How to Make Skin Lighter in Photoshop
- 1). Open Photoshop. Click the File menu, then click Open. Navigate to a digital photo of a subject whose skin you would like to lighten. Double-click the file name to open it in Photoshop's workspace.
- 2). Click the Zoom tool, which looks like a magnifying glass, on the bottom of the Tools palette on the right side of the screen. Zoom in on part of the subject's skin, such as the forehead.
- 3). Click the Lasso tool on the Tools palette. Draw an outline around part of the skin. When the blinking dotted lines appear, right-click them and select Layer via Copy.
- 4). Click the Window menu, then click Layers to open the Layers Palette; it may already be open in the bottom right corner of the screen. Notice the new Layer 1. Right-click it, select Layer Properties and rename it with the area of skin you selected, such as "forehead" or "arm."
- 5). Click the Image menu at the top of the screen. Click Adjustments and select Levels. In the Output Levels section, move the black slider triangle to the right and watch as that section of skin becomes lighter. Jot down the number in the left-side Output Levels box and click the OK button.
- 6). Click the Background Layer on the Layers palette. Repeat the Lasso and Layer via Copy process for another area of the person's skin, such as a cheek or leg. Rename the new layer with that body part. Repeat the Levels process, but instead of using the slider bar, type in the number you wrote down to ensure you wind up with the same lighter shade.
- 7). Continue layering to change all of the visible skin in the picture as desired.
- 8). Click the small lined icon at the top-right of the Layers palette and select Flatten Image. Click the File menu, then click Save As and type a new name for the picture; saving it on top of the original will prevent you from accessing the nonlightened version again.
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