Master retouching

James Paterson teaches you how to enhance your portraits with a combination of simple Photoshop skills and our fantastic free actions

Retouch and enhance portraits with Adobe CC

Retouching can be a sticky subject. People naturally want to look their best – just look at the popularity of face smoothing modes in selfie cameras. But there’s a line where things stop looking natural and start to look fake. This is why Photoshop remains the best tool for retouching.

We have complete control over the look of the image and, because we can make our adjustments on separate layers, we have the freedom to undo or tone things down if the effect begins to look a little over-the-top.

There’s always a temptation to remove imperfection, but often if we reduce the effect slightly, the result – while still flattering – is more authentic.

In this tutorial we’ll show you how to make effective, but subtle, enhancements to a face; from removing tiny imperfections to reducing bags under eyes.

We’ll come across a few retouching tools, like the Healing tools, which can help remove problem areas for you. Then there are filters and adjustment layers that can work wonders over eyes and skin. We’ve also supplied a set of retouching actions among the files. These are a recorded set of commands you can play on your own portraits. The person in the photo will be thank you for making them look their best, without turning them into an unnatural looking subject!

There’s a line where retouching can stop looking natural and start to look fake