Edit a portrait the smart way
Use the new Texture tool in Lightroom Classic to smoothen out skin, as part of a broader retouching workflow
Whether you’re shooting friends or family, or even a client, everyone appreciates a little bit of editing magic. In real life you rarely notice blemishes or spots, unless they’re particularly large, but they become really obvious in a photo. There’s something about the static frame that makes you pay more attention.
At one point, the only way to fix these was a trip to Photoshop. You’d need a long time to get it right, or go the expensive route of having to purchase a skin smoothing plug-in. Fortunately most things can be
done directly with the raw file inside Lightroom now – especially with the new Texture tool inside Lightroom Classic 8.3. Texture sits somewhere between Clarity and Sharpening. The Adobe software engineer who designed it, Max Wendt, specifically aimed it at skin retouching. When it’s used in the other direction, it adds great depth and really brings out texture – it’s where the name comes from.
It’s best to have a plan for your portrait before you start. Generally you should start with general fixing, blemish removal, eyes, and skin softening. Let’s take a closer look at the process…
1 Set the stage
The first step is to correct any exposure issues and set the overall look. A neutral profile will work for you. Here, I’ve chosen Astia – a softer profile for portraits. Set your Exposure to taste; 0.32 works here. As the traditional frame size for portraits is 8x10, you’re best to crop it. (Press R.) Set your Aspect to 4x5/8x10 and position the crop so there’s still room over the head. Don’t crop too far into the elbow, or it can look odd.
3 Retouch the eyes
Press K to open the Adjustment Brush. From the Effect list, choose Iris Enhance. Brush over the middle of the iris with a small brush. Next, click New, then choose Burn from the list. Set Exposure to -0.2. Paint the outside edge of the iris to darken it. If you need more, bring Exposure down more. Click New, and choose Teeth Whiten. (Yes, it works on eyes too!) Paint around where you’ve just darkened – not the whole white of the eye, just the parts closest to the iris. This retains the eye’s spherical look.
2 Remove spots and blemishes
The Spot Removal Tool is perfect for removing skin blemishes. Use a single click to make a circular spot; Lightroom will choose a spot to copy from. You’ve two options for how the spot is removed: Clone does a direct copy, while Heal blends the copied area with the area around your spot. Heal is better here. For long areas, like under the eyes, draw out a shape to fix it. Move spots by selecting them and dragging either the source or destination.
4 Smoothen the skin
In Lightroom Classic 8.3, there’s a new brush option called Soften Skin (Lite). This combines the new Texture control at -35 with Clarity of -15. Click New on the Brush and choose the new Preset. To see where you’re working, press O: this shows the mask as a red overlay by default. Paint on the visible skin areas, but avoid the eyes, nostrils and the lips. Don’t go over the edges of the face, or they get too soft. When you’re done, press O again to hide the mask overlay.