how to use Adobe Photoshop to bring out the best in your portraits by retouching faces, correcting distortion, removing distractions, cleaning up the background, and more.

Introduction

• Welcome
• Challenges
• Resources
• Exercise files

1. Clean Up the Background

• Removing distractions with the Spot Healing Brush
• Cloning away problems on a new layer
• Harnessing the magic of Content-Aware Fill
• Removing a lamppost and Content-Aware Crop
• Painting in a solid color into the background
• Improving the color and brightness of the background
• Fixing a backdrop with the Patch tool
• Challenge: Removing distractions
• Solution: Removing distractions

2. Remove and Improve

• Logo removal with the Patch tool
• Advanced Content-Aware Fill improvements
• Using Patch, Clone, and Heal for the best results
• Removing jewelry
• Removing lint
• Challenge: Removing a logo
• Solution: Removing a logo

3. Shape, Sculpt, and Modify

• Thinning the body
• Sculpting with Liquify as a smart filter
• Fixing clothing and hair
• Removing unflattering distortion
• Fixing the ears
• Changing the face with Face-Aware Liquify
• Challenge: Removing distractions
• Solution: Removing distractions

4. Improve Skin

• Simple skin clean up
• Removing acne and fixing discoloration
• Fixing sunburned skin
• Improving skin with Camera Raw and Photoshop
• Using the Healing Brush for consistent results
• Fixing shiny skin with Curves and masking
• Fixing details and brightness
• Challenge: Improving skin
• Solution: Improving skin

5. Remove Shadows and Wrinkles

• Quick work with the Patch tool
• Natural looking wrinkle reduction
• Removing difficult shadows around the eyes
• Wrinkle reduction 101
• Removing wrinkles with blending modes
• Learning how to use the Dodge tool
• Expert wrinkle removal with the Dodge tool
• Challenge: Shadow removal
• Solution: Shadow removal

6. Improve Eyes

• Making eyes sparkle
• Brightening and coloring the eyes
• Creating vivid eye color
• Opening a closed eye
• Fixing eye details
• Improving the whites of the eyes
• Fixing a common issue with glasses
• Challenge: Adding sparkle and changing color
• Solution: Adding sparkle and changing color

7. Whiten Teeth and Change Makeup

• Whitening teeth
• Fixing a discolored tooth
• Changing makeup color on the lips
• Challenge: Teeth whitening
• Solution: Teeth whitening

8. Hair

• Changing hair color
• Hiding roots
• Removing stray hairs
• Removing stray hairs on a complex background
• Using select and mask to fix hair
• Challenge: Fixing stray hairs and improving color
• Solution: Fixing stray hairs and improving color

9. Using Multiple Frames

• What to do when the subject blinks
• Combining the best from two frames
• Challenge: Improving a group portrait
• Solution: Improving a group portrait

10. Bonus Tips and Advanced Challenges

• Retouching a black and white portrait
• Removing and changing the background
• Applying creative effects to a portrait
• Challenge: Advanced background clean up
• Solution: Advanced background clean up
• Improving skin mini project
• Challenge: Improving skin
• Solution: Improving skin, part 1
• Solution: Advanced skin smoothing, part 2

Conclusion

• Next steps