There is no shame in wanting to look your best in the pictures you share with friends and family, just as long as you don’t overdo it. And a decent, do-it-yourself “airbrushing” does not require fancy, expensive software that will overload you with a plethora of options.
Instructions
1. Have the picture you want to edit on a file on your hard drive. Open it in a photo editing program, and save a copy using the Save As option. Should you make a series of mistakes and discover that the undo button has failed you, you will still have the original to turn to.
2. Find the color swatch or pick color tool. The icon usually looks like an eyedropper or a pipette, but it may vary. This tool opens up your palette options by letting you take colors straight out of the picture. Place your mouse over a spot on the picture and click.
3. Zoom in on the area of the photo you want to touch up. Successful edits are done on the small scale so that stepping back from the picture (zooming out) looks natural. Also, getting closer to the pixels familiarizes you with the actual colors that come into use. For example, what you may identify as simply red may be a combination of maroon, pink, mauve and gray.
4. Choose your brush. One brush will have a few size and shape options for the sort of mark it will make. Experiment with some of the brushes to become more familiar with them. While “airbrush” is the common term used for this sort of process, you do not actually have to limit yourself to the airbrush tool. The pencil tool may be preferable for most purposes, because it can alter one pixel at a time, offering maximum precision.
5. Swatch the colors closest to the feature you are trying to remove. Use this color with your brush of choice to cover the blemish.
6. Zoom out of the picture to see the composite, and ascertain that your edits look natural and appropriate. If they do not, use the undo option. If the photo fails, you still have the original. Save your work when you are finished with the edit.
Tags: have original, still have, still have original, your brush
