After analyzing all my videos and videos on youtube, I realized that most people are interested in retouching in photoshop. And it so happened that this is today's topic. Hello everyone, friends with you Maxim Rusakov, and I'm glad welcome you to the FREEMAX channel. In this video, I will process the portrait by commenting on everything their actions. I would like to start with the fact that today's release will be an overview of one of the possible retouching options, and there can be infinitely many of them. Therefore, this video will be more food for thought, not a step-by-step plan. And if someone tells you that there is some kind of step-by-step processing strategy. Don't trust this person! Each photo is as individual as the photographer and the model or subject. There is no universal treatment plan. You need to edit your photo the way your heart tells you no matter how funny it sounds, but not like someone in the video on YouTube. If you're just starting out, then the heart can tell one, or nothing at all, and even if it is prompted you and correctly, then the hands may not know how to do it right.
That's just for you, my dear friend, and today came out lovely video. I think even a like in honor of this is not a shame to press, all the more you still have a minute while I speak. And we continue. Still, I got a little excited about the fact that there is no clear plan processing. It is there, but very superficial. The photo is taken at the time of shooting – if that is the first point of the plan. For those who think that Photoshop comes first, and you can take pictures at random. Quite the contrary, the most important thing is preparation. for shooting and the shooting itself, the rest is acquired. The next item is analysis. At this stage, you must analyze the photo and answer yourself the question, do you need anything at all to do with this photo? What exactly do I want to do? What do I want to see as a result? What problems does the snapshot have? Only after answering all these questions, you can proceed to work. Never start treatment with the thought: “that! I'll start processing, and it will go by itself! And there you look and think of anything.
" Remember, analysis first, then retouching. The next stage, in fact, he and the last – retouching. This was probably not a treatment plan, but rather a plan creating high-quality photography. Therefore, this strategy can be absolutely applicable to any kind of photography, not just retouching. Here. Now we will go directly to retouching, but before that just a few words. Everything said in this video, these are my sketches that I collected when I was studying, although I am still studying to this day, from various photographers and retouchers, mostly foreign. The scheme is practically mine, so it is possible shortcomings, I will be glad if you tell me about them in comments. I recommend that you never repeat after anyone dumb. And follow me too. If you saw a lesson on YouTube, then it should be for you just useful information and a set of techniques. Because what is applicable to one photo may be absolutely inapplicable to the other.
This I say for the very beginner beginners in the Photoshop business. and new viewers of the channel. My subscribers and regular viewers are already in the know. Fuuh. Well, let's finally get rid of this boring and move on to the fun part. I will show on the example of not the worst photo, which I found, but on the example of the most suitable, in which it will be possible to use many different techniques at once, so you know more. Okay. We start with that very plan. The first point, you will have to skip, because the photo has already been taken. Not bad in my opinion. And now no one bothers us to do the analysis, that is second item. The first thing that catches your eye is not the most ideal skin, we see sharp transitions in skin tone, pores, scars and other defects, remember.
Not fully expressed cut-off pattern. Protruding hair. And more on the little things. So, let's get started. In my opinion, the first thing to start with retouching Is frequency decomposition. For those who are not in the know, a few words about this. Frequency decomposition. The name itself says a lot. With this technique, we can sort of paste photograph in two (and in some, special cases, three and even more) frequency bands. Simply put into two separate layers. One of which will only have information about the texture and that's all, but on the other only about color. This is very convenient if you want to remove, for example, pimples and do not make your face dirty because a pimple – this is part of the high frequencies, that is, textures and you need will only work on the high frequency layer.
Or, for example, the skin is very good, but there are some red spots, when properly decomposed, the color will remain at low frequencies, and we can replace the color with red spots on flesh color, with skin texture will not change at all. In order to better understand all this, let us expand photograph at these two frequencies. Now I only have one layer, but I want it do not touch at all and leave to watch on him as a variant of DO.
And we need two separate layers. So I'll click on the layer called "Background" and duplicate this layer twice. This can be done by pressing the key combination Ctrl + J twice. I will duplicate all commands on the screen so that you have conveniently. Now, for the most complete convenience, we combine these layers into a group. To do this, you need to click on one layer, then hold down the Ctrl key and click on the second one. In this case, we will have two layers selected and by pressing the combination Press Ctrl + G, you can combine these two layers into a group. Let's name the layers by double-clicking by the name of the layer and fix it, I usually don't, this is only for clarity and your comfort.
Okay. Now, finally, let's get down to frequency decomposition. Turn off the top layer, for this click on the eye opposite the top layer and activate the bottom one, for just click on it with the left mouse button. Go to Filter – Blur – Blur according to Gaussian. This filter is the most standard of those that remove high frequencies and leave only low. In general, the purpose of any blur is to remove high frequencies. and leave only low. With a single Radius slider, we can adjust how much we remove the texture and how strongly we show the low frequencies. There is no ideal radius and there will always be something sacrifice. If you have more problems with the skin itself, that is, the texture, leave less high frequencies on this layer, then add blur.
And if there are more problems with low frequencies, and the skin normal, it is better not to twist the blur too much, because the stronger the blur, the less information on the layer with low frequencies. And in order to correct defects in color and tone, it is better leave more information here and less on the layer with texture. In our case, the defects are mixed, but as for me there are more problems at low frequencies, therefore radius I will not twist too much to leave the very stock for work. I won't even dwell on those numbers which are obtained because each photo is individual and requires its own approach. And copy those numbers that I just got doesn't make sense.
Perfectly. We removed the high frequencies and now the photo consists of only from low. To make a photo complete you need to add high frequencies. Texture only. How can this be done? Turn on the top layer, the photo now looks like normal, but that's only because it's still a layer with an ordinary photograph in which all frequencies are stuck together. Go to the item – Image – External channel. We have a window in which we need to remove all low frequencies from this layer, I will not walk around and around, there are not so many ways. In the drop-down menu, select the layer with low frequencies, after all, it is them that we want to remove from this while standing.
Change the blending mode to Subtract, so that exactly subtract low frequencies. Scale – 2, Offset – 128. These parameters are static for any photo and do not change. Click OK. The photo does not yet look the way we would like it to it has become normal, we need to change the blending mode layer to Linear Light. And lo and behold, the photo looks like usual, but at the same time consists of two layers that cannot exist each without a friend. If you disable one of them, you can see how looks different separately. Now. We can edit texture and tone separately from each other, which is extremely convenient for professional retouching. Let's finally get down to processing! But before that, a few words, about the instruments of which can be used when working on a layer with a texture.
You can use anything at all, but the most correct an option would be the "Clone Stamp" tool with hard settings brushes, opacity, pressure, all this needs to be twisted 100%. Why? Because the texture has nothing smooth, high frequencies are very sharp, clear and if we use soft brushes, then the place of correction will look like unnatural. While working with hard brush borders will fit much better. Once you have selected the stamp tool, set up select it properly in the drop-down menu the sample is the active layer so that we only work with the layer on which we are, as if the rest and no. Now you can work in peace, but how? The stamp tool works on the principle of direct copying one area to another. The size of the area is controlled by the size of the brush. And the area itself is chosen by you. In our case, we will copy sections of the texture with good skin on problem areas. To select the area you want to copy, you need to press and hold the Alt key, instead of the usual cursor, the crosshair appears, with it you must click on a clean area and that's it.
Photoshop remembered the place you clicked on. You can already release the Alt key. And sketch out the place we don't like. You will be surprised to notice that the defect has disappeared. But not everything is so rosy. Let's try to remove the mole on the hand with the same way. Everything seems to be fine, but … A terrible stain remains. Why? Look. Let's turn off the texture layer. We see this spot anyway. So we can conclude that part of this mole, namely color, are at a low frequency, partially due to the fact that we left a lot of information on the layer with low frequencies, remember? When we blurred this layer.
For this, everything was started. To remove something from a low frequency, you need to select brush tool with completely opposite settings. As you remember, the high frequencies are sharp, clear, contrasting, but with low everything is the opposite, everything is blurry, smoothly, softly. Therefore, the brush should be as soft as possible, less opacity and pressure. With it we will smooth out sharp transitions at low frequencies that shouldn't be. We hold down the Alt key, we have an eyedropper, we click to a place located near a sharp transition and this the color is chosen as the main one.
Now you can release Alt and just draw. Perhaps the defect will not disappear from the first pass with a brush, but no one forbids walking two or three times. Most importantly, pay close attention to which layer active. The layer you clicked on is considered active. all effects will be applied to it. Also, do not forget about the body, if present. in the photo, because many people are so addicted to retouching faces that completely forget about the body, arms and legs. Feel free to edit the texture first, then the tone, then again the texture and so on, while it is necessary choose the appropriate tool. To make it not so boring, click on the eye opposite group "Frequency decomposition" to look at what you do it. Here. This is the backbone of the basics. There is nothing more to add, because this process monotonous and apart from understanding the principle and regular practice requires nothing. With this technique, you can achieve good results, but not ideal, because this is only a base. There are many more tricks that I will talk about in the next release, which will be released next Saturday.