Skin editing like the pro's!

    At some point EVERY photographer browses around for tips and ideas for better skin editing. We all know that nobody is perfect, and we also realize that certain types of lighting can exaggerate imperfections in the skin. To really make your images stand out, good skin editing is an absolute MUST. Of course like all things... there's more than one way to "skin a cat" LOL, but the same goal is shared by all for skin perfection especially in magazine/commercial imagery. Today... I'm sharing my way ;)

    To begin with, even mid level editing programs can accomplish the task as long as layers are used properly. This image was done with an old version of Photoshop Elements 7. LAYERS ARE THE LAW... so practice using them daily so that you are comfortable with them and their capabilities. For me, I am after smooth skin with no wrinkles, crows feet or large blemishes. There's a fine line that's easy to cross when editing that yields fake looking results... so don't over do it! Over doing it with the blur or liquify tools can make plastic looking results that are not always the most marketable, so I try to maintain realism when editing.

    The first thing I do is grab my "clone stamp" tool and set it with a small soft brush. I usually set the strength somewhere around 65% and go looking for large moles, birth marks, blemishes and dark circles etc. Sample the skin very close to the repair spots to maintain tonality and contour. Small blemishes are easy to cover, but be careful around the eyes! It's cool to lighten the lower lids, but don't fully remove them. If too much is removed, the face will end up all the same skin tone and end up looking like a flat china mask face. The same principal applies to the cheek bones! The face is 3 dimensional and the only thing that reflects that in an image is shadows and highlights.... so preserve those contours.

    After I have achieved a good "base canvas", I make a duplicate layer of the subject. Now that you have 2 layers, shut off visibility on the top copy and select the lower copy. Here's where it gets tricky and requires finesse. Select "gaussian blur" for your lower layer and apply.  The goal is to look at your preview window when deciding how much blur to apply. Watch the areas of the face like cheek bones and eyes and increase blur ONLY until the cracks and wrinkles fully smooth, but not so much that the shadows and highlights melt together and flatten out. YOU must decide how much.... but for me it's usually around 2.2-3.5 %!  Wait a minute.... all the pores are gone and the skin looks plastic! No worries... pores can be created! Now select "add noise" and apply a small percentage of digital noise to that layer. Basically you end up with a blurry image with little tiny dots all over it. Ready for the final step?

    Now make the un-blurred top layer visible! Your image is back to normal crows feet and all... and now it's time to go for the gold. Select your eraser tool with a soft brush and set it around 75%. You'll need your brush size to be about the size of a dime on the face but being careful not to touch things like eyes or hair edges. Now start to erase parts of the face on that top layer, revealing the blurred and spotted layer below. GO SLOW and do a little at a time only where you need it! That lower layer bleeding through will look like flawless skin with pores and all. Make sure you use that soft brush though because you want a gradual blend of skin!

     Well there it basically is.... skin editing like the pro's do! What are you waiting for, get busy experimenting! Practice makes perfect ;) Until next time, keep on shooting!

~Tommy Post
tommypost@yahoo.com