Hi!

I'm pretty new to photoshop. Up until recently, I avoided it like the plague -- I'd seen way too many photographers use it to the detriment of their photos and figured that any good photographer's work should be able to stand on its own two feet.

Now, I've learned that the Force is not evil per se, it's just in how you use it. One major action that makes me drool over others' portraiture is their amazing skin tones. I'm not talking about RGB color correction or healing undereye circles, but a smooth, almost luminous look about their models' skin.

Can someone tell me how this is done or point me to a tutorial? Let me know if I'm being too vague, and I'll try to find some examples.

Ok, I have no idea if this is what you are looking for, but here's what I do:

1. Do my best to take a good picture in the best light I can find (I only say this because it's so important to start with as good a picture as possible)

2. Fix any obvious blemishes using Photoshop's spot healing brush

3. Run a home-brewed action I've fine-tuned over time and through experimentation. Paint in the smooth skin on the mask, then adjust opacity to my liking.

4. [Optional] If I need a little extra glow, I create a duplicate layer, gaussian blur it at 16-20px, brighten it with a slight curve bump, then set the layer mode to Overlay and opacity to 25% or lower.

Here's how it looks:



Here's the action I use in case you want to play with it: Download action

A basic understanding of Photoshop masks is helpful. Be careful not to over-do the skin or glow ... no one wants to look like a mannequin ... or a glowing angel ... or - worse yet - a glowing mannequin-angel

This action is give as-is, no warranty expressed or implied, no refunds without a receipt, YMMV, IANAL, etc ...

Ok, I have no idea if this is what you are looking for, but here's what I do:

1. Do my best to take a good picture in the best light I can find (I only say this because it's so important to start with as good a picture as possible)

2. Fix any obvious blemishes using Photoshop's spot healing brush

3. Run a home-brewed action I've fine-tuned over time and through experimentation. Paint in the smooth skin on the mask, then adjust opacity to my liking.

4. [Optional] If I need a little extra glow, I create a duplicate layer, gaussian blur it at 16-20px, brighten it with a slight curve bump, then set the layer mode to Overlay and opacity to 25% or lower.

Here's how it looks:



Here's the action I use in case you want to play with it: Download action

A basic understanding of Photoshop masks is helpful. Be careful not to over-do the skin or glow ... no one wants to look like a mannequin ... or a glowing angel ... or - worse yet - a glowing mannequin-angel

This action is give as-is, no warranty expressed or implied, no refunds without a receipt, YMMV, IANAL, etc ...

Hi!

I'm pretty new to photoshop. Up until recently, I avoided it like the plague -- I'd seen way too many photographers use it to the detriment of their photos and figured that any good photographer's work should be able to stand on its own two feet.

Now, I've learned that the Force is not evil per se, it's just in how you use it. One major action that makes me drool over others' portraiture is their amazing skin tones. I'm not talking about RGB color correction or healing undereye circles, but a smooth, almost luminous look about their models' skin.

Can someone tell me how this is done or point me to a tutorial? Let me know if I'm being too vague, and I'll try to find some examples.

Ok, I have no idea if this is what you are looking for, but here's what I do:

1. Do my best to take a good picture in the best light I can find (I only say this because it's so important to start with as good a picture as possible)

2. Fix any obvious blemishes using Photoshop's spot healing brush

3. Run a home-brewed action I've fine-tuned over time and through experimentation. Paint in the smooth skin on the mask, then adjust opacity to my liking.

4. [Optional] If I need a little extra glow, I create a duplicate layer, gaussian blur it at 16-20px, brighten it with a slight curve bump, then set the layer mode to Overlay and opacity to 25% or lower.

Here's how it looks:



Here's the action I use in case you want to play with it: Download action

A basic understanding of Photoshop masks is helpful. Be careful not to over-do the skin or glow ... no one wants to look like a mannequin ... or a glowing angel ... or - worse yet - a glowing mannequin-angel

This action is give as-is, no warranty expressed or implied, no refunds without a receipt, YMMV, IANAL, etc ...

You rock man. Love it. Here is one that I was playing with. Of course I cropped it, lighten the teeth, and the eyes and sharpened.

Original shot


Retouch with your magic action
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I'm sad that she lost her gorgeous freckles...