How to smooth skin on lightroom
How to Smooth Skin in Adobe Lightroom (5 Quick Steps)
Can you smooth skin in Lightroom? Photoshop is the king of photo manipulation, but when it comes to editing lots of images, Lightroom is faster. So many photographers wonder, is there an easy way to smooth skin in Lightroom?
Hey there! I’m Cara and though I use both programs in my photography work, I definitely prefer Lightroom for the bulk of my editing.
If I wanted to do some serious skin work, Photoshop offers more tools to really perfect it. But for a quick application, such as fixing uneven skin tone, Lightroom has an awesome option too – the Brush Mask!
Let me show you how it works!
Table of Contents
- 5 Steps to Smooth Skin in Lightroom Using Brush Mask
- Step 1: Open the Brush Mask and Choose the Settings
- Step 2: Choose the “Soften Skin” Preset in Lightroom
- Step 3: Apply the Mask
- Step 4: Subtract Unwanted Parts of the Mask
- Step 5: Adjust the Effect (If Needed)
Lightroom has some powerful masking features which make smoothing skin an easy task. I love using the brush mask to touch up my skin in Lightroom. Here’s how I do it.
Step 1: Open the Brush Mask and Choose the Settings
To apply the effect, we’ll use the brush mask option.
Open the masking panel by clicking the circle icon on the right side of the toolbar to the right of your workspace. Or press Shift + W on the keyboard to open it.
Choose the Brush option from the list. Alternatively, you can jump directly to the brush by pressing the keyboard shortcut K.
The Brush Settings will now appear. For the fast and dirty version of skin smoothing, choose a big brush and reduce the feathering to 0. Put Flow and Density at 100. Make sure that the Auto Mask box is checked.
Step 2: Choose the “Soften Skin” Preset in Lightroom
The brush settings are ready, now we need the right slider settings to soften the skin. Well, Lightroom has that all taken care of with a handy “Soften Skin” preset.
Just under the brush settings, you’ll see where it says Effect. To the right, it will say “Custom” or whatever the name is of the last preset you used. Click on the little up and down arrows to the right of that.
This will open a list of brush effect presets. There are some default presets that come with Lightroom, plus you can make and save your own.
In this list, you’ll find Soften Skin and Soften Skin (Lite). Let’s choose the Soften Skin one for now. This effect is almost always too strong, but I’ll show you how to dial it back in just a moment.
Now we see that the Clarity slider jumped to zero and Sharpness jumped up to 25.
Step 3: Apply the Mask
Let’s apply this to an image to see what happens.
To avoid the hassle of painstakingly painting over the skin, let’s zoom out to make the image smaller.
Make the diameter of the brush big enough to cover all the skin.
You can use the Size slider on the right or the right bracket ] key to make it bigger. Place the center dot of the brush on an area of the skin and click once.
Lightroom will do its best to select all the similarly colored pixels that fall within the diameter of the brush. The red overlay shows us what parts of the image Lightroom automatically selected. It did a pretty good job!
Step 4: Subtract Unwanted Parts of the Mask
Sometimes parts other than the skin will get caught up in the mask. This will happen if there are other elements in the image with colors similar to the skin you selected.
To remove those areas from the mask, click on the mask in the Masks panel. Choose the Subtract button and select the Brush.
Now, paint over the areas you don’t what to be included in the mask.
In my case, the mask is actually quite good, so I’ll undo this example. Remember that you can toggle the overlay by checking or unchecking the Show Overlay box at the bottom of the Masks panel.
Step 5: Adjust the Effect (If Needed)
I’ve turned off the overlay so we can see how this Soften Skin preset looks. Before is on the left, and after is on the right.
It might be hard to tell in these pictures, but the effect doesn’t touch her eyes, hair, or the background. However, it heavily softened her skin.
A little too much, so now let’s look at how to dial it back.
You might assume that to ease off the effect, we simply move the sliders. However, then we’d have to adjust each slider individually. To adjust all the sliders proportionately, there’s an easier way.
Notice that this Amount slider appeared when we created the mask. This is the amount of the effect. Drag this slider up or down to increase or decrease all the sliders in proportion to one another. Awesome!
I brought my amount slider down to about 50. Now she’s got beautifully soft skin that isn’t so heavy it looks fake.
Gotta love how Lightroom makes it so easy to make your subjects look amazing! Wondering about other Lightroom features? Check out how to blur the background in Lightroom here!
How to Use Lightroom: Fix Wrinkles, Pimples, and Smooth the Skin
It goes without saying that professional photographs look flawless.
But how? What tricks are they using? Although photographers with extensive experience may know some tricks of the trade to minimize imperfections while they are shooting, one can only do so much during a shoot. That’s where Lightroom post-processing comes in.
Lightroom offers specific retouching tools that will enable you to present professional portraits to your clients that you can feel confident about. The tools that we're going to focus on today are the spot removal tool in heal mode, as well as the adjustment brush soften skin effect. Check out our
Lightroom portrait presets collection to add these to your toolkit. These tools can yield amazing results and take your images to the next level, so let’s dive in and learn how to use them!
Getting Started
First things first, let’s get your image into Lightroom. Go ahead and import your photo. You should see something similar to the set-up below.
RETOUCHING IN HEAL MODE
STEP 1 - Zooming in for a Better Working ViewFirst, you'll want to zoom into the location you would like to retouch. To do this, in the top right-hand corner, in the navigator panel, you have a few view options available. Experiment with the 4 options, Fit, Fill, 1:1, and 2:1 to see what view they produce. For additional zoom options, select the vertically stacked arrows facing opposite directions. See arrow below.
Quick Tip: For a quick way to magnify your image in Lightroom, go to VIEW > ZOOM IN from the drop down menu at the top of the page.
For this particular image, I’m choosing to work in 1:2. I found it gave me the best magnification for what I needed to do. Once you’re zoomed in, you can move the image around with the hand tool to pin-point the exact location you want. This can be done with the image in the navigator box or with the main image.
2 - Locating the Spot Removal Tools If you notice that your spot removal options are not visible, you’ll need to make sure develop mode is selected in the top menu.
Once this is selected, the spot removal icon will appear just below the colorful histogram box. Select the spot removal icon, which is a white circle with an arrow on the right side. Doing this will display spot removal options right below it. Since we're starting with the heal mode, go ahead and select that as well.
Quick Tip: You can also make the spot removal icon and tools available by selecting VIEW > SPOT REMOVAL from the drop down menu at the top of the page. Or, for even quicker results, simply press the letter “Q”.
Before you start retouching, it’s a good idea to adjust your options to get the effect you’re hoping for. This includes adjusting the brush size, feather, and opacity. For the brush size, you’ll want to use the smallest size possible - just enough to cover the area you’re trying to retouch. The feather feature can come in handy when you need to soften edges, since a hard edge can be more noticeable in some instances.
You'll want to adjust the opacity when you don’t want to cover up a spot completely. For instance, if you're trying to tone-down wrinkles and don’t want to delete them, this will give the portrait a more natural or realistic look.
It’s now time to use Lightroom’s spot removal tool in heal mode in order to remove wrinkles and blemishes. This is an amazing tool that can instantly and easily remove unwanted spots on your images. Heal mode works by automatically sampling nearby “best guess” pixels that will perfectly blend in with the area you're retouching. With everything setup correctly in heal mode (as shown in step 2), you can now select an area to retouch. In this case, I chose to remove a blemish on the woman’s chin. To do this, I placed the cursor over the area and clicked once. The blemish is now removed!
STEP 5 - Slight AdjustmentsYou may find that after you make modifications, you still need to make slight adjustments to the original coverage area, the area being sampled, or the brush size.
To change the coverage area, place the cursor over the original area, and when the cursor turns into the hand tool, you can then move the location.
When the computer’s best guess at sampling similar pixels was in fact not a great guess, you can move the sample area by placing the cursor over the 2nd circle that has an arrow attached to it, and move it to a better location.
If you need to change the size of the brush to have a larger or smaller coverage area, you simply put the cursor near the edge of the original circle and drag until you see the appropriate size.
If you simply want to start over, you can click either circle and press delete.
Removing wrinkles can be a little challenging compared to removing a blemish. This is because the coverage is often larger and continuous. To remove or reduce wrinkles, repeat the same steps as above. But this time, drag the circle along the length of the wrinkle.
If you want to completely remove the wrinkle, set the brush opacity to 100. Be mindful that removing all wrinkles can give a fake or unnatural look. For the wrinkles you keep, you may want to lessen their appearance by sliding the opacity a little further away from 100. As this woman has only beginning forehead lines, the removal is simple and nearly unnoticeable.
The same rules apply for under the eye:
Here is the image after subtle removal of blemishes and fine lines:
SMOOTH THE SKIN
Once you finish fixing the wrinkles and blemishes in your portrait, it’s time to apply the final touch - the soften skin effect. This effect has the potential to dramatically improve the look and quality of your image. It removes pores and fine lines, and gives an overall healthy skin look.
STEP 1 - Selecting the Adjustment Brush and Soften Skin Effect
To locate the soften skin effect, first select the adjustment brush icon (see red circle below) located in the same menu bar as the spot removal tool.
Once this is selected, the effect menu becomes visible. To the right of the word effect, you will see up and down arrows, click on them to reveal the drop-down menu and select soften skin. Quick Tip: Press the letter “K” - it’s a short cut to make the adjustment brush panel visible.
As with the heal tool, you can adjust the size of the brush and the feather. You also have some additional options such as adjustment of flow and density. The flow controls the amount of effect that is applied, and the density controls transparency. Experiment with these adjustment brush properties to see how they affect your image. Here I am using the "Skin Softener" brush from the Luxe Portrait Collection.
STEP 2 - Applying the Soften Skin EffectNow that your settings correct, you can start softening the skin. To do this, simply start brushing over the parts of your images that you would like to soften. A black and white pin will appear where you start brushing and is an indicator that the brush is active.
To better view the areas you have brushed over, select the show selected mask overlay option, located just below the image. This will apply a red mask. Once the mask is visible, you might notice there are areas that you did not mean to cover. You can easily erase these strokes by selecting the erase tool, as highlighted in the image below. Once the erase tool is selected, start brushing over the parts you would like to remove the effect from. Once you’ve perfected your image, click done.
Congratulations! You now know how to reduce and remove wrinkles and blemishes, as well as smooth the skin in Lightroom!
Looking for more ways to enhance your portraits? Make your subject’s eyes pop, remove dark circles, add make-up, whiten teeth, enhance skin tone, enhance skin color, and more! All of these brushes and more are available in our Portrait Collections, Luxe Portraits. The below picture was further retouched using the Glamour preset from the Luxe Portraits Studio Collection.
There is a definite difference!
About the Author: Jeanne Romero is a professional photographer, with a specialization in advertising photography. Her Bacherlor’s degree in Advertising Photography is from Rochester Institute of Technology in New York.
7 tricks for quick portrait retouching in Lightroom
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Have you ever had a situation where you need to process a shot very quickly, but there is absolutely no time for additional portrait retouching in Photoshop? At such moments, a few tricks for processing portraits in Lightroom will come to the rescue.
1. Spot Removal
The first and most obvious step to improve the model's skin is to apply local Spot removal corrections (shortcut Q) on the Develop tab. For skin retouching, select the Heal mode. I usually have Feather at an average value of 50, Opacity 100, change the brush size (size) as needed while working with the square bracket keys on the keyboard ([ - decrease, ] - increase).
If you work carefully, you will get a very good result in a short time. Retouching rules are the same as when working in Photoshop. The size of the brush is slightly larger than the stain that we are removing.
We work with a brush only on a homogeneous surface and make sure that the sample does not fall on the contrasting borders of the image, otherwise we will get a lot of dirty spots instead of perfect skin.
Most often, Spot Removal is used to remove single pimples and blemishes, and not for such extensive retouching, but with practiced skills anything is possible.
2. Clarity slider to minus on large portraits
This trick will help you if the texture of the model's skin is too emphasized (harsh light, large pores on the skin, various cosmetic defects and imperfections). Everything is simple here: in the main settings, we move the clarity slider to the left, focusing on a personal sense of proportion. We do it very carefully so as not to get the very “soap” that is talked about so much when discussing retouching.
3. Soften Skin mask to remove uneven skin
Pretty much the same method as above, but more subtle. In local corrections (we switch to this mode using the brush icon in Develop or use the hot key K) there is a standard Soften Skin preset. Click on Custom and see the drop down list. Select Soften Skin and use a preset brush to work on areas of skin that need to be corrected.
The advantage of using a brush is that a separate layer can work on certain areas of the portrait, where retouching is especially needed. For example, a place near the wing of the nose, where the pores are slightly enlarged and a layer of foundation is noticeable.
4. Shadows minus, Blacks plus
This manipulation will reduce the visual contrast of shadows and highlights, so the skin will appear smoother. In some cases, these settings can frankly spoil the frame, make it flatter, so use this technique very carefully.
5.
Highligts plus, Whites minus This method can help if the model's skin has an oily sheen or very harsh highlights, and the previous method with Shadows did not help much. The skin after such a technique becomes matte, but the overall volume in the image is very much lost, so know the measure.
6. Raise the black point in curves
If the light in the portrait is too harsh, you can raise the black point in curves (lower left tail). At first glance, the method almost repeats the option with moving the black point (Blacks) to plus, but you can achieve a special effect due to your own curve settings. If there are strong highlights in the photo, you can also try to slightly lower the white point on the curve. The highlights take on a grayish tint, but this is now often used as an artistic effect in processing.
7. Sharpening with a brush
All of the above "quick" retouching techniques in Lightroom are somehow based on reducing contrast.
That is, we deliberately "spoil" the photo, sacrificing the detail of the frame and achieving the effect of smooth skin. Additionally, to smooth out the shortcomings of the methods, you can return the sharpness to the eyes and other details with a brush with increased sharpness and clarity shifted to plus. As elsewhere, the main thing is not to overdo it. Make sure that the sharpness does not turn into unpleasant graininess.
On the portrait of a girl taken for a sample, almost all of the above processing options were applied.
Now the model's skin looks softer and more radiant. Of course, such retouching is destructive (we have partially lost the volume and texture of the skin), but if you do not plan to additionally work on the image in Photoshop, then the result will completely satisfy the viewer.
The processing methods described above can be applied separately and in combination with each other (the ideal situation is when the image is so successful that no special processing techniques are required).
By tradition, I remind you that it depends only on you whether the frame will become more expressive after processing or will be hopelessly damaged. The correct use of any tool is possible only with constant practice. Successful work!
how to smooth skin in lightroom?
By Milena Anderson Reading 4 min. Views 17 Posted
Short answer
- There are several ways to smooth skin in Lightroom.
- One way is to use the Blemish Remover tool to remove blemishes and skin imperfections.
- Another way is to use the Skin Softening tool, which smooths out skin tones and makes them look more natural.
- You can also use the Clarity slider to make skin clearer and smoother.
Lightroom Skin Retouching Tutorial - How to make skin smooth with the texture slider!
Lightroom Mobile Face Smooth Secret Trick | Skin Retouching and Face Smoothing in Lightroom By SR Edit
Can I retouch skin in Lightroom?
Yes, you can retouch skin in Lightroom. The Spot Removal tool is especially useful for this. You can use it to remove blemishes, wrinkles and other imperfections.
How to smooth skin in Lightroom 2020?
There are several ways to smooth skin in Lightroom.
One way is to use the Healing Brush Tool to erase blemishes and smooth out the skin. Another way is to use the Blemish Remover tool to remove blemishes and smoothen the skin.
How do I change smooth skin in Lightroom?
In the Develop module, on the Tone Curve panel, you will find the Skin Tones section. Here you can adjust the skin tones of your image. You can adjust the Highlights, Shadows, and White settings to make the skin look smoother.
How to get rid of wrinkles in Lightroom?
There are several ways to get rid of wrinkles in Lightroom. One way is to use the Blemish Remover tool to remove any fine wrinkles or blemishes. Another way is to use the stamp tool to clone larger folds. You can also use the Healing Brush tool to heal any cloned areas.
How to make the skin clean and smooth?
There are several things you can do to clear and smooth your skin.
First, drink plenty of water and eat healthy food. Second, use a mild cleanser and don't rub your skin. Third, use a moisturizer after cleansing. Finally, limit sun exposure and apply sunscreen.
How do I remove spots in Lightroom?
There are several ways to remove defects in Lightroom. The easiest way is to use the Spot Removal tool. You can also use the Stamp tool or the Healing Brush tool.
Can I smooth skin in Lightroom for mobile?
Yes, you can smooth skin in Lightroom for mobile. To do this, open the photo you want to edit and click the "Edit" button. Then tap the Adjustment Brush icon and drag the Smoothing slider to the right.
How to get a smooth face?
There are several things you can do to have a smooth face. First, make sure you use a good quality facial cleanser and moisturizer. You should also exfoliate your skin regularly to remove all dead skin cells.
If you have pimples or other blemishes, try to treat them as soon as possible. Finally, try not to touch your face unnecessarily, as this can cause breakouts.
How do you use the Healing Brush in Lightroom?
The Healing Brush is used to restore or clone pixels from one area of an image to another. To use it, select the Healing Brush from the toolbar, then set the size and hardness of the brush. Click on the area you want to heal, then brush over the area you want to copy.
How do I smooth out oily ridges in Lightroom?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the best way to smooth out body fat in Lightroom depends on the person's body type and the specific area of the body that needs to be smoothed. However, a few tips that can help include using an adjustment brush to selectively soften the skin in that area, using a lower brush opacity setting, and using a noise reduction filter to minimize any skin blemishes.
How to achieve a smooth skin texture?
There are a few things you can do to get smooth skin texture:
Exfoliate regularly with a gentle exfoliator.
Use a moisturizer containing hyaluronic acid.
Drink plenty of water and eat healthy food.
Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol.
Get enough sleep.
Where is skin softening in Lightroom?
The Develop module has a Skin softening slider. This slider will smooth skin tones and make them softer.
Where is the texture tool in Lightroom?
The Texture tool is located in the Develop module on the Effects panel.
What does a texture do in Lightroom?
Texture is a way to add detail and grain to an image. It can be used to make an image more realistic or add interest.
How do I fix a shiny face in Lightroom?
There are several ways to fix a shiny face in Lightroom.
