{"id":4536,"date":"2010-08-24T04:55:53","date_gmt":"2010-08-24T08:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/?p=4536"},"modified":"2025-02-15T00:17:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-15T04:17:24","slug":"photoshop-tips-retouching-portraits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photoshop-tips-retouching-portraits\/","title":{"rendered":"Photoshop tips &#8211; retouching for portraits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/models\/oktavia\/D7T_2934.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"799\" \/><\/p>\n<h1>Photoshop Tips &#8211; retouching for portraits<\/h1>\n<p>When retouching portrait photographs, I have a certain look that I (currently) like &#8211; a slightly &#8216;polished&#8217; look, but still natural. Definitely not &#8216;plastic&#8217;. \u00a0With a few steps in Photoshop, and a few steps that I may or may not add, I can easily get to the styling in post-processing that I want. \u00a0Some of the steps are specific, but others are added depending on taste or &#8216;feel&#8217;. \u00a0Some of the steps involve Photoshop plug-ins which are essential for me &#8230;<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The photo above is of Oktavia, <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/sequence-posing-model\/\">taken during part of this photo session<\/a>. Instead of off-camera flash in a softbox, I used bounce flash for clean open light on her. The out of focus background is a piece of artwork &#8211; a pointillist Mickey Mouse. I thought it might be a cute idea to place her in front of it, and have the ears barely discernible. Mickey&#8217;s face then creates a kind of halo around her. There is some ambient light coming in from camera-right.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Retouching layer<\/h2>\n<p><div class='two_third'>\n\t\t\t\t\tThe first step is creating a JPG created from the RAW file that has correct exposure, decent contrast, and pleasant white balance.<\/p>\n<p>Pulling the JPG into Photoshop, the actual first step is to create a duplicate layer. This initial duplicate layer is the one that I retouch any skin blemishes on. I use the Clone and Healing Brush in Photoshop for this. (The person who designed the Healing Brush should be nominated for a Nobel Prize.)<\/p>\n<p>When I am done retouching the image on this layer, I create a duplicate layer of it.\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='one_third last'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/photoshop\/portraits\/oktavia-retouch-layer.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"377\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='clear'><\/div><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the next step, I used to use a plug-in called <strong>Shine-Off<\/strong> to remove or reduce shiny skin or hot spots on the skin. That plug-in appears to be gone.<\/p>\n<p>Instead now, I use this easy Photoshop method. Even better, is that this method allows you a lot more control and nuanced flexibility than the plug-in did.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How To EASILY Remove Face Shine In Photoshop (Fix Oily Skin)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Km5OyC5DPM4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Imagenomic Portraiture<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div class='one_third'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/123\/portraiture.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"344\" border=\"0\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p><div class='one_third'>\n\t\t\t\t\tOn the duplicate layer of the Shine Off edit, I run <strong>Portraiture<\/strong>. This too is one of those plug-ins that made a huge difference in my workflow for portrait photography. The Portraiture plug-in renders skin smoothly. Too many photographers run Portraiture aggressively though, giving that plastic doll look to skin. Not good.<\/p>\n<p>I do run it at 100% on the defaults, but we&#8217;ll change the opacity later on &#8230; and still add a twist to the proceedings.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;ll keep it at 100% for now, and create a duplicate layer again of the Portraiture layer.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='one_third last'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/photoshop\/portraits\/oktavia-portraiture.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"372\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='clear'><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Topaz Adjust &#8211; Detailed<\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><div class='one_third'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/photoshop\/portraits\/oktavia-topaz-detailed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"271\" height=\"432\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='two_third last'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now here&#8217;s the twist. The previous layer was over-smoothed, but with this layer, we over-enhance the local contrast by running the &#8216;Detailed&#8217; action in <a href=\"https:\/\/topazlabs.com\/ref\/188\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Topaz Adjust<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The photograph will look quite heinous at this point, but we&#8217;re going to use it as a &#8216;Soft Light&#8217; layer, and then pull the opacity down to 10% or 20% or somewhere around there. It depends on taste.<\/p>\n<p>This just punches up the contrast and saturation a bit. This step in a way returns some of the nuances we might have lost with the Portraiture step. The photograph should look pretty good right now.<\/p>\n<p>Now we pull the opacity of the previous layer (Portraiture) down to taste. I usually settle for around 50% but you can see what you like. Perhaps more, perhaps less.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='clear'><\/div><\/p>\n<div id=\"divider1\"><\/div>\n<h2>Further adjustments<\/h2>\n<div>\n<p><div class='two_third'>\n\t\t\t\t\tFrom here on, I might or might not do some further editing on the photograph. It varies, depending on what I want to achieve, and how much more time I want to invest in a single image.<\/p>\n<p>For this photograph, I removed a blue-ish tint I saw around her eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Then as a final step, I added a black-and-white version of the photograph as another layer, and blended it as an Overlay layer at reduced opacity. It changes the contrast in a way that I like. However, I brought back some of the detail in the darker areas of her hair, by brushing it in with the layer mask.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='one_third last'>\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/photoshop\/portraits\/oktavia-bw-overlay.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"272\" height=\"342\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div><div class='clear'><\/div><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"divider1\"><\/div>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<p>This is obviously not something you&#8217;d do in a high-volume workflow, but it does work well with individual portrait images. And of course, all this is a matter of personal taste. I leave steps out, and change opacities as I please. It&#8217;s all wide open to interpretation.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the <a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/images\/photoshop\/portraits\/oktavia-comparisons.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">comparison between the first retouching step, and the final image<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Related articles<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/basic-photo-retouching\/\">Basic photo retouching<\/a><\/li>\n<li>More articles about\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/category\/digital-imaging\/\">digital imaging<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Photoshop Tips &#8211; retouching for portraits When retouching portrait photographs, I have a certain look that I (currently) like &#8211; a slightly &#8216;polished&#8217; look, but still natural. Definitely not &#8216;plastic&#8217;. \u00a0With a few steps in Photoshop, and a few steps that I may or may not add, I can easily get to the styling in&nbsp;<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/photoshop-tips-retouching-portraits\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">Read more inside&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,32,33,1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[9118,1978,1973,11095,1975,2046,1985,3141,2561,1995,1554,2138,2000,1979,8769],"class_list":{"0":"post-4536","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-digital-imaging","8":"category-flash-photography","9":"category-photoshop","10":"category-portraits","11":"category-uncategorized","12":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4536"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52240,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4536\/revisions\/52240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4536"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/neilvn.com\/tangents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=4536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}