Portrait work - even skin tones?

[ME100FINN]

I was working on this photo to make a one page calendar with it at the top. Here are the two differences after using smart blur to soften some of the skin texture and then I used the eye trick from the subscriber video - I also lightened the photo so it was brighter in print.
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/th_facecollar.jpg (http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/facecollar.jpg)
(*see original pic in post below)

Ok - the original is not bad, I know. But there are spots in the skin (maybe more evident in other shots from this sequence) that are uneven. I am not talking about one pimple or blemish or flash highlights or oil sheen kind of stuff. I am talking about ruddy, redish, or brown patches that arent covered well with makeup. I have tried clone and bandaid/healing but it ends up SO uneven. I tried it once and then it ended up all blotchy--way worse than what I started with!

I recently touched up a photo of my brother in-law too. His skin is very "pitted" and it was easy to smooth the texture - but again, his overall tone is blotchy.

Does anyone have any secrets to EVEN OUT the skin tone without turning into a ceramic figurine?

[Wendy]

Hi Beatrice ..

The way I even up the skin colour is to:

Create a new layer above the image and set the blend mode to colour
then choose a skin shade from the image
and with a soft brush pain over the skin on the new layer
avoiding the eyes, lips, teeth etc

then play about with the opcaity of the layer ...

It also works well for warming up skin tones :)

Wendy

[JillB]

What a great tip Wendy. I've had that same problem and have taken note of it. Thanks for sharing . Jill B

[Browser]

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/adobereg/pse5/?sdid=IIFW&uid=12f7d45a3e23d390e1ab91ea0acd1768

this link shows a great technique for your exact problem. It has a half-dozen good techniques for a variety of problems. Hope it helps???

[ME100FINN]

That paint layer really did the trick. Here are the three attempts I did. Like I said, the original isnt bad at all. The end one is purposely much brighter so it would pop off the page with a black page background in print. I couldnt get the color selection just right at first (painted using 80% and the layer is about 90% opacity) so I really fiddled with a hue/saturation layer to get it perfect. I am so happy with the result. The only other effect I would attempt on this one is the more glamour/blur, but I want the photo to be a bit more real than dreamy (for this particular use right now).

You really dont notice the difference until you compare them side by side! I am going to go "mask" happy now and correct other portrait photos! I am so thankful kids have porcelain skin and dont require much work LOL.

- original as was out of camera with maybe a touch of sharpen and slight color adjust from yellow street light
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/th_B-03.jpg (http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/B-03.jpg)

- Second attempt to get skin tone even and softened, added punch to eyes
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/th_facecollar.jpg (http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/facecollar.jpg)

- even skin tone for final pic
http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/th_b-touchup.jpg (http://i41.photobucket.com/albums/e263/me100finn/me/b-touchup.jpg)

I'd love to see other before/after shots. This tip would also work good on some of the old restoration photos too, no??!! When I was doing my hue/sat layer I bumped a slider and it looked like I had a green facial mud mask on! LOL

BROWSER - Welcome to the forum! I did peek back at the tuts and saw them. They are tools I already used, but need something more for overall skin tone and not so much of the spot healing or just a wrinkle. The video was a good reminder to use those tools different ways though - thanks for posting that.

[ME100FINN]

I couldnt help but post results from my brother in-law's photo. My sis took this pic in her kitchen. The first time around I just tried to make the best color corrections and this is now the (almost-if I dont keep practicing) final result. I used some of the recent techniques described on this forum. What a treat! I am continually learning new ways to work around things. I think back when I first started - I got the job done, but now it is looking better and I am working much quicker too!

The skin tone needs a bit more refining - you can see around the top of the glasses gave a racoon type look - need to work it closer and more there. But this was a great photo to practice on. His skin is very pitted with acne which is hard to see in the bottom photo as is.

Anyway - i wanted to share this progress as well to give hope to others that you can correct the basics of a photo and get a great image that you can be very very happy with. Do not be too quick to trash a picture you think is a lost cause!!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1RqikSALXDOq8a4Lgg8zQOmZ0jfHg0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1RqikSALXDOq8a4Lgg8zQOmZ0jfHg0)

[Daviskw]

Hi there

Here is another way to even skin... it is more complicated but fun to play with on a rainy day... it does require the use of a mask as well.

For the pictures below

Duplicated the background layer

On the duplicate Filter>other>Highpass with a setting of 8

On the same layer Filter>Blur>Gaussian with a setting of 2.66

Then press Ctrl or Command(Mac) plus I to invert the layer

Then in the layer pallet change the layer blend mode to Linear Light.

Reduce the opacity of the layer to 33 percent

Add a layer mask and fill with black to hide the adjustment

Click on the mask and with a soft white brush paint on the face where you want to even the skin tone. Stay away from the eyes and mouth to keep sharpness

It is a comlicated procedure but you can get real good results with most any skin and still keep pore detail

The amount of blur is the important setting. I usually blur the layer watching the blotches until they are completely gone then make note of the amount... I do not apply the blur I cancel back. Then apply the amount of highpass as the blur setting. The actual blur I apply is 1/3 of the highpass amount. Experiment with these settings if things don't look right.

Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1uDhyUxbQEsfAnrgxlpLw5sZXRupKB_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1uDhyUxbQEsfAnrgxlpLw5sZXRupKB)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1aYWzx6diqk4YtUBCkJ1aG6TavJ8J30_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1aYWzx6diqk4YtUBCkJ1aG6TavJ8J30)

[kimi_boo]

Butch... it does sound a little complicated but it looks wonderful. I printed out your instructions and will try. Thanks! :D

[ME100FINN]

looks great Butch! I'll keep those notes too! I cant picture in my mind what the steps will produce - I'll try it out. Thanks.

[scrapperjlc]

Awesome technique Butch! When I first started working through your instructions, I was like, :confused: :eek:

but then it all came together for beautiful results!

Before:
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1Hl1ReydTCcj28vLUbPMZW8OVR0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1Hl1ReydTCcj28vLUbPMZW8OVR0)

After:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1HQ0nrFMN4BWeE79Ak2602Iq4yNlNf1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1HQ0nrFMN4BWeE79Ak2602Iq4yNlNf1)

I shall never have bad skintones in my photos again! Thanks so so much!

Jodi

[Daviskw]

Glad it worked for you Jodi

It is a technique called Degrunge.. it does take some practice and experimenting. Especially how much highpass and gaussian blur to apply on a given photo. But it can give wonderful results

Butch

[ME100FINN]

Searched for "degrunge" and found this tutorial - for those that need the visual aid along with instructions, it helps! I am really happy with this thread - its a good one. Maybe we can hope for more skin techniques from the Masters to give the subscribers some more options!!

http://retouchpro.com/tutorials/?m=show&id=213

I tried both directions from that tutorial and found the longer version much more effective. Maybe it was a fluke since it says the radius is essential to getting it right. Anyway, I dedicate this photo to Gary.... my man dressed up in the real thing ;) :D

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/2475/smoothskinao8.th.jpg (http://img227.imageshack.us/my.php?image=smoothskinao8.jpg)

(I used the skin painting first to even the tone across the cheeks and nose first and then did the degrunge. This technique works wonders for the men - whiskers are left in tact much better. Looks natural.)

[Greg B]

Thanks to [daiskw] for his process to fix skin tones. I got a little foggy on his very last step but have come up with a workaroud that works for me.

Steps 1-6 below are virtually identical to daviskw's except for some additional comments (added comments are shown in blue text):

1) Duplicate the background layer and rename it Portrait Mask.

2) Click on the Portrait Mask layer and select Filter > Other > Highpass with a setting of 8 (this should be set to where the person’s eyes are just displayed in sharp focus but no sharper)

3) On the same layer select Filter > Blur > Gaussian with a setting of 2.66 (after some experimentation, I discovered that the LOWER the setting the more “smoothing of the skin” will occur)

4) Press [Ctrl]+[I] to invert the layer

5) Then, in the layer pallet, change the layer blend mode to Linear Light.

6) Reduce the opacity of the layer to 33 percent (this can be adjusted later if need be)

(This is where I ran into problems and did not fully understand what [daviskw] was suggesting so I came up with this workaround using the Eraser tool instead)

7) Duplicate the background layer mask and move it above the Portrait Mask layer and fill with the Eraser tool. Pick a soft brush and erase the skin tone area that you want to be softened.

What I really like about using the Easer tool is that you see exactly what you get. To add even more control, you can set the Eraser tool’s opacity to about 60-65% and the more you erase, the softer the skin tones get.

Thanks again [daviskw] "Butch". I was on the verge of purchasing a 3rd party portrait filter but, after comparing that product with your process, I actually like my results better and I can control EXACTLY where and how much skin smoothing occurs.

Greg B

[Cmcburnett]

Butch, you did it again. Another keeper for the notebook.:o

[Berengaria]

Butch:

I've tried your technique several times and ways and I always come up with erasing the blur layer and showing the fine details instead of the other way around. What am I doing wrong?

Any suggestions? I like your results.

Thanks from a slow to grasp things Berengaria.

[GaryK]

Well Beatrice

I used to have hair like that .. albeit quite a bit darker. Man I was cool.:D

[Daviskw]

Hi Berengaria

The example below uses a standard mask.. it is filled with black to hide the degrunge adjustment.

When you paint with a soft white brush you paint the adjustment only where you want it.

Butch

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1mQIrRXPG2uOSKxtKgIDlECNKuHp1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1mQIrRXPG2uOSKxtKgIDlECNKuHp1)

[Berengaria]

Butch, Thanks for your help. I think I got it. Took 20 years off my portrait!

The picture helped illustrate. I think my problem was that I added the mask to a new layer instead of the grunge layer.

Now a happy PSE'er.

Berengaria

[Jackie]

Hi Butch -
First off I hope I'm doing this forum thing right. I tried your portrait touch up technique but got a bit confused. I didn't have anything called Linear Light so I tried Linear Dodge. Also when adding the adjustment layer I didn't know what option to choose? All I've used so far from that option is levels and gradient map. Maybe I don't have the same Elements version as you - mine is 4. If you can help, thanks.
Jackie

[Daviskw]

Hi Jackie

You will find the Linear Light mode in your layer pallet modes… It is in the group that starts with Overlay.

Below is a link to a previous post on the degrunge technique… maybe it will be easier to follow.
It’s post # 6 in this thread.

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8981&highlight=skin

I also included another previous post on skin tone using a blurred screen, multiply layer technique.
It’s the #8 post in this thread.

http://www.photoshopelementsuser.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14463&highlight=skin

I often use one or the other and sometimes both with degrunge first and screen blur second

Butch

[Jackie]

Butch -
Thank you very much for your help. I have found information from you and Wendy to be very informative. Others have also been helpful. Subscribing to Elements Techniques and having access to its benefits has been money well spent.
Jackie