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Kush Sharma

Have you always wanted to learn how to retouch skin in your portraits to make them look like those professional portraits you often see in magazines?

Then you've come to the right place.

This course will teach you how to use the power of Adobe Photoshop to retouch skin in your portraits and take your portrait photography to the next level.

Whether you're a beginner or you've already been into editing, you'll derive massive value from this course because this course only focuses on one thing - taking your portraits to the next level.

Here are some of the things you'll be learning in this course:

Read more

Have you always wanted to learn how to retouch skin in your portraits to make them look like those professional portraits you often see in magazines?

Then you've come to the right place.

This course will teach you how to use the power of Adobe Photoshop to retouch skin in your portraits and take your portrait photography to the next level.

Whether you're a beginner or you've already been into editing, you'll derive massive value from this course because this course only focuses on one thing - taking your portraits to the next level.

Here are some of the things you'll be learning in this course:

  • Color Correction

  • Exposure correction

  • Skin Clean up

  • Blemish Removal

  • Stray Hair and Wrinkle Removal

  • Frequency Separation

  • Dodge and Burn

  • Using the Liquify tool

  • Retouching Eyes

  • Sharpening

  • Color Grading

  • and so much more

We'll be starting off by learning how to colour correct our photos so that we have a good base to work with.

From there on, we'll be moving on to doing skin clean up where we'll be learning about things like blemish removal, stray hair removal, wrinkles removal, etc.

Once that is done, we'll be set to perform one of the most game changing steps - Frequency Separation.

You'll not only be learning how to do frequency separation, but also understanding the concept behind this popular technique.

Frequency separation will teach you how to make the skin of your subject appear really smooth, yet very realistic as the texture will be preserved on a separate layer.

From there one, there's another huge step we'll be performing - Dodge and Burn.

This can be a challenging step for beginners since most people don't know which tools to use.

In our course, we'll be covering Dodge and Burn in detail. We'll first be understanding the concept behind this technique and then we'll be seeing how to perform this entire step in the easiest, fastest and non-destructive way.

Dodge and Burn will add a crazy amount of dimension to our portraits, giving them that professional look we all crave for.

Once Dodge and Burn is done, it'll be time to move on to retouching the eyes. Initially we'll be doing some basic retouching to the eyes just to make them look really appealing but towards the end of this course, we'll also be learning how to change the hue and color of the eyes in a subtle and realistic manner.

Once that's done, we'll be learning how to sharpen the important features in our portrait to make them stand out even more. Sharpening  can often lead to a deterioration in image quality but in this course you'll be learning how to perform this step without affecting the image quality.

In this course we'll also be learning how to use the Liquify tool to change the body shape and facial features.

We'll also be learning how to do color grading as the final step to get the best out of our portraits.

There are different kind of portraits (studio and outdoor, zoomed in and zoomed out) that you'll be working with so you get an idea on how to perform all these techniques on any kind of portrait, not just a studio portrait as it's so often done in other courses.

Of course, you'll be getting access to all the shots used in this course so you can work along with me on the same image. This will make your learning very practical.

There are also a lot of small additional things that you will be learning along the way, like knowing the difference between using a mouse and a Wacom tablet, knowing important functions and shortcuts in Photoshop to make your work flow easier, important tricks and tips, etc.

And everything is shown in such a way that you understand the entire workflow in a very easy manner so when you finally start to work on your own portraits after this course, you'll know exactly what steps to take and in what order.

Emphasis is placed on keeping the entire retouching workflow efficient, flexible and non destructive, so you can go back to any step and reduce its effect to make the retouch as realistic or as over-the-top as you wish.

I've created this course after years of research and practice. My main aim is to teach you high end and professional retouching in a way that is easy to understand and execute.

I hope to see you inside the course :)

Enroll now

What's inside

Learning objectives

  • Learning how to color correct the photos so the base is correct to start using more advanced techniques
  • Learning how to skin clean-up and frequency separation to get really realistic and smooth looking skin
  • Learning how to do dodge and burn to add depth to the portraits
  • Learning how to remove stray hair
  • Learning how to add eyes
  • Learning how to do sharpening the correct way
  • Learning how to remove wrinkles

Syllabus

Introduction to the Course

This is the introduction video where I'll be talking about why it's essential to learn the art of portrait retouching.

Read more

In this video we'll be looking at some of the things that you should know before starting this course. We'll also be looking at how the technique of Layer Masking works.

In this video you'll be learning how to get your hands on the work-along images provided in this course you can edit along with me.

You can download your work along images from the resources section in this lecture.

Link to the Wacom Tab Shown in the Course
Color Correction

In this video we'll be starting our retouching process by correcting the colors in this portrait. We'll be seeing two methods. This is the first one.

In this video we'll be learning about the second way to color correct our photos. This method is easier than what we learned in the last video.

Skin Clean Up

In this video we'll be learning how to do a basic skin and blemish clean up in Photoshop.

Frequency Separation

In this video we'll begin the process of Frequency Separation by first of all understanding the concept behind this process.

In this video we'll be starting the Frequency Separation process by separating the two frequencies (Color/Tone and Texture) by putting them on separate layers.

In this video we'll begin the main step in Frequency Separation, which is using the mixer brush tool in Photoshop to even out the color and tones and smoothen the appearance of the skin.

Dodge and Burn

In this video we'll start the process of learning the all important process of Dodge and Burn by first of all understanding the concept behind it.

In this video we'll be looking at the different Dodge and Burn techniques and also learning which is the best among those.

In this video we'll be learning about how flow and opacity work and also about the differences in using a Wacom tablet and a mouse for Dodge and Burn.

In this video we'll be dodging and burning our portrait.

Retouching Eyes

In this video we'll be retouching the eyes.

Sharpening

In this video we'll be using the High Pass filter to sharpen some important features in our portrait.

Editing the 2nd Portrait (All the Steps)

In this video we'll be learning how to do some exposure and color changes to our portrait using Camera Raw Filter.

In this video we'll be learning how to skin and stray hair clean up using the spot healing and healing brush tools.

In this video we'll be performing Frequency Separation on this portrait.

In this video we'll be doing Dodge and Burn on the face and neck.

In this video we'll be doing Dodge and Burn on the hair.

In this video we'll be doing Dodge and Burn on the arms.

In this video we'll be doing Dodge and Burn on the dress.

In this video we'll be learning a quicker way of doing dodge and burn for the clothes and hair.

In this video we'll be sharpening the important features using the High Pass filter.

In this video we'll be learning how to use the Liquify tool to perform some minor changes to the shape of the body.

In this video we'll be color grading our portrait to make it really appealing.

Editing the 3rd Portrait (All the Steps)

In this video we'll be doing a skin cleanup and also removing challenging stray hair using the healing brush tool and the clone stamp tool.

In this video we'll be performing Frequency Separation. We'll also be seeing how to tackle challenging localized areas using a layer mask.

In this video we'll be performing Dodge and Burn on the face.

In this video we'll be performing the dodge and burn on the body.

In this video we'll be performing dodge and burn on the hair.

In this video we'll be retouching the eyes using the curves adjustment function and the HSL adjustment function.

In this video we'll be using the High Pass Filter to sharpen the portrait.

Conclusion

This is the conclusion video.

Bonus Lecture - Check out my other courses on Udemy
Updates to the Course
Update #1 - Using the Latest AI Tools for One-Click Retouching

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Portrait Retouching Using Adobe Photoshop with these activities:
Practice Layer Masking
Practice layer masking techniques to prepare for more advanced retouching steps.
Show steps
  • Open an image in Photoshop.
  • Create a new layer and add a layer mask.
  • Experiment with different brushes and gradients to create various masking effects.
Read 'Adobe Photoshop CC Classroom in a Book'
Review Photoshop fundamentals to ensure a strong understanding of the software.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of the book.
  • Read the chapters related to retouching, layers, and masking.
  • Complete the exercises in the book to reinforce your understanding.
Blemish Removal Practice
Refine blemish removal skills using various Photoshop tools.
Show steps
  • Find several portrait images with blemishes.
  • Use the Spot Healing Brush, Healing Brush, and Clone Stamp tools to remove blemishes.
  • Compare before and after images to assess your progress.
Four other activities
Expand to see all activities and additional details
Show all seven activities
Create a Before/After Retouching Showcase
Showcase retouching skills by creating a before and after comparison.
Show steps
  • Select a portrait image to retouch.
  • Retouch the image using the techniques learned in the course.
  • Create a side-by-side comparison of the original and retouched images.
  • Share your work on social media or a portfolio website.
Follow Advanced Dodge and Burn Tutorials
Explore advanced dodge and burn techniques to enhance portrait dimension.
Show steps
  • Search for tutorials on advanced dodge and burn techniques in Photoshop.
  • Follow along with the tutorials, applying the techniques to your own images.
  • Experiment with different brushes, opacities, and blending modes.
Retouch a Series of Portraits
Solidify retouching skills by working on a series of diverse portraits.
Show steps
  • Gather a collection of diverse portrait images.
  • Retouch each image, focusing on different aspects of the face and skin.
  • Document your workflow and challenges encountered.
  • Reflect on your progress and identify areas for improvement.
Read 'Scott Kelby's Photoshop for Portrait Photographers'
Study portrait-specific retouching techniques from an industry expert.
Show steps
  • Obtain a copy of the book.
  • Read the chapters related to your specific areas of interest.
  • Practice the techniques described in the book on your own images.

Career center

Learners who complete Portrait Retouching Using Adobe Photoshop will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Reading list

We've selected two books that we think will supplement your learning. Use these to develop background knowledge, enrich your coursework, and gain a deeper understanding of the topics covered in Portrait Retouching Using Adobe Photoshop.
Provides a comprehensive overview of Adobe Photoshop's features and tools. It is particularly useful for beginners to gain a solid foundation in Photoshop. The book covers a wide range of topics, including layer management, masking, color correction, and retouching techniques. It serves as a valuable reference throughout the course and beyond.

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