RETOUCH 101 | Professional Photoshop Retouching Course

Master the basics of Photoshop layers, adjustment layers, masks, and blending modes to edit non-destructively. Apply selective adjustments and masks with flexible blending for professional retouching.

Understand healing brush, spot healing brush, and patch tool; healing brush blends textures on an empty layer for skin, spot healing works across layers, patch tool requires a non-empty layer.

Master the clone stamp tool in Photoshop by using empty layers, normal blending, and sampling with the Alt key to control opacity and flow for precise portrait retouching.

Learn how opacity caps per stroke while flow accumulates with repeated passes, and use dodge and burn on a masking layer with low flow and airbrush for realistic edits.

Learn to correct red skin tones in a portrait using a single adjustment layer, color range selection, and hue/saturation adjustments, with masking to protect lips and refine the result.

Master dodging and burning to add depth and volume, turning a two-dimensional circle into a believable three-dimensional form with light from the upper left, shadows, and ground reflections.

Remove under-eye bags realistically by balancing color, texture, and brightness with the clone stamp on an empty layer, using dungeon burn and color blending for natural results.

Softens neck lines to create a natural look using clone stamp and dodge and burn on a near blank layer, balancing brightness across layers.

Master frequency separation to protect skin textures while separating color and texture on two layers, then apply mixer brush for natural, time-efficient skin retouching.

Learn to reduce hotspots in photos using frequency separation, cleaning, and color correction, then softly blend bright areas with a soft brush on separate layers for a natural look.

Master high pass sharpening in Photoshop by creating a visible layer, dialing radius 2–8, applying soft light or overlay, then mask to target eyes and hair for a professional result.

Learn to blend skin colors realistically by locally correcting face colors, achieving overall harmony across skin areas with gradient maps, masks, and selective color adjustments in Photoshop.

Balance skin saturation in Photoshop by visualizing saturation with a saturation map, then apply targeted adjustments via a mask-driven adjustment layer for even, natural results.

Learn to remove facial hair in portraits using healing brush, clone stamp, and dodge and burn, with layer masks and a green layer to harmonize textures.

Learn to retouch and create eyelashes in Photoshop using a brush on a new layer, sampling from existing lashes with the Eyedropper, adjusting fade for length and thickness.