Eye Retouching in Photoshop
One the most common problems I find myself fixing in Photoshop are over exaggerated lines under eyes. This problem is the result of strong light above the subject, something that is almost unavoidable at most weddings and outdoor portrait shoot, even if you have some shade. Luckily there is a simple remedy.
Step 1
Duplicate the background layer (Layer > Duplicate layer or Cmd J [Mac], Ctrl J [PC])
Step 2
Select the Patch Tool, which located under the Spot Healing Brush (J)
Step 3
Zoom into the eye area
Step 4
Draw a rough selection around the lines under the eye. You don’t have to be too accurate, but make sure you get most of the severe lines and don’t select any of the eye itself.
Step 5
Drag and drop the selection onto a clear piece of skin, usually a piece of the cheek below the eye. This fills the selection under the eye to blend in with the surrounding skin.
Step 6
Repeat on the second eye
Step 7
Double click the Hand Tool (H) to go back to a full view of the image.
Step 8
At the moment the selection look a bit unrealistic and we need to adjust the opacity of the layer. There are several ways to do this but as we are using a tool without an opacity setting of its own (the Hand Tool) we can use the keyboard to do it for us. Simply type the first number of the opacity you want e.g. 6 for 60%.
Opacity levels will vary with subjects age and gender: for women I will use an opacity between 50% & 80% and men 40% to 70%.
If I have a male & female subject in a photograph I will usually adjust them separately, flattening the image between subjects
Step 9
You’re done
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