Photoshop Tutorial: Just say NO to blur!
Retouching a
Beauty Portrait
Showing a few simple techniques for retouching a beauty portrait in Adobe Photoshop.
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Photoshop & Lightroom
© 2004 - 2012 Jake Garn
39 Comments
08 April 09 at 5:45pm
1
Retouching you 'cuz you're retouching meeeeeeeee!
08 April 09 at 10:15pm
2
Wonderful tutorial... I'm a believer in retaining skin texture too. Although I must admit that I've been known for getting lazy and using the blur tool on the occasion LOL. Keep up the great tutorials! ... look forward to seeing more posts on your new blog. Cheers.
08 April 09 at 10:41pm
3
Wow. The hair tips just changed my life forever. And yes, it's a clavicle (collarbone = clavicle... I'm quite sure because Ben broke his is multiple places).
09 April 09 at 1:13am
4
Jake you rock! I'm def going to try this technique on my next portrait photoshoot. Thank you so much
09 April 09 at 9:28am
5
wow the hair thing was great, i would have pushed the hair in to get rid of strays but i like your method so much better.
09 April 09 at 2:16pm
6
Love the detailed info, not just on photoshop, but even the lighting you use during the shoot. The timeline comments in video w/ keyboard shortcuts and other info is invaluable to a photoshop retouching newbie like myself. Thanks so much for sharing the knowledge.
11 April 09 at 5:27am
7
This tutorials are awesome, cant wait for next tuts:D
11 April 09 at 6:41pm
8
Jake, I am an avid follower of your blog and site. I love your work and I am just starting out! Thanks for the help and I am looking forward to future classes of yours! Thanks again:) Jameson Quinn
13 April 09 at 8:31am
9
Hi Jake, I've been following your work for a while now from DA and your old blog... and I find myself constantly checking back for inspiration (and great stories!). Thanks for providing these detailed tutorials!
13 April 09 at 12:55pm
10
@Gallant, You're in luck, a brand new story is in the works! -Jake
18 April 09 at 9:31pm
11
Just a question, do you work like this normally or just for this example? A tip I learned is to work non destructively, what this means is that instead of working on your second layer, you start working with adjustment layers. You'll start using lots of layers but the benefit is that you get more control and for example if you want to have everything separated (dodge&burn, desaturation, healing tool), and you can play with the opacity of each separated layer in case if you don't like what you're doing, by this you can tone down whatever you like. The only drawback is that you have to make a bit more steps than just using the dodge & burn tool, or desaturating. For example if you want to dodge or burn you can use a solid color layer set to white or black in soft light (white for dodging or black for burning) you can also change from soft light to something else. Or you can use a curves adjustment layer set to luminosity. There are some drawbacks of this, for example the healing and clone tools work on new layers if you have the option (current and below) but the patch tool does not work (at least in cs3, and that sucks cause sometimes it helps allot).
18 April 09 at 9:52pm
12
Cuervo, Or you can create a new layer, fill it with 50% gray, set it to overlay and then using varying degrees of gray to d&b specific areas. Or set three separate curves or levels adjustment layers and target midtones, highlights, or shadows individually and then mask out the appropriate portions, or you could AEB three images and make a HDR image using ... ultimately there's a thousand ways to accomplish any one task in Photoshop, all with their pros and cons. The biggest con to the layer adjustment/overlay method is that you have to create three separate adjustment layers if you want to specifically target highlights, midtones or shadows and then switch back and forth between them. Simply using the dodge/burn tool allows you to do just that by pressing [shift+o] and the biggest drawback to this method is that it's destructive, which is easily rectified by duplicating the layer. Much like creating a print in the dark room, nothing wrong with doing a little hands on work to the print especially when you can dodge and burn all you want without fear of ever damaging the negative.
18 April 09 at 10:23pm
13
thanx for the reply, yeah I agree that there's different ways to do the same thing in photoshop. I commented because I started like the video you have, but decided that using more layers each for its own stuff would be better than doing everything in one copy. Exactly what you wrote on the benefit of getting only the highlights midtones or shadows is what I mean on the cons on using multiple layers for each, you would have to make one layer for each which might become a bit nagging. But you can always make actions for each.
19 April 09 at 9:16am
14
Very good turtorial. One that I will review several times. It would have been helpful if you called out what settings you were using on each tool. Was it just normal 100%, unless you said "highlight"
21 April 09 at 5:30am
15
Talk about an epiphany! I was blown away by your video. I'm an amateur photographer who has only learned blur...blur...blur. After watching your video I was actually too excited to sleep last night (sad, I know). Thank you so much for sharing your talents. I really appreciate it.
24 April 09 at 11:46am
16
Awesome tutorial, I loved the fact you used really simple tools - which is perfect because I'm just a wannabe Photoshop nerd. I look forward to watching more!
09 May 09 at 3:41am
17
I really really like your work, I follow it closely as of some time. This tutorial is really helpful, however i think she looks a tad....plastic in the end with all those skin highlights and the hair. Which works great if that's what you're aiming at. Keep up the great work!
27 May 09 at 2:39am
18
I love the amount of details you gave in your instructions through this tutorial. Great example. Looking forward to more from you. Regards, restoration
02 June 09 at 1:18am
19
Thanks for publishing this-- very well done!! I'll be playing around with this tonight : ) BTW, the clavicles are the "collarbones", the horizontal bones that extend from her sternum to bilateral shoulders. The spot you were burning above her sternum is called the anterior neck region, between the 2 sternocleidomastoid muscles that form the "V".
29 June 09 at 9:16pm
20
WOW thats Cool
17 August 09 at 10:18pm
21
Jake! ah, I cannot believe I haven't come to your blog so long ago! but, watching this video was so so wonderful, because it was wild to watch my most respected, personal favourite photographer (no, that was NOT "sucking up" as I realize it just sounded, I just literally meant that -- everyone has a personal favourite, right?) And, it was SO wonderful to see that there's another photographer who 'attacks' portraits in photoshop the same way I do. I've never really gone to tutorials, just used the basic tools because I felt that was all that was really necessary to MAKE a great portrait really pop. no gigantic fancy tricks and near manipulation just for a great portrait. now, of course my gallerie wouldn't hold a candle to yours. (ahem, perhaps a mildly decent camera, some lighting, models and an extra hand could help me out with a better final product, lol) but, i know you don't need those things either to be great. (they just help a bit) ;) but i lovelovelove seeing that someone else, my favourite photog, doesn't go crazyyy with photoshop just to make amazing img's. just sticks to the same tools and 'tricks' i, the very very amateur photog myself, use. thank you for doing this. it made me all the more impressed, respectful and admiring of you as a photographer and that translates to great person quite often as well :) thank you for great things like this!!
17 August 09 at 10:28pm
22
Oh! by the way, just reading other comments now. and obviously you know the collar bone is called the clavicle; but what i saw you "burning" when you were questioning the parts of body was more in the neck region. and, ha, i wouldn't blame you for not knowing the name of those muscles (the ones that protrude a little when you turn your neck and form like a triangular shape with the chin) ...ha, those are the Sternocleidomastoid muscles -- yeah, don't expect ANYONE to know that. and the "divot" or sunken in area of the neck like in the middle of the clavicle (collarbone), is often either called the "jugular notch" or the "sterno notch" since it's its shadows are formed by where the Sternocleidomastoid muscles end/meet. sorry, i know that has NOTHING to do with the photography. i was just thinking that as you were burning that area of the body and neck xD haha
18 September 09 at 6:37pm
23
Blogroll links aint that great :P but i am not the admin
19 November 09 at 7:52am
24
Wow great tutorial. I am ashamed to admit I did not know how to use the burn and dodge tools before this. My idea of retouching my pics was editing the brightness and contrast. :o
12 December 09 at 5:33pm
25
Thank you. Great post
14 December 09 at 11:14am
26
Thank you. Great post
14 September 10 at 10:27pm
27
This tutorial meant a lot to me because it’s the first time I’m beginning to actually LIKE Photoshop.
27 January 11 at 7:02pm
28
Jake - I try very hard to stay away from saying that "this technique" or "that medium" are "the one true" way. I love that people shoot film, that some people shoot digital and that Lightroom is useful to some and that only developer and fixer work for others. Use polaroids or the screen on the back of the camera. Fine. Just don't say I can or can't do my thing. I do have one piece of religion 'tho, and that is "skin blur is of Satan" Thank you for being a voice in the wilderness. I propose stoning as a way to end that evil, evil practice!
03 February 11 at 2:17pm
29
Amazing photoshop work. I couldn't hear sound though in the video. Was there any? Thanks
04 February 11 at 2:43am
30
Martin the sound works for me so the problem is something on your end most likely. :-/
25 February 11 at 2:04pm
31
Your techniques are good, but this is way too overdone is my opinion. She looks completely plastic and the hair is ridiculous.
25 February 11 at 2:57pm
32
Great thing about opinions is everyone is free to have them, at least in this country... actually, on my blog I can edit or delete opinions because it's my blog. I'm allowing this one to exist to tell you one thing. Try putting your opinions out to the world on your own blog/website/facebook and see if anyone cares to listen to you, that's a great way to find out if they matter... or if you don't care what other people think about your opinions that's fine, but just do the rest of us a favor and keep them to yourself because I could not care one bit less what some random person I've never met has to say about my images unless they actually say it in an intellectually useful way. Remember, you visited MY website, not the other way around. Cheers buddy! Jake
25 February 11 at 4:08pm
33
Excellent reply, Jake! I agree with you. People don't have to be assholes. But remember, by allowing that comment to remain you are backlinking to their website (increasing their google ranking)... Do they deserve it?
30 April 11 at 9:46pm
34
Great tutorial, thanks for sharing it. Loved following along as you worked. Amazing end result.
03 May 11 at 10:51pm
35
Thank you for sharing your work and techniques! It is amazing, and personally inspiring!
02 June 11 at 1:34pm
36
I love how everything was just done with your basic photoshop tools. Everyone is downloading other photographers actions and editing has gone a little cheap and fake. I'm so glad to see that you are a purist... at least with this photo anyway.
20 July 11 at 6:27pm
37
Simply amazed. I got a little confused when you "put the dimension" in her hair...which tool you were using....and if you still had the liquify filter on. I agree TOTALLY...I've used the "blur" tool in the past on the face and it gives them a very plastic look. I never thought about the different pore densities of the face. AMAZING and WONDERFUL to learn. I do use the burn/dodge, but it was great how you used it in a semi-circle around the bangs, where I have mainly used it to highlight strands. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!
02 August 11 at 3:11pm
38
I've been guilty of using the blur tool in the past, but I usually select the area with a feather selection set at about 30, copy it, paste it, gaussian blur it, then reduce the opacity of the layer so that some of the original skin texture shows through... I like the use of the liquify filter for the hair...also, never thought to dodge below the eye... Thanks for the information. PS, what is the shortcut for increasing and reducing the size of your brush in Photoshop? I've never been able to figure that out...
02 August 11 at 5:32pm
39
Keyboard shortcut for changing brush size is the bracket keys - just to the right of the letter 'p.' One of the absolute best keyboard shortcuts ever! :)