Quick Tip: How to Smooth Skin Without Losing Texture in Photoshop
Tutorial Details
- Program: Adobe Photoshop
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Estimated Completion Time: 20 - 30 Minutes
Download Source Files
Final Product What You'll Be Creating
There are several ways to smooth skin in Photoshop. All to often, however, skin can appear too smooth, fake, and synthetic. Today I will demonstrate a straightforward technique to help you smooth skin fairly quickly while preserving the texture of the pores. Let’s get started!
Final Image Preview
Take a look at the final image that we will be creating.
Original Image
Before we begin, let’s take a look at the original image.
Step 1
First, open your image and duplicate your background layer. Simply drag the layer onto the new layer icon in the bottom right of the layer palette. Now set the blending mode of this newly created layer to "Vivid Light."
Step 2
Now, let’s invert this layer. Do this by pressing Cmd + I or Image > Adjustments > Invert. Then, apply a Gaussian Blur by selecting Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Applying a blur filter to an inverted picture will make it look shaper. Use the slider until you can see the pores on her face.
Step 3
Now let smooth the skin! Go to Filter > Other >High Pass. Move the slider until you are happy with the smoothing. You may notice some ghosting and other weird stuff around the eyes – just ignore it for now. Concentrate on the cheeks, forehead and nose.
Step 4
Almost done! Create a new mask for the layer and fill it with black to hide the image. Switch your color to white, select the mask and start drawing on the skin with a soft brush. Start at the cheeks, move over to the forehead, the nose and stop on the chin. If the effect is too strong for your liking, just lover the opacity of the brush and you’re good to go!
Final Image
We’re finished! I hope that you learned a few new techniques here. If you have a different approach, let me know in the comments!
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By Rainer Hietsch
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Thanks a lot… I like so much the tutorial..
Goodness, people. Quit trying to make this poor guy feel badly. I think that this tutorial was well written and so what if you find it not helpful for your photos? It does not mean that you need to be rude. Simply don’t use this method. If putting other people down online makes you feel superior then you seriously need to get a life.
it works for me:D i’m sooo happy :D
wow.. beautiful
Thank you for the tutorial, it was of a great benefit……
Thanks for sharing the tip…..
God bless you!!!
WOW!!
Simple yet elegant !!
I love it..
dude me try i done this u rock thx dude!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It cannot pass the commercial level.
Too blur and the skin looks very fake and dirty.
There are more room for improvement.
I give it 2 star out of 10 stars.
“There are several ways to smooth skin in Photoshop. All to often, however, skin can appear too smooth, fake, and synthetic”
Um, yes, which is exactly the problem with this image and the technique you used. This i really not the way to do it. When hiring people, I would never ever hire someone who had such a botchy retouch in their portfolio.
I suggest actually taking some kind of course in photo editing before writing tutorials.
Where would this photo actually work? Certainly not in print. I a blog? Well, absolutely, if you feel an astouding craving to get mocked by your readers.
Have you ever… tried the stamp tool, for instance? That’s probably the easiest way for a noob to learn how to make a retouch which dousn’t look smudged and fake: Try it.
Hanna….. seriously, not cool. Your sarcastic, bigheaded attitude makes you look very nasty.
If you are such a PS master why would you even be looking at tutorials?
Please, get a life of your own and stop disrupting those people who are trying to help others.
A master can always learn new tips and the commentor is correct. This is unbelievably juvenile for this site.
Jealousy? ;-)
U need dildo in ur mouth…
Best tutorial for soften skin…Tried it … Very very very effective !!!
All is very good! It is a pity English I do not know)
Thanks for share the tutorial,
very useful for me :)
wow! This was so much better than the other format I was using. Thanks!! Keep these great tutorials coming!!!!
GOD like hard work..
Thank you for your tutorial. I think this technique works especially well for images where the subject has overall ruddy, uneven skin tones. I appreciate your posting.
Very clever but her face is too soft compared to her neck and
She looks like she’s wearing a rubber mask .
Ridiculous .
this is… wow, so easy yet so great effect, thank you ;)
Great tutorial!how can I fill the layer with black? to hide the image..thank you very much!
i dont like it. very unreal, very strongly visible that photo is blurred, lips are lost….not good, sorry.
there is no point to blur wrinkles, get rid of them or leave them strong, not like this. good work is when u cant c that ps is used.
The lips are lost because she didn’t have any in the first place?
tanx so much
why is it that i dont get the same effect with yours?
Well taught…’
(step 4) I didn’t undestand how you did it but from step 1 until step 3 was clear.please explane it step 4 confusing “Almost done! Create a new mask for the layer and fill it with black to hide the image. Switch your color to white, select the mask and start drawing on the skin with a soft brush. Start at the cheeks, move over to the forehead, the nose and stop on the chin. If the effect is too strong for your liking, just lover the opacity”
1 how to creat a new mask the same line with background copy?
2 how to fill it with black where to the face? or include the hair?
3 i try to draw no paint I don’t know why?
4 do i have to paint the nose, mouse, eye borow ,eye ,ear?
5 what do you mean by lover the opacity?.please I am stuck step 4 need u help.
Alt click on the Add Vector Mask
WOW.
its to good and nice however i just worked on 1 to 3 steps because i don’t know how to work for step 4.plz tell me in detail how create mask for layer it how i will work.
thanks
texture is lost, image is unreal.
tried & liked it…quick & easy… for those commenting about the fakeness of the skin, helloooo thats the adjustments sliders are for! so you can adjust to your liking…
good job man & thanks.
Nice tutorial, a little note sometimes on some photos after you follow the tutorial there is some spots just
1 select them
2 delete selected
3 pull out the spot bandage tool
4 should get perfect skin
Thanks Mate,
Its awesome, though i found a bit of trouble following it as you did not explain the tut in full.
but yeah i tried and got the result…
on the background copy with the high pass, lower the opacity setting and it might not look so polished. You will see some of the wrinkles as well. Just a thought and btw awesome tut…
think it’s very good tutorial to illustrate the point – and at adress of the naggers: what’s allright for l’oreal and jane fonda is good enough for me ;-)
I’m a beginner and everything was very clear (‘:
Hey thanx….Thanx a lot for ur kind support.
Thank you. For a quick smoothing effect, this works perfectly as I believe it was intended. Kudo’s!
its nice work
First, i wan’t so say thanks for this tutorial, is great, those that says that isn’t working for them, is cuz they follow the tutorial as it is!, if u guys were someone with a little of brain and try to play with setting and not be a damn robot, u could get a really interesting and really natural look as i did, is just that this picture in the example is horrible for the the tutorial, but the process is PERFECT to smooth skin!!, in really mean it.
TUTORIALS were made to learn tips and tricks, not for do them as they are, well thats my personal opinion, that’s why a lot of people can make a step forward, cuz they follow the tutorials as they are, thanks for the tip bro, i already use it for all my pictures.!
thanks very elegant…….. so nice, helpfull
I believe this technique has merit – works for me. Unfortunately, the shown example is wayyy overdone, giving the subject a porcelain look. One doesn’t have to go to that extreme. It works well when done in moderation.
Thanks for the tip.
Horrible tutorial, you should switch to doing something else.
I am newbie on Photoshop, and all the tutorial in this site are very helpful for me to re-make up image and give a lot of ideas. Thank you so much.