Skin Retouching: Masterclass: How to (part 5)

In the final stage of retouching - where things get really tricky - you put your image 'under the knife' and push the limits that bit further by hammering out some post-production cosmetic surgery.

And we really mean surgery, although without the need for anaesthetic. Say your model's nose could be a little smaller, or that the left one is slightly larger than the right (we're talking about eyes here, of course)… all this and more can be rectified into a symmetrically beautiful image all by utilising the wonders of the 'Liquify' feature.

Softness

'Liquify' in PhotoShop is essentially like the image being made out of putty - you have the option to stretch, warp, bloat, pucker and pull your image as you please.
It needs to be used with some caution however, because it's easier to make your sitter look about as appealing as a week-old doner kebab than it is to enhance their original appeal.

As with all digital imaging concepts, there is an absolute resolution that you will be working at, so be aware that certain adjustments may render areas of the image soft. The Liquify function is particularly poor culprit - which is why subtlety is absolutely key. When increasing the size of an area, for example, you are essentially grabbing pixels of an absolute given size and asking them to get bigger. As you might expect, pixels don't like this very much, as there is no extra information available to make them any bigger whilst retaining sharpness.

Where possible, work with a bigger size (i.e. physical scale/resolution) image than you need to, and downsize to your required 'print size' after you have finished adjusting your image - that way you are fully utilising the pixel information available prior to resizing, which may give the impression of an overall 'sharper' image once resized.

Liquify

Liquify is located in the “Filter” tab, then select “Liquify” for the function to be bought up on screen.

When using liquification there are a number of options available - try to think which best suits the situation, and remember not to overdo it otherwise there will be too much softness and smearing that is obviously inherent to a retouched image (we want to make it look as real as possible, even though it's not!)

	Warp tool - it's almost like a 'smudger', but drags your selection from the centre of your cursor. Good for physically moving areas of an image.
	Twirl tool - erm, the tool that kids use at playschool, it's really about as useful as a chocolate teapot.
	Pucker tool - pushes selection towards the centre of your cursor. Good for clipping edges, reducing sizes and similar downscaling adjustments.
	Bloat tool - opposite of pucker, pushes and bloats area. Can be useful to enlarge certain areas (plump lips, eyes, etc). Due to the inherent 'enlarging' process, use sparingly to avoid softness.

Freeze/Thaw Mask tools - as in previous chapters, masking is an important tool in selecting specific areas to apply adjustments to. The masking functions within the Liquify function allow you to draw a mask over the areas that you do not wish to be affected by any of the other Liquify tools. This is particularly useful to prevent any adjustments 'overflowing' into unwanted areas, and also to freeze up those parts that would be rendered worse in the case of any liquify adjustments.

As with many other Photoshop functions, you can determine brush size, density and pressure: Lower density will cause less effect at the edge of the cursor tool. Pressure is how much the tool will affect the adjustment - as with previous dodging and burning the pressure benefits from being low, so that you can subtly manoeuvre areas successfully.

Decision Making

So, it's decision making time - what do you want to change about the image? Its advisable not to go 'too far', but the world is your oyster, so experiment and see what you can come up with.

Here's a very important note to remember - When making adjustments in Liquify, you can only 'undo' by one stage
So when making adjustments, make them progressively - make an initial subtle adjustment, apply it, reopen the Liquify function and rework your next stage. What this does is saves all of the individual liquifications in PhotoShop History, so you can see your progress stage by stage and ensure sharpness and accurate, believable adjustments.

Always have an original of the image hidden in the background so that you can toggle to the original and see if you are happy with the progress of your retouching - this is particularly true when utilising Liquify. If it goes a bit wrong, then you may have to bin it and start over again, you have to be brutal with yourself to maintain a high standard.

Example Processes

For the example image here's what we did:

1. Decided to keep the symmetry a little more succinct by enlarging the right eye and lowering it in line with the left. The left was also enlarged slightly to give big, bold eyes.

Its important to step back and maintain an overview of the shape that you are crafting as you don't want to get excessively immersed in the process, it's the results that are most important.
The warp tool brush was made larger than the eye area, the pressure dropped to around 20%, density maintained at around 70% (as we wanted to ensure everything was moving). Initially a large brush was used, but then a series of smaller ones to tweak the way in which the rest of the eyebrow followed the shape of the eye.

Once repositioned, the bloat tool was used to enlarge. Don't use it in one fell swoop though, as you will only be sampling from one fixed area and this will encourage softness and patches of colour (as you are generating a whole space from less pixel information than is available).
It's best to keep the pressure and brush size down low and keep tapping away at the area in a number of different areas to give an 'overall' enlargement whilst minimising softness.

2. The nose was tweaked to be slightly straighter and also puckered to make it smaller all over, more so at the bridge.

As with 'bloating the eye', puckering the nose is a similar process. If you try to click in one place and shrink down the area, then it may work but there will be areas that drag excessively leaving you with patches of colour that won't look real. Use the pucker tool multiple times with the pressure down low in a number of different areas. Slowly but surely you will begin to craft out the desired form through a series of adjustments as opposed to one singular.

3. The edges of the mouth were also upturned slightly using the warp tool to give the impression of an increased smile.

Once again, subtlety is the key. Think 'Mona Lisa', not 'Cheshire Cat', and you should exercise great caution 'upgrading' a smile on anyone who has deep-set 'laugh lines'. Even if you've lowered their intensity earlier in the retouching process, these facial lines can look crooked if you try to correct the smile too boldly.

A Last Word of Caution

By removing blemishes or making a subject's skin look a few years younger, you are arguably not materially changing the physical characteristics of an individual. In this last stage, you are crossing the line between 'looking better' and 'looking different'.

Although in most cases, people will love the improvement and may not even notice the subtle surgery, if you change someone's physical attributes significantly, they will notice and may take offence that you felt you needed to make the change in the first place. Worse, they may define their body image by the very thing you have altered and dislike the image as a result. In short, it's a touchy subject that you need to broach with a liberal dose of tact.

Try It Out

So there you have it - an overview of some of the things that can be done. There's so much potential here that it is one of those processes you can take under your wing and go with - the more you practice, the better you will become and from this greater understanding of the process follows.

By now you should have the knowledge to get you on your way to some decent retouched images that look entirely professional. In other words, they will look the business - be that on screen or as a print out. Good luck.