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How to Remove Blemishes in Photoshop

Posted on March 26th, 2009 by Marck
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Many people rely on the many tools available in Adobe Photoshop to edit photos and portraits of themselves.  Some people may be insecure of birthmarks, pock marks, moles, or other blemishes in their face.  With the right tools and technique in Photoshop, you can get rid of blemishes easily and quickly, without making your picture look like it had been heavily edited.

Blur

The Blur tool is very useful for subtle edits or small blemishes.  Blurring works by reducing the vividness and clarity of pixels to reduce the obvious effect of a blemish.  To use the Blur tool, follow these steps:

  1. Press “R” until you have access to the Blur tool on the Tools palette.
  2. Choose the right brush for your picture; it’s best to use round brushes with blurred and faded edges to allow the blurred pixels to meld and blend evenly with the surrounding pixels.
  3. Adjust the strength settings of the Blur tool.  By default, the strength of the blur is set at 50%.
  4. Blur out the blemish by clicking and dragging over the pixels.

Blurring Tips

  • Use small, circular drags when you use the Blur tool.
  • Unless you’re working on a very obvious blemish, do not go over the blurring more than twice if you’re blurring at more than 70% strength.  You may end up with image swirls that look more disappointing and obvious than the blemish you’re trying to remove.
  • When working with the Blur tool, it is best to work with small brushes with a low blur strength setting.  It may take quite a while to completely remove the blemish, but it results in a finish that does not seem too artificial.

Clone Stamp

Some blemishes like pits, and moles cannot be completely removed even with the Blur tool at its highest strength settings.  For very obvious blemishes, you may need to use the Clone Stamp tool.  The Clone Stamp works by going over pixels using a source point.  The stamp works a lot like a paintbrush, although it copies the pixels from the source point to the part of the image being edited.

To use the Clone Stamp, follow these steps:

  1. Press “S” until you cycle through the Clone Stamp on the Tools palette.
  2. Press “Alt” while clicking at a point in the image to define the source point.  The source point is the area where the Clone Stamp tool will copy pixels from.
  3. Drag the mouse along the blemish, and you’ll see that the pixels from the distance between the source point and the stamp will be copied to the pixels affected by the Clone Stamp.

Clone Stamping Tips

  • Pick a source point as close as possible to the natural skin tone of the area, and as close as possible to the Clone Stamp.
  • Be careful where you drag the Clone Stamp; the source point will always refer to the original image as long as you keep dragging the tool.  Like the Blur tool, work with small circles.
  • The Clone Stamp is best used after you have blurred the blemish with other tools in Photoshop.

Whether you’re working on your own photos or a serious photo project, Photoshop offers many tools and options to remove blemishes and other discolorations from a portrait.  With these tips, you can make a perfect image out of every photo you can get your hands on.

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