Layers: The Complete Guide to Photoshop’s Most Powerful Feature

Smoothing and Enhancing Skin

RETOUCHING IS HOT THESE DAYS, AND ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT YOU’LL DO IS SMOOTH THE SKIN

Smoothing skin helps portraits of people of all ages. It’s got a few uses: First, you can use it to remove some of the texture that makeup can often leave. Next, you can use it to lessen the effect of sun lines and wrinkles.

Step 1: Open a Portrait Where the Skin on the Face Needs Some Smoothing

Open a portrait of a person that you’d like to try the skin-smoothing technique on. Read Steps 2 and 3 if you’re going to use the same photo that you used in the previous tutorial. I’ll show you how to start combining multiple techniques and still manage your layers in your Layers panel. However, if you’re starting from scratch, then ...