Red eyes, darkened faces, overexposures, underexposures, and shadows that are coming from nowhere, are a few imperfections or flaws in photos that need edits. And if you are new to photo editing, you should learn how to do retouching.
Digital photo imperfections are common in photography, where you’ll find your eyes in color red or white or your face looks sallow and dark. Fortunately, you can fix these flaws by using a reliable Photo editor like photoshop and doing the right retouch.
Here are some tips on how to retouch photos:
#1: Always create a duplicate layer
In any type of photo editing, do not forget to create a duplicate layer because this will keep your original photo from destructive and irreversible photo editing. To create a duplicate layer, you have to click the ‘Layer’ option found in the taskbar.
#2: Zoom in the image
- If you are to retouch one subject, you need to zoom it in to make all the photo blemishes visible. The zoom icon is often found at the toolbar; try looking for a magnifying glass icon. Or you may also use its shortcut key, which is press ‘Z’.
#3: Use the Healing Brush for Blemish
To patch or cover the flaws in the photo, you need to use the Healing Brush. The tool allows you to fix imperfections including, scratches, spots, blemishes, etc. To use the tool you need to spot the icon that looks like a patch. Or you may use the following shortcut keys:
Spot Healing Brush Tool – Hold Shift and press J
Healing Brush Tool – Hold Shift and press J twice
#4: Use Red Eye Tool to remove red-eye
Reddened photos are caused by bright light or the camera flash, reflecting from the retina. To fix this type of flaw in a photo, you need to use the Red Eye Tool found in the toolbox or you may use its shortcut key of Hold Shift and press J 5x.
Click the red in the eye. And then, change the size of the pupil. Next, darken the levels as needed. Lastly, click the eye again to see the result. Keep fixing the problem until you get the desired result.
Note: The shortcut keys may vary depending on the photo editor that you are using.
#5: Use Patch Tool
The ‘Patch’ tool is used to remove the unwanted elements found in the photo. It is a part of a set of ‘Healing Brush Tool’. Compared to the ‘Healing Brush Tool’ used to cover small-medium flaws in a photo, the Patch tool is used to repair larger areas with flaws.
The Patch Tool is found within the ‘Healing Brush Tool’ toolbox. And for several photo editing websites with Photoshop, you may use the shortcut key of Hold Shift and press J 3x.
Final Thoughts
Editing photos is challenging, but when you learn a lot of editing techniques, retouching photos of both old and new becomes easier over time with practice. Also, try reading other photo editing tips like this.