If you are over sixty years old, you probably won’t like to have your picture taken. Older faces are the main victims of bright lighting, deep shadows, sharp lenses, and unforgiving close-ups. She probably looks good at night with candlelight on her face, but once her granddaughter shows up with her digital camera, her nice image is history. Arcsoft, Adobe, and Corel sell image editors with the necessary tools.

There are some steps you can take to alleviate the situation. One is to insist on a full-length shot far enough to produce a small, indistinct face. Another is to put on makeup and hope for the best. Finally, you can beg to be removed from the scene. The latter punishes both you and your loved ones and makes one appear vain.

A photo of your favorite that everyone likes can be digitally enhanced quite easily. It only takes a little effort on the part of the photographer to become familiar with the necessary tools and methods.

Starting at the top, there are loose hairs and dark roots that spoil the hair spray. Loose hair is easily cloned out of existence by copying the adjacent area with a feathered clone stamp set to fifty percent transparency. Dark roots require cloning an area of ​​hair of the appropriate color and running in the same direction if straight. I recommend a thirty percent transparency using multiple passes for a realistic effect. Work with the widest enlargement of the workspace that fits your screen.

Glossy fronts are tricky, but can often be enhanced with a touch of the pesky brush. Set the brush on medium strength and fifty percent transparency. Place the size in twice the area of ​​the highlight and blend 100%. Don’t try to darken the area, but a light fill with the air brush will do wonders. Use the eyedropper to choose an adjacent skin color and fill in the highlight with three percent transparency.

Blemishes will disappear using the clone at seventy percent transparency, copying from a nearby area of ​​blemish-free skin. At eighty-five percent transparency, drag clone over under-eye bags for a more youthful appearance. Don’t overdo this effect.

The whites of the eyes can be cleared up if done carefully. Outline the whites of the eyes with the dotted line mask and make an object from the masked areas. In the brightness / contrast box, click the brightness once at three percent. Do not try to make any other adjustments to this eye area. It is possible to open your eyes a little, but the method is quite advanced. If there are no reflections in the eye, you can place one with a two or three pixel brush using a light warm gray color. A 100% feathered round shape is normal or a crescent shape for an outdoor image. If the highlight looks too prominent, you can use the smoothing brush to tone it down without removing it.

Teeth often appear dark and yellowish on digital photos. Draw a dotted circle around the teeth and, using the brightness / contrast chart, brighten the teeth to five percent strength and change the color balance with a three percent magenta setting. Crooked teeth can be fixed by reverse cloning a good tooth from the other side of the mouth. However, this method requires a bit of practice and advanced training to be successful.

Skin that is too pale can be corrected using the center arrow of the histogram. Slide this arrow slightly to the right for darker skin. Conversely, sliding it to the left will darken the midtones for a simulated tan. The ends of the histogram representing the whites (right side) and blacks (left side) remain attached to the extremes.

There are other effects that will improve the face. The smoothing brush used wisely will soften the skin, the soft focus filter has the same effect, but it may be too strong a result. Color balance can be used to warm the face by masking the face and head and adjusting the color balance to two percent yellow and two percent red. If the effect is too noticeable, try one percent. Remember that blemishes, windy conditions, and dark shadows are temporary conditions. A photograph is forever.