In this lesson, photographer Tigz Rice will show you how to create the perfect skin in a photo without making it look like it was made of plastic.
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The author uses a method known as “frequency separation” by splitting an image into two layers. This allows you to work with the color and texture of the skin independently of each other.
Once you have mastered this technique, you can also apply the same action to many other ordinary retouching workflows, such as filling in hair, getting rid of wrinkles in clothes, and adjusting the background.
Translator’s Note: In this lesson, the author’s image is used, so you can use any of your photos, where you can try to correct the skin of the face.
Step 1. Making the initial color correction
Open the selected photo in Photoshop. First correct any problems with exposure or white balance either by adjusting using Camera Raw, directly in the Raw file, or using the Camera Raw filter: Filter (Filter) – Camera Raw Filter, if you have photoshop cc.
I used the last option.
Step 2. Remove defects
Now we have the correct exposure, and let’s try to remove some of the defects from those problem areas that I highlighted in the image.
Use Tool Healing Brush
(Healing Brush) (J) or Tool Stamp
(Clone Stamp) (S) to get rid of excess hair, blood vessels in the eye and other small problems on the model’s face. I marked these areas in red in the screenshot.
That was our photo, after troubleshooting.
Step 3. We work with skin texture
Now let’s work on the color and texture of the skin. On the layers panel, double-duplicate the model image (the main menu is Layers (Layer) – Duplicate layer (Duplicate Layer) (Ctrl + J)) and rename it to “High Frequency” and the second layer to “Low Frequency”, as shown in the figure.
Translator’s Note: the bottom layer “Low Frequency” Low Frequency is used to change the color and skin tone, and the top one is “High Frequency” as a texture.
Hide the high-frequency layer by clicking the eye icon and make the low-frequency layer active. Go to Filter (Filter) – Blur (Blur) – Gaussian blur (Gaussian Blur). You need to blur the image until the sharp details disappear, which usually requires a radius of about 3-4 pixels. This layer contains our color information.
Select the “High Frequency” layer and make it visible again. Go to menu Picture (Image) – External Channel (Apply Image). The author used the parameters shown in the dialog box (except for the source, which should be the name of your image).
After that click OK. This layer contains information about the texture.
At this stage of work, your “high-frequency” layer will be in shades of gray. Change the layer’s overlay mode to Linear light (Linear Light), and the image will return to its normal colors.
Step 4. Start Editing
Now we have divided our image in color and texture, and we can begin our main editing. Create a new empty layer between the “High Frequency” and “Low Frequency” layers (Ctrl + Shift + N). It is on this layer that we will gently edit the skin color.
Using the Tool Stamp (Clone Stamp) (S), go to the toolbar (at the top of the screen) and set the Sample area to Active and below to use the information from the Low Frequency layer.
Choose a brush with a soft edge and set the opacity of the brush to anywhere between 10-20%.
Hold down the Alt key and click to select a sample area. Start mixing and adjusting small areas that need attention. In this image, it took to work on a dark pink area around the nose and some areas on the lower jaw.
In the screenshot you can see the result of my work on the left, the original with the image of the model on the right.
Go back to the “High Frequency” layer and still use the Tool. Stamp(Clone Stamp) (S), go to the toolbar and set the Sample area to Active Layer, and the tool will only take a sample from the currently active layer. Select a brush with a soft edge and set the opacity of the brush to 100%.
Hold down the Alt key, click the mouse to select a sample area and begin correcting problem areas that require attention, such as pores, oily shine, wrinkles or thin hair.
Remember that this is about creating a smooth texture, not about removing it completely.
In the screenshot you can see the result of my work on the left, the original with the image of the model on the right.
Step 5. Add shadows and highlights
If you are satisfied with what the skin looks like, add highlights and shadows. Create a new layer to apply the effects of lightening and darkening, above all other layers. Menu – Layers (Layer) – New (New) – Layer (Layer) (Ctrl + Shift + N), change the blending mode of the layer to Soft light (Soft Light) and tick off “Fill in neutral color (50% gray)”.
Work with Tools Dodge tool
(Lightening) and Burn tool 
(Blackout). Choose a tool Dodge tool (Lighten) (O) and take a soft brush, set the exposure value to 5%. Paint over the whites of the eyes, the upper parts of the cheeks, the chin and the highlights on the lips and eyelids of the model.
Now select the tool Burn tool (Blackout) and a soft brush, with an exposure of 3%, gently paint a little under the cheekbones and around the nose.
Step 6. Additional correction
Once you have completed the face correction, continue to edit the model as a whole. At this stage, I fixed one of the jewelry on my wrist, which turned down, added some hair in the right part of the wig, and brightened my hands to match the white make-up on the face.
It may take some time to repeat this workflow every time you want to use it for editing, so why not write down your own Action (Action) in the Operations panel?
Go to Window (Window) – Operations (Actions) (Alt + F9) and create New operation. When you are ready, click Record (Record) at the bottom of the panel to start recording all your work steps.
When you’re done, be sure to click the button. Stop at the bottom of the Operations panel, and later you can use this action to edit your photos.
Author: Tigz Rice.
