The original and the close-up (below) had a shiny spot on the bride’s shoulder.

Using the healing Brush tool, fix the shiny spot on the bride’s shoulder.

The original and the close-up (below) had a shiny spot on the bride’s shoulder. Using the healing Brush tool, fix the shiny spot on the bride’s shoulder. The actual painting should be completed on another layer instead of the background layer; this will allow much more flexibility (and limited frustration) when fixing the shine spot. The wedding image is cleaned up, and our hot spot has disappeared. Now, they can live happily ever after.

Images submitted for a photo product or gift item are more often than not far from perfect. Problems run the gamut from ‘not quite right’ lighting to someone having a dull smile. The techniques supplied in this article can take just a few minutes (or even less) to apply that can brighten up your customers’ sublimated photo gift. Who knows, the customer may like the picture so much better that after a little TLC, they may purchase more products using the very same image.

Teeth need a little brightening? Adobe Photoshop can get those pearly whites a little closer to the desired look quicker than a Zoom® treatment. With some quick tricks in Adobe® Photoshop CS4® (many of the same techniques can be adapted for use in lower version also), you’ll be sublimating the image a bit more confidently in no time. Besides, who doesn’t like to look just a little younger, brighter, and happier in a photograph (besides a teenager)?

Lighting of any kind can add a shine spot or two to someone, especially when the subject is nervous about taking the photograph. Keep reading for how to banish that shine. These techniques are only touch-ups and in no way imply that cosmetic surgery should be an option for someone’s consideration; everyone does enjoy a better photo of themselves, no matter who they are.

Shiny People
Good lighting might not be the problem but a shiny spot on your subject can be. Start by opening your image in Photoshop. Create a new blank layer in the layers palette. You can create a new layer by clicking Shift + Ctrl + N (PC), clicking on the new layer button at the bottom of the palette or select new layer from the drop-down menu at the top right-hand button. In the visual example, the new layer is labeled ‘change’ but feel free to use whatever label makes sense for your working environment.

Adjust the layer blending mode (at the top left of the layers window) to Darken. Select the Healing Brush tool; be sure to use this tool and not the Spot Healing Brush. At the top of the menu bar, change the drop-down menu to read ‘All Layers.’ Next, we’ll sample the skin tone using the selected brush tool. On the image layer, hold down the ctrl key and click on a skin tone area that is the shade you want to duplicate to cover the blown-out area.

Release the Ctrl key and click in the shine area on your working layer. Paint as much as you need. You may have to change brush sizes and re-sample in other areas of the original image for proper coverage. Having your working area on another layer allows flexibility for erasing areas or adding on without damaging your original image. Just in case, always save a layered version of your file while you are working. Once the coverage is close to being complete, lower the opacity of the working layer till you receive satisfactory results. This can be done by using the slider in the opacity bar on the right side of the layers palette. Now the image should be shine free and ready for sublimating into photo gift items.

Teeth Whitening
A brighter smile can open up a face and allow someone’s inner light to shine a little brighter in a photograph. Give your customer a bit more to smile about. Open the image in Photoshop and zoom in towards the teeth you will be brightening. We will be creating a selection of teeth in the Quick Mask Mode. Check your colors and make sure they are set to the default of black and white. Next, click on the Quick Mask Mode button at the bottom of the tool bar.

In this snapshot, the subjects are smiling, and it looks good overall. Yet, a little teeth whitening could help. The edited look should not be dramatic but just enough to make a difference in the final image. In Quick Mask Mode, paint over the adjustment area. In the Hue/Saturation window, begin by editing the amount of yellow in the image by moving the saturation slider.

Now select the paint brush tool and adjust the brush settings to have a hard edge and be around 14 for the brush size. Paint over the areas that you want to adjust. The brush will automatically paint in a slightly opaque red shade. Switch the foreground and background colors to put white as the foreground hue to add to the selection and black in the foreground to erase. Once your touch-up areas are refined (your select doesn’t have to be exact), click on the Quick Mask Mode button to turn it off.

The painted area should now be a selection. Do a select inverse (Ctrl+Shift+I for PC). Now, at the top menu bar under Select > Modify > Feather, type 1 in the Feather radius. Mouse over to the top menu bar, choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation. In the Hue/Saturation window, change the Master setting to Yellows. Move the slider for the Saturation to the left for removing the yellow tint (try around -46 to start off with). Once you are satisfied with those results, change the setting back to Master and shift the Lightness slider to the left (try around +10 to begin with). Click OK to accept the edits. Press Ctrl+D (PC) to deselect the teeth. Your subject should now have a brighter smile, and they didn’t even have to visit the dentist.

In the next version of this article, we will review how to shave down just a few pounds around the face and addressing dull eyes. Adding a dash of white to the eye area of a photo can brighten up the entire subject’s face. There’s a reason why makeup artists suggest white eyeliner on the inside bottom of the eyelash line, because it brightens the eyes and the face.

Go ahead and accept those not-so-great photos from your customers; once you present them with your quick touch-ups, not only will they be impressed, they are more likely to purchase more of your sublimated items with a photo they feel better about. Adobe Photoshop® is property of Adobe®, Inc. For more information on Adobe Photoshop, please visit www.adobe.com.