Frequency separation in Photoshop lets you work on the texture and color separately.

As the name suggests, in this technique we create a high-frequency Layer and a low-frequency layer on the picture.

The low frequencies store the information such as color and tones and the high frequencies store the textures and fine details.

For example, when you use the heal tool in Photoshop, it can sometimes leave the area of skin looking like plastic.

Nobody wants to have statue-looking skin with absolutely no pores.

It does the job of removing the blemish but takes away the texture from the skin. We don’t want to do that.

If you are looking for free raw photographs to practice skin retouching you can check out fixthephoto and retouching academy lab.

Prep the skin before starting with the Frequency Separation

Before beginning the frequency separation method, you have to prep the skin. Remove bumps from the skin using a very small sized heal tool.

To make the bumps more visible, create a black & white layer. Pull down the reds completely and increase yellows to the point where you can see bumps distinguished perfectly from the skin.

Now, using the spot healing tool you have to remove the blemishes. Make sure to not overdo it and only remove the major ones.

Our skin is all set and we can now start the method of frequency separation in Photoshop.

How to do frequency separation in Photoshop: Step-by-Step

1. Create High & Low-Frequency Layers

Right-click on the photo layer and click on Duplicate Layer. Another way to do this is by selecting the layer and pressing Ctrl+J.

In this way, make two copies and name one at the top as high freq and the one below it as low freq.

2. Edit the two layers

First, we will start with the low freq layer. Make the high freq layer invisible by clicking on the eye icon on its left.

Select the low freq layer and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Move the slider to the point where you can’t see the texture of the skin, only the color should be visible.

Don’t set the Gaussian blur too high. It should be set just at the point where the details start to blur out. This value can differ depending upon the quality of the picture.

Moving on to the high freq layer. Select it and make it visible by clicking on the eye icon on its left.

Also Read: How To Make a GIF in Adobe Photoshop

Go to Image > Apply Image and set the following values in the pop-up window.

Hit okay and this will turn your picture grey. Change the blend mode of high freq layer to Linear Light and it will revert back to looking like the original picture.

3. Apply Gaussian Blur to Low-Frequency Layer

Select the low freq layer, right-click and convert it into a Smart Object. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur.

Set the value of the Gaussian Blur to the point where the skin looks sharp enough with texture. The key here is to find the sweet spot and to not over-do or under-do this.

This value of Gaussian Blur will be different for each picture. So, though 15.3 worked for me, it might not work on your photo.

4. Paint over the texture on the skin

The Gaussian Blur gets applied to the entire photo. To apply it only on the skin, click on the white box you see on the Smart Filter layer.

After clicking on the white box, press Ctrl+I to invert. This should turn the box from white to black.

This will also remove the blur from your photo. Now you can paint over the texture by selecting the brush tool. Make sure the white box is on top of the black box, it is on the bottom of the tool panel.

Because our smart filter layer is black, painting with brush with white will apply the gaussian blur to only areas where you paint.

Extra TIPS

To take the portrait one step ahead, I enhanced the makeup and added a glamorous shine to her face.

What did I do exactly?

• Contouring on her cheeks
• Enhanced the eye makeup
• Added a glamorous shine

Here are the links to their tutorials,

To enhance her eye makeup, simply make a new blank layer and change its blend mode to soft light.

Keep the black box on the top, opacity to around 18-22 percent and paint over the makeup you want to enhance.

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