Face retouching - part 1

First let me say thanks to vimark from sxc for the stock picture, you can find it here http://www.sxc.hu/photo/826463.

Before we begin I want to say that during the process of retouching a portrait we have to keep two things in mind: first layers and second symmetrical.

By layers I'm refering to ways of manipulating images so at any time (even when you are finished) you can go back to the original image. This is achieved by using new layers for each process and never flattening your image.

Symmetry is the word that you must never forget. The human body is only as beautyfull as it is symmetrical.

With this out of the way we can begin.

Before and after:

First step is to lighen it a lot. I've done it by creating a very bright curves layer. With both the background layer and the curves layer visible make a new layer and Apply Image (CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+E) leave the name as it is (layer 1). Hide the curves layer and set the blending mode for layer 1 to Soft Light and opacity depending on how bright the image was (I used 50%).Again make a new layer and Apply Image, leave the name as it is (layer 2).

Duplicate layer 2 and add some Gaussian Blur (Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur). Not to much cause we don't want it too blury, a 1 pixel radius should do it. There are some parts of the face (eyes and mouth) witch we want sharp so having the blured layer selected, pick up the Eraser Tool using a soft tip brush and erase the eyes and mouth areas.

One of the first things that people notice are those annoying skin moles. Select the Healing Brush Tool with a soft tip brush (size should be a little bigger than the mole itslef) and while holding down ALT click on a part of the face that is clean and situated somewhat close to the mole you want to erase. Let go of the ALT key and brush over the mole. Repeat this with all the moles. You can also do this step with the Clone Stamp Tool, but the end result might not be as good as you want.

Another important part in photo retouching are the eyes. In our case the eyes have been desaturated and I've decided to give them an angelic light blue color.

Using the Polygonal Lasso Tool make a selction around the iris, create a new layer and fill (ALT+Backspace) it with the color of your choice (I've used #31a0c9) and set the blending mode to Soft Light. Next press Ctrl+D to remove the old selection and make a selection of the pupil, create a new layer and fill it with black. Set the blending mode to Overlay.