6 Simple Steps for Applying Makeup with Photoshop

As a Portrait Photographer, nothing beats the luxury of working with a Professional Makeup Artist….but what if that’s not possible? Well, here’s a simple technique for applying makeup using Photoshop that can certainly help out:

STEP 1: With your Foreground Colour set to ‘Black’ choose a Soft Edged Brush from the Tool Bar.

STEP 2: Enter Quick Mask Mode by clicking once on the icon at the bottom of the Tool Bar or by simply pressing ‘Q’ on your keyboard.

STEP 3: Brush over the area where you want to apply the makeup with your Black Brush in Quick Mask Mode; this will be visible by the Red Overlay.

STEP 4: Exit Quick Mask Mode by clicking once on the icon at the bottom of the Tool Bar or by again pressing ‘Q’ on your keyboard.

STEP 5: Choose a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer and place a click in the ‘Colorize’ check box.

STEP 6: Change the Blend Mode of the Adjustment Layer to ‘Color’ and then simply move the Hue, Saturation, Lightness sliders to apply the makeup.

Of course it’s always best, if you’re able, to work with a Makeup Artist but for those times when that’s simply not possible or maybe you want to ‘tweek’ makeup that had already been applied, then this technique can do a great job.

Enjoy 🙂