HOW TO Make a portrait look better

Adjustment layers

Use File > Open to browse to a portrait. To remove color casts, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > White Balance Adjustment. In the White Balance panel, click Picker. Place the crosshairs on the area you want white.

Duplicate layer

Select the Background layer in the Layers panel. Press Cmd+J to duplicate that layer. You can then work on the copy of the portrait if you make a mistake. Label the duplicated layer something like ‘Retouched Version’.

Remove hot spots

Select the Paint Brush tool. Choose Layer > New Layer, and label it ‘Hotspots’. Set the layer’s blending mode to Darken, and opacity to 45%. Opt–click to sample a skin color. Spray a hotspot to shade it the sampled tone.

Balance the whites

Click to sample the area that should be white. For us, the picker detects a warm hue, so it automatically drags the White Balance slider to -12. This cools the colors and makes whites white. The skin is now less orange.

Remove blemishes

In the Tools panel, click and hold down on the Healing Brush tool’s icon to reveal a pop–up. Choose the Blemish Removal tool. Tap the left or right brackets to adjust the tip’s size. Click the blemish to turn it into clean skin.

Whiten teeth

Click on the Retouched Version layer and select the Dodge Brush tool. In the Options bar, set opacity to 25%. Go to Tonal Range and set this to Highlights. Spray over the teeth and eye whites to subtly brighten them.

Boost exposure

To brighten up an underexposed portrait, go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Exposure Adjustment. Drag the Exposure slider to the right. There’s now two adjustment layers in the panel working on the background image.

Reduce wrinkles

Using the Healing Brush tool, place the cursor near a wrinkle and Opt–click to sample a smooth patch of adjacent skin. Place the brush tip over a wrinkle and click to spray the sampled smooth skin over the wrinkle.

Tidy stray hairs

If some skin is covered in stray hairs, select the Healing Brush tool, then Opt–click to sample a clear patch of skin close by. Place the brush tip cursor over the unwanted hair and spray to replace with clean skin.