Before / After

In this tutorial, you will discover some of the retouching methods used by professional fashion photographers to create beautiful portraits. You will learn how to transform your Wacom pen into a make-up artist's brushes and a plastic surgeon's scalpel to achieve the look you want for your photograph.

Original photo

Retouched photo

Close Up

Original photo

Retouched photo

Preparation

Retouching a human subject is similar to painting a portrait. You need to visualize your final image, your goal. Without this final image to work towards, You could be moving your pen, making changes without purpose, distorting your image instead of improving it. And, if you make too many adjustments, you risk altering the photo so much it ends up looking like a digital painting.

Examine the original photograph and think about how you want to sculpt the subject to improve the photograph. Then use your pen to outline the improvements you want make and the necessary steps. Think about how the photograph should be changed while simultaneously preserving what is good about the original. By knowing what your final image should look like, you will begin to have a clear idea of what needs to be changed in the photo.

Let's start by explaining exactly what needs to be changed in this photograph.

Here's what we want to do to the photograph. We want to make the background white. I want the model's hairstyle to be long, silky and shiny. We want to remove the model's hair from her shoulder, and clean up the hair at the top of her forehead.

Blood vessels are visible in the whites of her eyes and need to be removed, and we want to make her pupils bluer and shine with moistness. We also want to remove the bags and wrinkles under her eyes, the wrinkles formed by her smile, on her chin and neck, and lessen her cheek folds. As if applying make up, we will also be retouching her skin to look as if she has had eye shadow, mascara, blush, lip gloss, and eyeliner applied. By changing the photograph to give her bright and inviting make-up, her smile will become welcoming and a bit sexy.

As an exercise, I will also be showing you how to alter the model's facial features starting with her nose, giving it a slimmer, more defined look. We will make her mouth slightly smaller and whiten her teeth as well.

The Retouch Recipe

Steps

Step 1: Erase hair on shoulder

Step 2: Create long hair

Step 3: Erase wrinkles, bags under eyes

Step 4: Altering facial structure details

Step 5: Enrich hair with silky shine

Step 6: Apply make-up effects and final touches

Let's Start

That's about it for planning. Now we begin the actual work.

But, before starting don't forget that you are working on a human subject. The human body has right-left symmetry, and in that symmetry exists movement, expression. The human body has bones and muscles with soft spots, hard spots and textures.

The media that we will be working on is a 2-dimensional photograph, but remember, it is a photograph of a 3-dimensional subject. It is important to consider the subject as a geometric form, a plaster mold.

Just as in plaster cast studies (rough designs or "sketches" made with plaster), you should keep in mind the light and form as you retouch the photograph. In this photograph, the light is flowing from the top, and you should be able to see the light reflected in the model's pupils. The model is looking upward toward the lens, in other words, as we look at the photograph, we are looking downward on the model.

As you work on the photograph, remember to consider the subject in this way.

Beginner tips for digital retouching

1. Save often, and save several versions as you work in case you need to revert back.
2. Utilize layers. Create a different layer as you work on different sections so that you can always refer to the original if necessary.
3. Beginners unfamiliar with the use of layer masks should watch this video tutorial. Masking instead of working directly on the layer increases your flexibility with images: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMyaHFxe9Hg&feature=fvw

    

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