Practical Photoshop April 2023

“Welcome to issue 145 of Practical Photoshop! If you enjoy the issue, why not subscribe and get a whole year for just $19.99?” We could all use a little polish from time to time, and this is what Photoshop is most famous for. This issue we explain a host of powerful yet simple retouching tricks that let you ‘Photoshop’ your subjects to perfection. Elsewhere, discover the new backdrop generator and learn about color correction gels. . www.digitalcameraworld.com DOWNLOAD THE PROJECT FILES To download this issue's files, type the following link into your web browser on your PC or Mac: https://bit.ly/PHO_145 FIND US HERE… http://bit.ly/practweet http://bit.ly/pracface Also available on: http://bit.ly/pp_pocketmags http://bit.ly/pp_app_store http://bit.ly/zinio_pp…

The Skin Smoothing Neural Filter employs AI to smooth skin automatically. It can detect faces and apply a subtle smoothing effect to the skin. While Skin Smoothing is not perfect, it is capable of producing natural-looking results if you can take control… 01 OPEN THE SKIN SMOOTHING FILTER Open your portrait image in Photoshop, then go to Filters > Neural Filters. Toggle on the Skin Smoothing Filter. You can experiment with the Blur and Smoothness Filters too, although these typically tend to have minimal impact on the overall effect. Once done, set Output to New Layer and click OK. 02 REVEAL WITH A MASK Toggle the layer visibility off and on, and you’ll see that the Skin Smoothing effect usually smudges out details in the face. So hold Alt and click the Add Layer…

Frequency Separation is considered by many to be the most controlled method for skin retouching, and it’s one favored by pro retouchers. We’ve included a set of Actions with this issue’s project files that speed up the process for you. Here’s how to use them, then carry out the frequency separation technique… 01 LOAD THE ACTIONS Drag the supplied retouching .atn file into Photoshop to load in the retouching Actions. You’ll find a Frequency Separation Action within the set. Play the Action. When it comes to choosing a blur amount, set a value that only just blurs the fine details of the image. 02 CLONE TO SMOOTH THE SKIN The Frequency Separation Action creates two layers: one called Texture, the other Colour. Highlight the Colour layer and grab the Clone Tool. Set Sample to…

Blemish removal is easily done using the Spot Healing Brush, which simply allows you to paint over small spots and imperfections to remove them. It works best for removing small marks from otherwise clean areas, which makes it ideal for retouching spots and pimples from skin. Grab the tool from the Tools Panel, then check the Sample All Layers in the tool options at the top. Make a new layer (so that you don’t make permanent changes to your original image), then zoom in close and paint to remove small imperfections. Use the [ and ] keys to resize the brush tip as you paint.…

So much of portrait retouching is about isolating parts of the face in order to make targeted edits. The Mask command in Camera Raw and Lightroom helps you out enormously in this regard. It lets you automatically create masks for areas of the face like eyes, lips, eyebrows, skin and more… 01 USE PEOPLE MASKING Open the image into Camera Raw, click the circular Mask icon on the right to open the Mask Panel, and go to the People section. Hover over each facial feature to see an automatic mask generated by the software. Check one or several, then click Create to make a mask. 02 ADJUST THE AREA Once the mask is made, you can use the sliders on the right to alter the area in any way you choose. An iris, for…

If you’re working on a portrait in Camera Raw or Lightroom, setting negative Texture can be very useful for a quick skin smoothing effect. Texture is ideal because it leaves very fine detail alone while smoothing out the slightly less fine detail. As such, it allows you to add a skin smoothing effect without damaging the textures and pores that are vital to a natural-looking result. Try using the Brush Tool to paint over skin, then drop the Texture value. Try combining negative Texture with the AI portrait masking technique from the previous tip to isolate the face skin.…