Touch up a portrait in Pixlr

Transcription

1 Touch up a portrait in Pixlr Open the photo Open the photo in Pixlr (Advanced editor). When editing an image, it's best to zoom in as close as you can so that you can see all the details and changes as you work. To do this, click on the Magnifying Glass icon and then click on the part of the image you're going to work on. When making adjustments to an image, it is always worth creating a new layer to work on so that your original photograph is always untouched. To create a duplicate of the original photo in a new layer, simply right-click on Background in the Layers palette and then select Duplicate Layer. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 1

2 Blemish Removal You may want to enlarge the image on your screen to fit the entire Pixlr window. To do this, click on the Magnifying Glass tool shown in the image above.to zoom back out, simply hold down the Shift key and click the magnifying glass again on any part of the image (the magnifying glass cursor will now have a - in it instead of a +). You can also shrink or enlarge the image by clicking Navigator window. Remove the blemishes - Spot Heal Tool Use the Spot Heal tool to remove blemishes, moles, freckles. Select: Type: Blend Nearby and a suitable size brush. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 2

3 Remove Blemishes - Clone Stamp Tool Select the Clone Stamp tool. Click on the Brush link at the top of the window and select a suitable size of brush. You can edit the Diameter (size) of the brush and the Hardness (lower hardness means softer edges) in the window that appears. Work with a large, soft brush for the most natural effect. Now, choose a blemish- or obstruction-free area near to the part that you wish to correct and hold down the Command key (MAC) or CTRL key (WIndows) on your keyboard to select this area to use as the Clone Stamp. 'Stamp' over the thing you wish to remove until it vanishes. Progress so far Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 3

4 Skin Smoothing To smooth the skin, make another Duplicate Layer (this time duplicate Background Copy), rename the layer to Gaussian Blur. Apply filter Gaussian Blur Open the Filters menu and select Gaussian Blur. Set your Gaussian Blur to 150 and click Ok. You can play with alternative levels as you work with new images - it makes perfect sense for different levels to work with different pictures, depending on the desired effect and the original image. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 4

5 Adjust the opacity The Gaussian Blur will now be applied to the entire image and the effect will probably be too strong. The first thing to do now is to reduce the opacity of the layer that the Gaussian Blur is on. Click on the Toggle Layer Settings button in the Layers palette (ensuring that the correct layer is selected) and then set Opacity to 50%. Remove Blur effect from the Eyes and Lips To remove the blur effect from the areas of the image that you wish to stay sharp (usually everything apart from the skin), use the Eraser tool and paint over the desired areas, keeping Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 5

6 them sharp while the skin remains smooth. It's best to work zoomed in with a small, soft brush to do this. Click on the Brush in the Tools Palette and change it's shape and size. Remember: if you do something wrong, you can remove the action by clicking the step in the History palette. You'll notive that the erroneous step(s) will be greyed out and will vanish as you get back to working on the image. Flatten the image Once you're satisfied with your image up to this point, you can Flatten it before beginning any more work. Flattening an image combines all the layers you've used. To do this, open the Layer menu and select Flatten Image. Alter the Brightness and Contrast First of all, duplicate your Background layer and call your new layer Brightness and Contrast. Then, to make changes to the brightness and contrast of your image, open the Adjustment menu and select Brightness & Contrast. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 6

7 Now, adjust the brightness and contrast by moving the sliders in the window the appears, then click OK. Colour Alteration Duplicate your Brightness and Contrast layer and call it Colour. To edit the colours of your image, open the Adjustment menu and select Colour Balance. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 7

8 Change the colours by moving the sliders. You can create quite striking effects using this tool, so work gradually and carefully, keeping in mind the result you want. Click OK when you're finished to save your changes. Now, flatten your image again. Cropping and Resizing There is a lot to consider when cropping or resizing your work. If you want to print your picture, you'll need to know what pixel dimensions are required for your print. For the purpose of this tutorial, we're going to resize our image for posting on the web. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 8

9 Resizing I prefer to use thee Free Transform tool to resize the image before cropping it. Apply the changes, Hold the Shift key as you resize the image. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 9

10 Crop the image Select the Crop Tool. Click on the Constraint drop-down and select Output size. Then type in the pixel dimensions for Width and Height. We're going to use 500px x 750 px. Now, drag the Crop area over the whole image to resize it, or your chosen part of it if you want to crop part of it out. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 10

11 Saving your Image Type in a name for your image (use a different name from your original so you don't save over it) and select your format (JPG is fine for posting pictures online and using online printing services). For images that you plan to or use online, a Quality setting of 80 is fine. It keeps the file size small without much loss of detail. For print, always ensure that you save your image at the highest setting possible. When you're happy with your Save settings, click OK and follow the prompts to save the image on your computer. Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 11

12 The Original image The Retouched final image Touch up a portrait in Pixlr - 12