Skin retouching is a painful topic. The models we face do not all have perfect skin, so skin smoothing is an issue we all have to deal with. But as soon as we touch on skin retouching, we are reminded of many complex terms: Gaussian blur, masks, transparency — it's too complicated. These complex Photoshop features and plugins represent a technical barrier for experts.
Effect Comparison
Chongchong's tutorial has two characteristics:
1. Ensure you can finish reading within three minutes (anything over three minutes would be too painful);
2. Ensure you can complete the operation within one minute.
This is the preface; let's begin now. We select a photo of a young lady; this photo appeared in the following post. Alright, our first step is to use Photoshop to open the photo, then duplicate a layer. The shortcut for duplication is CTRL+J.
For the duplicated layer, select the blending mode as "Screen", then adjust the transparency next to it. This process actually brightens the photo. After completion, merge the layers. The shortcut key for merging layers is CTRL+E.
Now, step three.
Enter Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, then choose an appropriate parameter. The experience here is that if the model has more freckles, choose 7-10; if the model already has nice skin, choose 3-4; otherwise, experiment more.
Step four
This is the crucial step. On the right-hand history record, right-click on the previous step, then select "New Snapshot", and confirm.
At this point, I'll pause briefly. The following content is discussion and does not count towards the three minutes.
Do we know why most tutorials involve Gaussian blur and masks? Or rather, what is the principle behind their skin smoothing?
It's like this. The simplest way is actually to duplicate a layer, then apply Gaussian blur to this layer, while setting this layer to "Screen" blending mode. This is equivalent to overlaying a blurred image on top of the original image. The advantage of doing this is simplicity and speed, but the downside is that the eyes also get blurred.
Thus, masks come into play. A mask is essentially a local layer, and the shape of this layer is determined by you. So everyone creates a mask, where the area of the mask corresponds to the defective parts of the skin, then only overlays the Gaussian blurred layer on this part.
What we are about to do next is precisely a very smart and concise alternative method.
Step five
This step involves the least work. Scroll up the history record, find the snapshot from earlier, then click on it on the left. Those familiar with Photoshop will understand that we are actually setting the Gaussian blurred layer as the target layer for the "History Brush".
Step six
Scroll down the history record again, drag the last record with your mouse to restore it to the previous step. Sorry, many people didn't understand this step, which was due to my lack of clarity. Actually, there's a simpler way: just click the previous step "Merge Down" with your mouse, and that's it. This returns the photo to its previous state.
Step seven
This is the only step requiring actual work. In the left toolbar, select the "History Brush Tool", then choose an appropriate size above, and set the transparency below 50%.
Then start retouching the skin on the screen. Have the viewers understood yet? What we're actually doing is partially restoring the Gaussian blurred layer on this photo. Here, "partial" refers to the part you brush, which is exactly the range selected by the mask; and "to a degree" refers to the transparency we chose, which is also what needs to be set in the mask. The difference is that this method is more enjoyable, faster, and more convenient than using a mask. KAO, it feels like some kind of advertisement.
After finishing the skin retouching, here's a free bonus tutorial. After skin retouching, the photo can be sharpened. Set the image to LAB mode.
Then select the Lightness - Channel (originally mistakenly written as Layer, now corrected, thanks to Yun Xiao for pointing it out). Operate in Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask
Then set the image back to RGB mode, and the task is complete.
Final effect comparison
Article address: 【Eden Network】http://www.edenw.com/tech/app/pic/2010-07-14/4685.html