How to Remove a Blemish From a Photograph

Original Image

Image editing programs give photographers great tools for correcting flaws and mistakes with images. Like it or not, few models have perfect skin. Professionals use makeup, diffused lighting and special filters to minimize blemishes. However, even with all the work of makeup stylists and photographers, there is probably not a magazine cover printed that has not been edited with an image editing program. You can do the same with your own digital images and image editing program. In the following example we will use Adobe Photoshop, but the principles are the same with any image editing program. There is no reason for a photo of your baby to have a blemish--so open your image editing program and follow these simple steps to correct minor flaws.

Things You'll Need

• An image editing program like Photoshop or GIMP
• A copy of a digital image

Instructions

1. 

   Zoom in on the work area. The more you zoom in, the more artifacts you will see. Focus on a single area, make your correction and then zoom out to see how the image will be viewed. This zoom level is fine to identify the work area, and then zoom in further to do the actual airbrush procedure.

2. 

   Select the color you will use to airbrush the blemish. Choose a color using the eyedropper tool. Select a color that is immediately next to the blemish. Zoom in further if you are unsure where to select. In Photoshop, the color selected will automatically be selected as the background color. Use the swap feature by the selected color to move it to the foreground.

3. 

   Click on the airbrush icon in the tool palette and in the properties box select an airbrush size. Select a size brush that is smaller than the area you will airbrush. Keep the pressure around 50 percent for this type of color. The higher the pressure, the more saturated the color will be. In darker areas you may have to increase the pressure to get the proper saturation. Change the mode to dissolve. This will dissolve the airbrush color into the adjacent colors and prevent getting a circle from the brush. With a small circular motion move the brush over the blemish and watch it disappear

4. 

   When you are done airbrushing, zoom out to view your work. The problem with doing this is that when you zoom out you will notice other blemishes that need correction. Airbrush and view each blemish separately or you will wind up doing too much and the result won't look natural.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to use the history palette or undo command to step backward through your work if you make mistakes.

• Perform as little airbrushing as possible to keep the natural feel of the image.

• Use as little pressure as possible on light areas like skin.

• Always work on a copy to protect your image archive.

Resources

• GIMP Image Editor
• Adobe