A glamour makeover

The power to create amazing beauty is the most famous – or infamous – facet of Photoshop.

Step 1:

This photo is a little under-exposed, but it’s a beautiful photo of a beautiful lady:

Step 2:

To begin with, I lighten the photo overall:

Step 3:

The top half is still a little dark for my liking, so I lighten it up a little more:

Step 4:

A little more lightening in a few areas. Now I’m satisfied that I have a good base image to work on:

Step 5:

I select the skin, and balance the color a little. Any areas that were too pink or too yellow are now “under control”:

Step 6:

I duplicate the skin, and create a “perfect” skin layer. This looks ridiculous at this stage:

Step 7:

By reducing the opacity of the “perfect” layer, I allow some of the realistic skin texture to come through. The aim is to create a flattering appearance, without looking “plastic”:

Step 8:

Finally, some small cosmetic adjustments, and some sharpening.

Use the slider to compare the original to the final image: