How to Clear up Acne With Photoshop

Remove acne successfully with Adobe Photoshop.

Acne, commonly seen in teens and young adults, isn't welcome on portraits. Professional photographers use Adobe Photoshop or another photo-editing software program to remove acne from a subject's face. When removing acne, it's important to make sure the subject's skin looks flawless. You can accomplish this by sampling the pixels that surround the acne and gradually altering the pimple to match the clear skin.

Instructions

1. Open the target photograph in its original size. When touching up photographs, you will have better results if the resolution is high. This slows down the rendering time in Photoshop but your image will look natural if you print it later.

2. 

   Make other adjustments before removing acne. Alter the color, hue and saturation, if desired. Otherwise, you risk blending the acne with the original skin pixels but they may stand out in later adjustments. When your image is the right tone, contrast and color, it's time to remove the acne.

3. Zoom in on the acne. It's imperative to work closely with the pixels in order to achieve a natural look. If there are numerous pimples, work on each one individually.

4. 

   Select the Clone Tool from the Toolbar. Adjust the Opacity to 15 percent and the Flow to 50 percent. Place your cursor, which will now look like a round circle, beside the pimple. Adjust the size of the Clone Tool circle until it is slightly bigger than the pimple. An easy way to do this is to Right Mouse click and use the handy dimension slider to increase or decrease the size of your Clone Tool circle.

5. 

   Sample the clear-skin pixels as close to the pimple as possible. Do this by placing the Clone Tool circle next to the pimple and pressing the "Alt Key." You will see a smaller circle with crosshairs. Click once with your mouse and those pixels are now ready to use.

6. 

   Place the Clone Tool over the acne and begin clicking, moving the tool a tiny bit each time you click. Since the Opacity is only 15 percent, the pimple will change gradually, taking on the pixels of the clear skin. With a few clicks, it will be totally gone. Repeat this procedure to remove as many pimples as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider using Adobe Photoshop Elements for an easier, user-friendly graphics program that costs less than Adobe Photoshop and will also remove acne.

• Always make a new clear-skin sampling for each pimple since the tone of the image changes from one area to another.

Resources

• Download a trial of Adobe Photoshop CS4
• Try Photoshop Elements, Adobe's user-friendly photo-editing program