It can be annoying when, in photos, your skin just doesn’t look all that great. But, don’t worry. In this post offered by MiniTool MovieMaker (a free movie maker), I will show you how to smooth skin in Lightroom. After reading this, you can say goodbye to the annoyance.
Now, with just a click, every moment can be captured and shared with the world. Having perfect skin in photos is important sometimes. Be it a selfie with friends, a professional work headshot, or a candid vacation snapshot. When your skin doesn’t look great, it can be frustrating. That’s where a facial smoother tool can help. Next, I’ll show you how to smooth skin in your images using Lightroom.
Brief Introduction to Lightroom
Lightroom is an image editing tool developed by Adobe. It is specifically designed for photo retouching. It offers features including exposure compensation, white balance adjustment, color grading, tone curve editing, HSL (Hue, Saturation, Lightness) adjustments, cropping, distortion correction, removing vignetting, sharpening, reducing noise, and getting rid of red eyes.
How to Smooth Skin in Lightroom
Let’s see how to smooth skin in image using Lightroom.
Step 1. Download and Install Lightroom
Go to Lightroom website. Download and install it on your device.
Step 2. Import Your Photo
Open Lightroom, go to the Library module and click on import to add the picture you want to edit. You are suggested to select only one picture at a time. Otherwise, there can be some errors.
Step 3. Select the Adjustment Brush
Look for the Adjustment Brush tool on the toolbar. Click on it to select this tool.
Step 4. Set Up the Adjustment Brush Settings
After selecting the Adjustment Brush, a panel of settings will appear on the screen. Here’s what you need to adjust for skin smoothing:
- Size: Choose an appropriate brush size. A medium-sized brush usually works well for larger areas of the face. You can increase or decrease the size using the slider.
- Feather: Set a high feather value around 70-90%. This will make the edges of the brush strokes blend smoothly with the surrounding area, avoiding harsh lines.
- Flow: A flow rate of about 30-50% is a good starting point. It determines how much of the adjustment is applied with each brush stroke.
- Density: Keep it in the range of 70-100% for better control over brush adjustments.
You can customize the settings according to your preference.
Step 5. Adjust Texture, Clarity, and Sharpness
Gently lower Texture, Clarity, and Sharpness values (overdoing looks fake) to soften the skin:
- Texture: Reduces wrinkles and pores. Slide the brush left to a value between -10 and -30.
- Clarity: Softens the skin. Move the slider left to a value between -30 to -50.
- Sharpness: Removes skin harshness. Lower it to a value between -10 and -20.
Apply the zoom-in effect for more precise placement of the effects. The provided values are merely suggestions; feel free to adjust them based on your requirements. To have a natural look, avoid reducing the values too much.
Step 6. Apply the Adjustment to the Skin
With the settings adjusted, use the brush to paint over skin areas (avoid eyes, lips, and hair). The selected area will turn red. If you make a mistake, you can use the Erase option in the Adjustment Brush settings to remove the unwanted adjustments.
Step 7. Remove Spots
On the Develop tab, click the Bandage icon in the right panel. Select Heal from the menu. Use this tool to remove all pimples and spots on your skin. Zoom in for details.
Step 8. Final Touches
Before exporting, take a step back and look at the overall image. You may need to fine-tune the settings further. You can go back to the Adjustment Brush settings and make small changes to the clarity, texture, and sharpness values. You can also adjust the brush size and feather if you notice any unevenness in the smoothed areas.
Step 9. Export Your Photo
Once satisfied, go to the Share menu. There are preset options for quick photo export: JPG (Small), JPG (Large), Original, or Previous Settings. Choose one you like and Lightroom will prompt you to choose an export location.
You can click Custom Settings for more export options.
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Conclusion
This post offers detailed instructions on how to make skin smooth in Lightroom. I hope find it useful.
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Ava has a passion for writing and dedicates her time writing articles on topics such as video editing, file conversion, and social media applications. When she's not typing away at her keyboard, she loves watching movies and doing yoga.