PHOTOGRAPHY MASTERCLASS: Complete Guide To Photo Retouching

Learn industry-standard Photoshop retouching techniques from an internationally published photographer, covering raw conversion, color correction, skin cleanup, eyes, dodging and burning, layers, and actions.

Use a Wakem drawing tablet to speed up your Photoshop beauty retouching, with pressure-sensitive brushes and programmable buttons to streamline your workflow, though you can use a mouse and keyboard.

Set workflow options and choose pro photo rgb to maximize color range for print and edits. Use 300 dpi, 16-bit depth, original sizing, and open as smart objects in Photoshop.

Develop a strong base image in camera RAW by adjusting white balance, exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, blacks and whites, clarity, vibrance, and saturation for clean retouching in Photoshop.

Adjust skin tones and overall color using saturation and luminance per color, refine reds, oranges, and blues, and preview warmth with temperature; plan color grading in Photoshop later.

Explore nondestructive photo retouching with smart objects in Photoshop, comparing them to regular images, and learn to duplicate and copy smart objects for independent edits such as exposure adjustments.

Import raw files, edit in Lightroom's develop module, apply exposure and color corrections with a local brush for edits, then open as a smart object in Photoshop for retouch.

Master masking with smart objects to nondestructively edit color on specific image areas, using white reveals and black holes to target eyes, lips, and skin while preserving the background.

Learn how Photoshop brush flow and opacity affect retouching, demonstrated on a blank canvas to show how flow controls ink rate while opacity limits color buildup.

Learn retouching tools, including the healing brush and spot healing brush, practicing non-destructive edits on a new layer, sampling from below to blend skin and hair with precision.

Learn how to plan and execute a targeted skin, hair, and feature retouch using brush tools on a new layer, balancing client goals and image usage.

Lock the background, create a new layer named clean up, and use the healing brush with careful sampling and blend modes to non-destructively remove spots while preserving skin texture.

Explore a skin cleanup timelapse workflow within photo retouching, demonstrating techniques to refine skin while maintaining natural texture as part of the photography masterclass.

Learn how to clean up facial hair and scars in portrait retouching using the healing brush with lights in blending mode, clone stamp, and careful sampling to preserve skin texture.

Explore a facial hair cleanup timelapse as part of the complete guide to photo retouching, demonstrating techniques to refine portraits through hair removal and precision editing.

Learn eye vein cleanup in photo retouching with a new layer and clone stamp to minimize veins, preserve natural look, remove distracting lashes, and make the eyes pop.

Remove stray eyelashes and rebuild the eye area to enhance portraits in photo retouching. Learn to sample color, avoid residue from healing brush, and refine details with a graphics tablet.

Rebuild eyelashes on a dedicated layer with a small brush and pen pressure, sampling nearby color for a natural curvature. Then clean up makeup with the healing brush for realism.

Master fast background hair cleanup by using the pen tool to select the head edge, feather at 5 pixels, then paint with 20 percent flow to recreate a speckled background.

Master frequency separation to split color and texture on separate layers, blur to isolate color, apply image to extract texture, and refine hair details using precise blending.

Clean up hair on the texture layer with a hard brush, sample in the same head direction for natural results, clone nearby patches, and fill gaps.

Remove flyaway hairs with frequency separation, fill gaps using brush work while preserving natural hair texture, then merge layers and keep edits reusable for future frequency separation.

Explore dodging and burning to light or darken areas, creating depth and a dynamic, three-dimensional skin look with smoother micro transitions and richer texture.

Learn to apply local dodge and burn for micro skin transitions and global dodge and burn for depth, preserving texture and creating a smoother, more 3d look.

Explore the 50 percent grey layer dodge and burn method using soft light blending, a dedicated dodge and burn layer, and fine brush control to selectively lighten and darken skin.

Learn to dodge and burn using two curves adjustment layers for non-destructive photo retouching, balance exposure and contrast with masks, brushes, and layer grouping.

Explore dodge and burn timelapse techniques within a photography retouching masterclass, offering a complete guide to photo retouching.

Learn to enhance hair shine with targeted dodging and burning, selective color range highlights, and precise masking to brighten individual hairs while preserving skin and scalp detail.

Learn how light enters the eye and brighten the area opposite the catch light, add natural 3-D texture, and use curves and dodge/burn to make eyes pop.

Compare the final retouched image to the original to see the careful cleanup that preserves a natural look and avoids going overboard.

Master color theory and color grading to shape mood and style through complementary, analogous, triad, and monochromatic schemes using the Adobe color wheel.

Explore color with curves in Photoshop, calibrating shadows, highlights, and individual color channels (red, green, blue) to create mood and style through targeted color grading.

Apply color balance on a Photoshop adjustment layer to adjust highlights, midtones, and shadows, preserving luminance while warming skin with yellows and reds.

Master the final color grade in photoshop by selectively masking the background, using curves and vibrance, and matching skin tones for a cohesive retouched portrait.

Sharpen the image for web publication by resizing to the target size, using a smart object and high-pass sharpening, then mask to sharpen eyes and lips before exporting in rgb.