Retouch a portrait without destroying the original
Clean up skin, soften it with restraint, shape light with masked Curves and grade the colour, all on layers you can switch off, so the untouched photo is always one click away.
Intermediate5 min readUpdated 25 September 2026Editor · Workflow
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Good retouching is invisible and reversible. This recipe keeps the original photo untouched at the bottom of the stack and does every change on a layer above it, so you or the client can compare, back off or undo any single step at any time.
You will need
- A portrait photo, as large as you have.
- A mouse, trackpad or pen. With a pen, brush size follows pressure unless you untick Pen size in the options bar.
- About 20 minutes.
Result
A retouched portrait built from named layers: the original, a clean-up layer, a masked softening layer, two masked Curves for light, and a colour grade. Export a JPG for use, and keep the design to change later.
How the stack works
| Layer (top to bottom) | What it does | Why separate |
|---|---|---|
| Colour grade | Curves, Vibrance or Temperature for the overall look | Change the mood without touching the retouch |
| Dodge and Burn curves | Two Curves, masked to where you paint | Light is shaped by brushing, and each side can be turned down |
| Soften | A Blur adjustment, masked to skin, at low opacity | Easy to overdo, so it must stay adjustable |
| Retouch | A copy of the photo with blemishes healed | Heal and Clone stamp work on the layer's own pixels |
| Original | The untouched photo | Your reference, never painted on |
1. Open the photo and protect it
- On the Editor start screen, click Open a photo, or press Ctrl+O. On a Mac, use Cmd for Ctrl and Option for Alt.
- Rename the photo layer Original: double-click its name in the Layers panel.
- Press Ctrl+J to duplicate it. Rename the copy Retouch.
- Click the lock on Original so you cannot paint on it by mistake.
Spot heal and Clone stamp change the pixels of the layer you are on, and they sample from that same layer. That is why they need a copy of the photo to work on, rather than an empty layer.
2. Clean up blemishes with Spot heal
- Select Retouch and press J for Spot heal.
- Set Size just larger than the spot. Use [ and ] to change it as you go.
- Zoom to 100% (Ctrl+1). Paint over one spot, then let go. Work on one spot at a time.
- For anything bigger, such as a stray hair across the cheek, press Shift+J for Remove object. Paint over it and it is filled in on your device. The first use downloads the model once.
Remove only what is temporary: spots, marks, stray hairs. Moles, freckles and lines are part of the face, and removing them is where retouching starts to look fake.
3. Fix edges with Clone stamp
- Press S for Clone stamp. The options bar says Alt-click to choose where to copy from.
- Alt-click on clean skin with the same light and texture, close to the problem.
- Lower Opacity to around 30 to 50% and Flow a little, and use a soft Hardness.
- Paint in short strokes. Alt-click a new source often so no pattern repeats.
4. Soften skin, with restraint
Blurring skin removes texture, and texture is what makes a face look real. So the blur goes on its own layer, only where you paint it, at low strength.
- With Retouch selected, choose Image > Adjustments > Blur…. Rename it Soften.
- In Properties, set Amount so the skin just starts to smooth.
- Choose Layer > Layer mask > Add layer mask, then Layer > Layer mask > Invert mask. The blur is now hidden everywhere.
- Click the mask thumbnail in the Layers panel, press B and paint over the cheeks and forehead. Brush shows, Eraser hides. Stay off the eyes, brows, lips, nostrils and hairline.
- Lower the Soften layer's opacity until pores come back, usually between 20 and 50%.
5. Shape the light with two masked Curves
Dodging and burning brightens and darkens areas to sculpt the face: lift under the eyes and along the nose, deepen the cheekbones and jaw. The Dodge and Burn tools exist, but they paint into the pixels. Two Curves layers do the same job and stay adjustable.
- Choose Image > Adjustments > Curves…. In Properties, pick the Brighten preset. Rename the layer Dodge.
- Add a mask, then Invert mask, as in stage 4.
- Paint on the mask with a large, soft brush at low Opacity (10 to 20%). Build up the light in several strokes.
- Repeat with a second Curves layer using the Darken preset. Rename it Burn and paint the shadows.
- Turn each layer's opacity down until the effect is felt rather than seen.
6. Grade the colour
- Select the top layer and add Image > Adjustments > Temperature… to warm or cool the whole picture.
- Add Vibrance… to lift muted colours without pushing skin tones too far.
- For skin that is too red, add Hue and saturation… and use its colour range picker to change just those hues.
- For a stronger look, add Curves… and try Faded film or More contrast. Use the Red, Green and Blue curves to fix a colour cast.
7. Compare and step back
- Hold the backslash key (\) to hide every adjustment and filter and see the photo before them.
- Click the eye on Retouch to see the healing work switched off.
- Open Window > History to jump back to any earlier step.
- Choose File > Save a version (Ctrl+Alt+S) before any bold change.
Look away for a minute, then look again at 100%. If the first thing you notice is the retouching, turn the layers down.
8. Export
- Press Ctrl+E. Choose JPG for a photo; it is the smallest file and has no transparency to worry about.
- Leave Quality around 90%. Pick the size and click Download.
Common problems
- Spot heal says the area is too large. It works on small spots away from the photo's edges. Use a smaller brush, or Remove object.
- Clone stamp does nothing. Alt-click a source first, and make sure the selected layer is Retouch, not an adjustment.
- Brush strokes appear on a new layer. Painting with Brush on a photo puts strokes on a new layer to protect the photo. To paint on a mask, click the mask thumbnail first.
- Skin looks plastic. Lower the Soften layer, or paint less of its mask.