This Photoshop tutorial is written for experienced Photoshop users and will show you unique techniques for retouching photos. You’ll learn how to enhance backgrounds, dodge and burn, brighten eyes, and add hair shine while keeping a low count of layers. The techniques you learn from this tutorial can be used for other portrait photos.

Before and After

Retouching a Studio Portrait Photoshop Tutorial

Retouching the background

Here is the original image. As a photo it looks fine but it looks flat and boring. This Photoshop tutorial will show you techniques used to make the photo have a stronger impact. You can follow this tutorial with one of your own image or you can use the image below:

Creating the mask

The first step is to isolate the model from the background. I used the extract and color range tool to create this. First I used the extract tool (Filter > Extract) but it didn’t work very well for the hair.

I then use the color range tool (Select > Color Range) to select the areas that were hard to extract using the extract tool.

Now we have a mask in it’s own layer.

Adding a gradient to the background

With the mask created, I can add a gradient to the background. Adding a gradient to the background is a simple and effective way to enhance a boring background. Here is a preview of what the layers will look like in the end.

To create a gradient background, we’ll be adding a gradient fill layer using the mask that we just created. To do that, hold down the Ctrl key and click on the layer thumbnail of the layer “Mask”. It will load the selection of the layer. Choose Select > Inverse to inverse the selection. Then, choose Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient.

In the Gradient Fill tool, move the center of the gradient behind the head. You can do this by clicking and dragging on the document window.

To increase contrast, you can change the gradient so that it is like the image below.

Finally, adjust the opacity of the Gradient Fill layer. I set mine to 50% opacity.

Tone

Begin by creating a new layer for dodging and burning. Position the layer above the gradient fill adjustment layer. Then, change the blending mode to soft light.

Choose Edit > Fill and use the settings below.

The layer should now be filled with a 50% gray.

Add a layer mask using the shape from the Mask layer. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the layer thumbnail of the Mask layer . Then, click on the in the layers palette to add a layer mask.

Click back on the 50% gray layer thumbnail and use the dodge and burn tools. For the image below, I used the burn tool to darken the models right side of the face, hair, top, and her arms. Then, I use the dodge tool to brighten the other side of the models face.

Here is a before and after effect of the dodging and burning.

Eye Brightening

Brightening the eyes will have a dramatic effect. It can be easily done by using a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. Choose Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast to add a new Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer. Rename this layer to Brighten Eyes.

For now, set the brightness to 50 and contrast to 33.

Select the layer mask and choose Image > Adjustments > Invert. This will invert the layer mask from white to black.

Using the brush tool, paint the layer mask where the eyes are. You should see the eyes brighten as you paint. Then, go back into the Brightness/Contrast settings and readjust the settings.

Hair Shine

Finally, we’ll add a shine to the hair. Start by using the quick selection or magic wand tool to create a selection of the hair around the area where you want the shine to appear.

With the selection, choose Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient. Position the layer above the Brighten Eye layer. Change the blending mode of the Hair Shine layer to overlay. You should have a layer like the image below.

Go back into the Gradient Fill settings. Set the gradient to white to black and style to reflected. Checkmark the reverse option then click and drag on the document window and position the gradient where you want the hair shine to appear. Adjust the scale.

In the Gradient Fill window, click on the gradient to edit it. You should have a window like the image below. Create a gradient like the image below. To do this, click and drag the top left input slider to the middle of the gradient bar. Do the same with the bottom left input slider. Then, click on the individual input sliders and adjust the settings as shown in the image below.

We now have a hair shine but it does not match the color of the hair. We’ll add back a little of the hair color to the shine.

1. Click on the bottom left input slider.
2. Click on the color setting and a color picker window will appear.
3. Click on the hair to capture the color of the hair.
4. Move the color picker towards the top left until the hair color looks natural.
5. Click OK three times to exit out of the gradient settings.

We have added the hair shine but if you look closely, you can see some artifacts.

We can easily fix this by blurring the layer mask. Select the Hair Shine layer mask then choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Adjust the settings until the unclean edge fades.

If the hair shine is overlapping the skin, use the Minimum filter to hide it. Choose Filter > Other > Minimum and adjust the slider.

Here is the before and after effect of adding hair shine. You can add emphasis to the eyes by aligning the hair shine with the eyes.

Final Results

Final Preview

Original Stock

Step 1

Open up your selected photo and immediately create a new gradient map (image/adjustments/Gradient Map). Make sure the gradient map is set from black to white, then click OK.

Step 2

Duplicate the layer and then add some gaussian blur (filter/blur/gaussian blur). In the dialog box set the blur radius to 7px and press Ok. In the layers panel set the opacity of the new layer to 50% and then merge it with the background layer.

Step 3

Open up the curves dialog box (image/adjustments/curves) and set the RGB channel output and input levels to 87 and 139 respectively. Then Duplicate the layer, set the layer mode to Overlay and set the opacity to 75%. Finally merge the layers.

Step 4

Duplicate the background layer and again create another gradient map just like we did in Step 1. Set the opacity of the new layer to 75% then set the contrast of the layer to 15 (image/adjustments/brightness/contrast), and merge the 2 layers.

Step 5

Duplicate the layer and press Ctrl L to open up the levels dialog box. Inside the levels dialog box select the green channel and set the input levels to 7, 1.0 and 250. Then set the blue channels input levels to 5, 1.00 and 250 respectively and you’re done.

Quick and Effective Facial Photo Retouching

Author: Arik

Hey there! Well, I'm Arik and I have been designing for about 4 years now. I've worked my way up by reading a lot of tutorials and spending a lot of time using Photoshop. I hope that you will enjoy my contributions to psdtuts.com!

Sadly, I spent my money made from tutorials on 'Long Island Iced Tea cocktails' and therefore I am forced, yet again, to live in a box with a broadband connection and a computer. Therefore, I would like to thank Jean Scheijen for providing me with this beautiful free stock image. Free stock images, I love 'em!

Here's a before and after (just roll over the image to see the before):

Lastly, before we begin with the actual tutorial, I would like to show you my layer structure. For me, this setup works great. With this setup, I can navigate quickly through my layers and cut down on my work time. All of the layers will be discussed in the tutorial, so don't worry if the scheme confuses you at the moment.

Step 1

We begin by duplicating the original layer, and with a combination of the Clone Stamp (S) Tool and the Healing Brush (J) Tool, try to remove all spots and blotches that we can find. In essence, we smooth out the skin this way and prepare it for the brushing. It is very important to use a soft brush when working like this, so that the end result blends better with the surrounding skin. If an area is hard to tackle, use the Clone Stamp Tool first and then blend the treated area with the healing brush.

Step 2

Symmetry is naturally attractive to human beings, and there are certain 'lines' that run across the face that when these are symmetrical, the subject seems to be more attractive to the eye. So let's give our subject a little plastic surgery. Duplicate the layer, and using the Forward Warp Tool found in the liquefy gallery (Filter > Liquefy... or Shift+Ctrl+X), raise the area around the eyebrow just a little.

Step 3

Right now, we've come to the point where we can fiddle a bit with contrast, enhancing it further as we go. Let's use a modification of a well-known technique called the 'Angel face' technique...at least, that is what I always call it. Again, duplicate your layer and then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and give this layer about a 8-10px blur. After this we set this layer to 'Soft Light'. Since we do not want this effect to be visible everywhere, I added a Layer Mask and filled that with black, concealing the effect. Then I took a big white, soft, round brush set to around 30-50% Opacity and started brushing around the nose, cheeks, eyes, and hair to enhance their color. This effect can do miracles for blond hair since it can transform it from a dull yellow-ish color to a vibrant gold color.

Step 4

Now we're going to focus on the actual airbrushing. This is a delicate process that requires a certain amount of patience and experience. Depending on your wishes or your client's wishes you will have to decide how much airbrushing you want to apply. For instance, models in magazines and especially adult magazines are usually heavily airbrushed since they have to look 'perfect'. On the other hand there are cases where you might just want to tweak the face by removing a few wrinkles or smoothing out the skin in a few places. For this reason, when I do the airbrushing, I generally do it over a few layers which gives me the option to switch layers on and off depending on how much texture I want to preserve in the end. On this image, I did the major airbrushing in two layers and merged them afterwards.

The trick is to use a low opacity (between 10 and 20 percent) soft brush. The color we pick comes from the image itself. When we pick the color, set the sample size of the Eyedropper Tool (I) to 51 by 51 pixels. If I remember correctly, this feature has only been available since CS2, so if you are using a version before that you will sample the color from a single pixel. Try to select an area where the skin is more or less smooth or set a flesh tone manually. Brush over an area multiple times and watch it become smoother.

The change is significant, especially around the nose area, and it is even more noticeable when the image is viewed on a much larger scale.

Step 5

After the airbrushing, let's tweak the lips and the eyes. The lips have been slightly saturated using the same technique as in step 4, just pick a color from the lips instead. Then make a selection around the eyes and use 'Layer via Copy' (Ctrl+J), which can be found under Layer > New > Layer via Copy, to copy the selected part onto a new layer. Make sure this layer is on top at the moment. On the new layer, use the Dodge Tool with the settings shown below to lighten the iris.

Step 6

This is the final step before we apply our adjustment layers and bring this piece to life. In this step, we're going to focus on the eyes a bit more, since these are very important in any portrait photograph.

1. Using a low opacity (15-20 percent) black brush, we enhance the make-up around the eyes. Don't worry if the change seems small, it will pop as soon as we add those adjustment layers.

2. With the same technique as used in step 4, get rid of those wrinkles around the eyes. Yes, we all have them or we are going to have them, and yes, we all seem to hate them.

3. Finally, let's desaturate the sclera (the white part of the eye). There are several ways to do this, but I believe that the easiest is simply to create a layer, select a white brush, and go around the white bit of the eye and set the mode of the layer to color. It's quick, easy and gets the job done nicely.

Step 7

Time for the grand finale. This is the part where we make our picture stand out using the adjustment layers shown below. The adjustment might seem tiny but they make that crucial difference:

The levels and curves layers add contrast to the image as a whole and enrich the colors.

The brightness/contrast adjustment layer makes the make-up around the eyes and the lips pop out. As you can see, there's a mask applied to the layer. It is entirely black (therefore hiding the effect) except for the area around the eyes and the lips.

The lip hue/saturation adjustment layer adds a vibrant pink color to the lips. Again a mask is applied to limit the effect strictly to the inner area of the lips.

And finally, another hue/saturation adjustment layer to slightly remove the warm shade from the face.

And well, did all of this make a difference? You decide:

Conclusion

Well there you go, a complete overhaul. Oh, and just in case there's this voice in your head saying 'Well, she looks too fake,' send the image around to some friends and ask if they think that to. When you actually see the process take place, the person seems to look fake afterwards because you know what is wrong, but when you show the image to someone who doesn't know it's a Photoshopped image, you will get a completely different response. Download the PSD to see the larger image and you will appreciate the work even more (available via Plus Membership).

Have fun!