Digital SLR Photography

Retouch like a pro: How to remove dark under-eye 'bags'

By Caroline Schmidt. Posted

It’s a lucky few who don’t benefit from some digital retouching to polish their appearance. Even those with the best skin will have uneven pigmentation, undereye bags and a little shine.

There are countless techniques and approaches to retouching portraits, there are plenty of plug-ins and filters to help, and a confusing amount of ‘best practice’ solutions. But how you approach retouching comes down to your style and skill level.

One technique that can make a world of difference to your portraits is to reduce dark under-eye circles – it brightens the eyes and evens out the skin for a more youthful, healthy appearance. There are many ways to do it, but this is my favourite – it retains texture so retouching doesn't look at all heavy, while lightening the skin tone in line with the rest of the face. Give it a go for yourself...

1. Lighten

Dark undereye circles are trickier than many think to remove. Some people like to use the Clone Stamp or Patch Tool, but these replace the skin texture,while the Dodge Tool can cause tonal problems. Instead try replacing the colour. Add a Curves adjustment layer and double-click on the Color Picker for the Shadows.

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2. Apply the effect

It’s important to check that you’ve selected the curve part of the adjustment layer and not the layer mask, in the Layers palette. Use the Color Picker to select a nearby area of the skin to cover the undereye with. Click OK, then click on the dark undereye shadow to apply the colour across the whole image.

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3. Relieve the undereye

In the Layers palette, click on the Curves’ layer mask and invert it to black (cmd &I). Select the Brush Tool and set it to a soft, medium-sized brush with a low Opacity and Flow of 70-90%. Zoom into your subject and carefully brush over the undereye shadows to instantly lift them, whilst retaining the original texture.

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For more details about the techniques used to retouch this image, from skin smoothening and eye brightening to contouring, pick up the latest issue of Digital SLR Photography magazine – in stores now – or subscribe today!

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