Quite often, the overall impression of the photo is spoiled by small details. It is especially offensive when a successful portrait frame as a whole is corrupted by facial defects or traces of fatigue.
Modern graphics applications allow you to quickly retouch the image by adjusting the details of the face. This article is about how to remove bruises under the eyes in Photoshop. Even a novice photo artist will cope with this task.
What exactly needs to be adjusted
Before we consider the question of how to remove bruises under the eyes in Photoshop, we need to understand what exactly needs to be processed.
Bruises under the eyes are, firstly, the darkening and shading of the lower eyelids. They change the geometry of the face, removing the emphasis from the eyes. Shadows visually divide the cheeks into zones, destroying the integrity of the face, giving it a painful look. Thus, these shading needs to be clarified.
Secondly, these shadows, as a rule, differ in a shade of color. So, to remove the bruises under the eyes of Photoshop CS6, you need to work on the shade of the areas under the eyes.
Thirdly, bruises under the eyes - in many cases, this is some swelling of the lower eyelids, that is, a change in volume, which affects the distribution of glare.
Finally, this swelling necessarily has a pronounced border to varying degrees - a more or less noticeable fold, sometimes looking like a wrinkle.
In the photo, the crease can be emphasized by the play of light. As a result, this line not only makes the face painful, but also makes it old. Often this fold is expressed in a slight hint, but even if it is barely noticeable, the viewer still completes it by stereotype. Therefore, it is also necessary to remove this boundary by obscuring the boundary line between the swelling of the eyelid and the upper part of the cheekbone.
Color correction
To remove bruises under the eyes in Photoshop, you must first adjust the complexion as if we were applying makeup. A bluish or crimson shade of the eyelids is masked on the face with light green shades. We will do the same in the photo.
Using the Lasso tool, circle the areas to be adjusted. It is necessary to circle exactly both lower eyelids in order to make the same correction. Then select “Image” from the menu, then “Correction” and finally “Color Balance”.
In the dialog box, you need to move the slider from magenta to green. It may be necessary to continue working on the tone. Say, often you need to remove a little blue in favor of yellow.
It all depends on the individual complexion, frame quality, lighting and overall tonality of the picture.
Color application
The second method is "applying makeup." To do this, use a brush and apply a little green paint directly on top of the image. Select the Brush tool and adjust its settings so that it is transparent by no more than 20%.
The color you need to choose close to light emerald. The edges of the brush should be very smooth (adjust the degree of rigidity of the tool).
Then create a new layer (menu "Layer" - "New" - "Layer") and with a brush apply a transparent green paint to the area below the eyes. In the event that you are working with a normal mouse, and not a graphics tablet, you may need to edit the strokes.
Use the Eraser Tool with soft edges to remove the excess area of the stroke, if necessary. You can also adjust the transparency of the layer and tone. If the overlayed greenish “shadows” are completely invisible, duplicate the layer.
After these manipulations, the complexion should become more even. This is the first step to how to remove bruises under the eyes in Photoshop. A layer with a green tone does not need to be merged with the lower one yet. It may need to be adjusted further.
Lightening
With the Clarifier tool, adjusted so that its exposure is not more than 50%, and the brush has soft edges, lighten the darkened areas. Be careful with the borders of bruises: if you do not lighten the entire area of shading, then the border may become more noticeable.
You may need to lighten your entire face. This will make him younger, emphasize the brightness of the eyes. This can also be done with the Clarifier tool.
Now you can go back to the green tone layer. Perhaps it needs to be corrected again, making it less noticeable, that is, more neutral.
Glare retouching
If the swelling under the eyes gives unnecessary glare or shadow, they need to be darkened or lightened with appropriate tools.
Crease retouching
In the event that the bruises under the eyes end with a pronounced fold, it can be removed using the Cloning tool (Stamp). Select a function, adjust the brush so that it is small and soft. Place the mouse pointer in the area immediately adjacent to the fold. Click on it, and then put the pointer on the fold. Start painting with a brush. Fragments containing a fold will be replaced with elements that are free of it.
Alignment
The final part of the answer to the question of how to remove bruises under the eyes in Photoshop is as follows. It is necessary to smooth the face relief, masking possible traces of retouching.
If the layer with the green tone no longer needs to be changed, merge it with the main one. Then select the Blur tool. The brush should be soft, but as large as possible. In this case, it is better to start with a minimum intensity, setting the value in the corresponding window to about 30%.
Move the tool across the face without touching the eye area. Pay special attention to possible retouch misses and skin defects (wrinkles, acne marks, etc.).
It is possible that the bruises under the eyes are minimally noticeable. In this case, the way to quickly remove the bruises under the eyes in Photoshop can consist only in lightening and blurring the corresponding areas.