Photoshop’s Pen Tool is an excellent way to remove a product from its background or select a portion of a product image to change its color. And you can modify, store, and reuse the paths created with the Pen Tool as often as you want.

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In this tutorial, we’ll be using the Pen Tool to remove the background and add a new shadow to this image of a sock. 

Why is the Pen Tool the best option for accurately creating selections in Photoshop?

Photoshop 2024 offers a ton of options for creating selections, including the lasso tools, Magic Wand tools, and its new generative AI tools. However, pen tool paths still produce the most precise selections.

As someone who has been digitally editing photographs for over 25 years, I’ve seen hundreds of technological improvements within Photoshop and other photo editing software. And I can say with confidence that nothing has ever compared to a human-generated path, and nothing ever will. A computer program will never be able to replicate the precision of human skill, especially when it comes to creating selections.

What is the Pen Tool in Photoshop?

The Pen Tool in Photoshop creates paths and shapes which can be duplicated and manipulated to create complex selections, masks and objects. Unlike the Brush Tool and Pencil Tools, which “draw” pixels onto your image, the Pen Tool always creates a vector path when used.

You can create multiple paths within an image, and you can create multiple path segments within a path. These paths appear as either Work Paths or Shape Paths in the Paths Panel.

Shape Paths vs. Work Paths in Photoshop

Shape Paths created with the Pen Tool allow you to create custom shapes on your image which you can use to call out specific portions of an image. Unlike shapes created with the standard Shape Tools (such as the Rectangle Tool or Ellipse Tool), shapes created with the Pen Tool can be manipulated any way you want.

Work Paths, on the other hand, are Photoshop’s way of storing path information without applying any color to the path. Once these Work Paths are saved within the Paths panel, they can be made into selections, modified, and reused as many times as you need.

Where is the Pen Tool in Photoshop?

By default, the Pen Tool is located in the lower half of the Toolbar. If you click and hold on the Pen Tool in the Toolbar, you’ll see six separate Pen Tool options in Photoshop CC 2024 (if you’re using an older version of Photoshop, you may only see five Pen Tool options).

If you’re not working in the default workspace, some of these Pen Tool options may need to be accessed by clicking on the three dots at the bottom of the Toolbar and adding the extra Pen Tool options to the Toolbar. 

You can also access the Pen Tool by typing “P” on your keyboard.

Where is the Paths Panel in Photoshop?

The Pen Tool and the Paths Panel go hand in hand, so you’ll need the Paths Panel to be visible when you begin to use the Pen Tool.

In the Essentials (default) workspace, Paths are accessible by clicking on the Paths tab visible in the Layers Panel. If you don’t see a Paths Panel in your workspace, you can access Paths by clicking on the Windows dropdown menu and selecting Paths.

Types of Pen Tools in Photoshop

In Photoshop CC 2024, there are four different Pen Tools you can use to create a new path:

1. The standard Pen Tool
2. The Curvature Pen Tool
3. The Freeform Pen Tool
4. The Magnetic Pen Tool (only visible by adjusting the settings of the Freeform Pen Tool)

The other Pen Tool options are used to modify an existing path. Those tools are:

1. The Add Anchor Point Tool
2. The Delete Anchor Point Tool
3. The Convert Point Tool

The Standard Pen Tool

We’ll use the standard Pen Tool for the paths we’ll be creating in this exercise. It’s the original Pen Tool and is very similar to the Pen Tool in Adobe Illustrator. You can create just about any kind of path with this tool.

The Freeform Pen Tool

The Freeform Pen Tool allows you to draw with the Pen Tool in the same way you would draw with the brush tool, creating a path as you draw.

The Magnetic Pen Tool

With the Freeform Pen Tool selected, you can check the Magnetic option at the top of the application window and access the Magnetic Pen Tool.

The Magnetic Pen Tool works much like the Magnetic Lasso Tool, allowing you to trace the exterior of a shape within your image. It’s not perfect, however, so we suggest you work with the Standard Pen Tool whenever possible.

The Curvature Pen Tool

The Add Anchor Point Tool

The Add Anchor Point Tool gives you the ability to add more points onto your path once it’s been created. Hover the Add Anchor Point Tool over the part of the path where you want to add a new point and click the mouse to create the point.

The Delete Anchor Point Tool

The Delete Anchor Point Tool removes points from your path after the path has been completed. Hover your cursor over the point you want removed and click the mouse to delete the point from the path.

The Convert Point Tool

The Convert Point Tool is extremely useful. If you have a point forming a sharp corner on your path and you want to convert that corner to a curve, clicking the Convert Point Tool will make that happen. Conversely, the Convert Point Tool will remove a curve from a point and convert the point to a corner.

Paths vs. Shapes in Photoshop

When you access either the standard Pen Tool, the Curvature Pen Tool or the Freeform Pen Tool, you can set your Pen Tool setting to either Path or Shape in the options bar at the top of the application window.

Drawing with the Pen Tool when Path is selected creates a new Work Path that appears in the Paths Panel. Drawing with the Pen Tool when Shape is selected creates a new Shape Path that appears in both the Paths Panel and the Layers Panel.

When you choose Shape, you can also change a few different settings, including stroke color, thickness and fill color of the shape. We’ll go over the specifics of creating a shape with the Pen Tool at the end of this article.

When you choose Path, you’ll see an icon that looks like two small overlapping squares (this icon is also available when Shape is chosen once you’ve already begun drawing your path). If you’re creating an initial path to become a selection, set this option to Combine Shapes.

​​You’ll see a few other icons in the options bar, but for the purposes of this tutorial, you should leave those at their default values.

How to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop

How to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop to create a path

The standard Pen Tool allows you to create straight and curved paths with amazing accuracy, but mastering it takes some practice. Don’t get discouraged if it’s difficult at first. You can always adjust a path after you create it.

To create a path that you can then use as a selection, choose the standard Pen Tool, and then choose Path in the options bar dropdown menu at the top of the application window.

How to use the Pen Tool in Photoshop to create a new path

To start your path, click on your image with your mouse where you want to begin your path. To keep things simple, choose a starting point that is at the edge of a straight line, such as the edge of the top of the sock in the image below.

Click again along the edge of your object with the Pen Tool to draw the first segment of your path. You should now see a straight line appear.

Also, note a Work Path appears in the Paths panel as soon as you place the second point.

Create a curved path segment with the Pen Tool

To create a curve with the standard Pen Tool (such as the curves at the ankle of the sock), click to create the next point and drag with the Pen Tool before you release the mouse button. You’ll see lines, called handles, appear.

These handles are tangential to the curve being formed by the path. Moving the mouse around will adjust the handles, which will then adjust the line’s curvature. Once you’re satisfied with the shape of the curve, release the mouse button.

Note the handles formed from the curved line appear before and after the point. Therefore, the next portion of the path that you draw after creating a curved line will follow the trajectory of the handle from the last point.

When you click the next point, drag the mouse to create new handles and modify the curve that appears with your new point.

Creating a straight path segment after a curved path segment with the Pen Tool

If you want to prevent the next segment of your path from curving along the handle of your last point, you can “corner” the point by clicking on the point with the mouse while typing ALT (OPTION on Mac). The second handle will disappear.

The next point you set will be unaffected by the previous curve.

Closing your path with the Pen Tool

Once your path is complete, close your path by hovering the Pen Tool over the very first point you set down. When you see a small circle appear to the right of the Pen Tool, click on the point.

Your path will now be closed.

How to adjust the path you created using the Pen Tool in Photoshop

How to save your path

Saving your path is extremely important at this stage. Without saving, you could accidentally overwrite your hard work when you create another path.

To save your path, go to your Paths Panel and look for a new Work Path. Double click on Work Path to name your path and save it.

How to modify an existing path with the Pen Tool

Once you’ve created your path, you can modify any areas that need tweaking. It’s helpful to zoom in on different areas of your path to ensure the path follows the object exactly.

If you don’t see your path in your image, click on the path’s name in the Paths Panel.

How to add additional paths to an existing path using the Pen Tool

In our yellow sock example, there’s a path around the outside of the sock. But what if we wanted to cut out a shape inside of the sock for demonstrative or artistic purposes? We can do so by adding an additional path to our existing path. This method also works well for removing interior shapes from certain product images, such as the inside of a mug handle or the loop in an earring.

With the path selected in the Paths panel, select the Pen Tool from the Toolbar. In the options bar at the top of the screen, click on the icon that looks like two little overlapping squares, and choose Exclude Overlapping Shapes.

While the current path is still visible, begin to draw the area that you want to exclude from your selection with the Pen Tool. Close the path when you’re done.

How to modify existing points and curves along a path

To modify an existing point or handle on a path, find the Path Selection tools in the Toolbar. These tools each look like an arrow, and by default are located beneath the Type Tool in the Toolbar.

When you click on the visible Path Selection Tool, you’ll see options. Choose the Direct Selection Tool, which looks like a white arrow.

How to add new points to a path

The Add Anchor Point Tool, accessible by clicking and holding on the Pen Tool in the Toolbar, will add extra points along the path.

With the Add Anchor Point Tool selected, hover over the path and click to create a new point.

Once you’ve set down the new point, you can use the Direct Selection Tool to modify the point’s location or its handles.

How to remove points from a path

The Delete Anchor Point Tool, also accessible by clicking and holding on the Pen Tool in the Toolbar, removes existing points from the path.

How to use the Convert Point tool

The Convert Point Tool, accessed by clicking and holding on the Pen Tool, allows you to manipulate handles of existing points the same way you would manipulate handles using the Direct Selection Tool.

Unlike the Direct Selection Tool, however, the Convert Point Tool does not allow you to move existing anchor points, because when you click on a point with the Convert Point Tool, the path segments adjacent to the point convert from straight lines to curved lines, and vice versa.

If you click on a point that has handles with the Convert Point Tool, the handles will disappear and the anchor point will become a corner. If the surrounding anchor points have handles, those handles will still continue to affect the curve of adjacent path segments.

How to use a path to remove an object from its background

Now that your path is created, you can use it over and over again to create selections and use that selection to remove an object from its background.

How to create a selection from a path

In your Paths panel, select your path. Then, click on the icon at the bottom of the panel that looks like a circle with a dashed outline. A selection in the shape of your path will appear in your image.

You can also create a selection with the Pen Tool. With the path selected, and with the Pen Tool selected, click on the Selection button next to Make: in the options bar.

A dialog box allowing you to make adjustments to the selection will appear. If you’re creating the selection in order to isolate an object from its background, you should keep the Feather Radius at 0 and keep Anti-Aliased checked. If this is the first selection you’re creating, the radio button next to New Selection will be selected.

Once you’ve created your selection, you can use the selection to modify the color of the object or to remove the object from its background.

How to cut out an object from the background

Once you’ve created your selection from your path, you can remove the portion of the image from its background by either copying it into another layer, or by creating a layer mask. In order to do any of the following methods, you must be in the layer which contains the image you wish to isolate.

Removing a background by copying a selection

You can copy your selection by typing CTRL + C (COMMAND + C on a Mac) and then pasting the selection by typing CTRL + V (COMMAND + V on a Mac). Your selection will automatically appear in a new layer. You can make your original layer invisible in the layers panel to see the isolated object.

Note that the small section in the toe of the sock also was removed. This would be a useful effect if we wanted to show how the toes look within the sock. However, if we want to remove that cut-out, simply go back into your original path and your original layer, click on the interior path within the sock with the Direct Selection Tool, and type BACKSPACE (DELETE on a Mac).

Removing a background by creating a layer mask

To create a layer mask, create a selection from your path using the method described above. Then, locate the Layer Mask icon. This icon is available in both the Paths panel and the Layers panel at the bottom of the panel and looks like a white rectangle with a circle inside.

Click on the icon to automatically create a Layer Mask.

How to create a shape using the Pen Tool

You can designate a path to be a Shape Path before you create the path by selecting Shape from the menu in the options bar for the Pen Tool.

We mentioned this earlier: Next to the Shape option, you can change the shape’s color by double-clicking on the color rectangle next to Fill. A color menu will appear—the top bar of the color menu allows you to change the color by choosing no fill (transparent), a solid color, a gradient color, a pattern or a custom color. The bottom portion of the menu shows available swatches.

You can also change the shape’s outline color by double clicking on the color rectangle next to Stroke. And to adjust the width of the stroke, change the width in the dropdown menu just to the right of the Stroke’s color.

When you create a shape using the Pen Tool, you automatically create a new Layer containing that shape, as well as a Shape Path in your Paths panel.

How to transform or scale a Shape Path

With the Shape Path selected in your Paths panel, click on the Edit dropdown menu at the top of the screen and choose Transform Path to access any of the transform functions. You can also choose Free Transform Path from the Edit dropdown menu, or type CTRL + T (COMMAND + T on a Mac) to scale or rotate your path.

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FAQs about the Pen Tool

What does the Pen Tool do in Photoshop?

The Pen Tool creates paths that can then be converted to selections or layer masks. The Pen Tool can also create custom shapes within Photoshop.

What are the different types of Pen Tool?

• The standard Pen Tool
• The Curvature Pen Tool
• The Freeform Pen Tool
• The Magnetic Pen Tool
• The Add Anchor Point Tool
• The Delete Anchor Point Tool
• The Convert Point Tool

What are some common uses for the Pen Tool?

Common uses for the Pen Tool including isolating products from their background, selecting a portion of a product to change its color, creating multiple paths within an image, creating multiple path segments within a path, and creating custom shapes on your image.

Can you use a stylus with Photoshop and the Pen Tool

Yes, you can use a stylus with Photoshop and the Pen Tool. With a stylus, you tap to form points and tap and drag to create points with handle curves, instead of clicking and dragging as you would with a mouse.

Can you use other Photoshop Pen Tools?

Yes, you can use any of the six Photoshop Pen Tools listed in this post.

The post How to Use the Photoshop Pen Tool to Edit Ecommerce Images appeared first on Path Edits.

Thankfully, you can learn how to turn a picture into a line drawing in Photoshop CC 2019 following the photo editing steps below. Images of objects isolated on a white background work best for this technique, making this a great option for modifying or enhancing product photos.

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Scroll down below the video for the written tutorial.

Getting started: How to outline an image in Photoshop

If you want to turn a photo into a pencil sketch in Photoshop, but don’t want it to look like you did it in Photoshop, you’ll need to pay attention to detail and prepare your image properly before you apply any filters.

I’m going to show you one method on how to convert your image into a pencil sketch flawlessly, and then we’ll discuss specific tools you can explore to achieve other image outlining effects in Photoshop.

Not all photos are the same, so you’ll need to use your judgment as you adjust filters, blurs and layer opacities each time you use Photoshop to convert a photo into a line drawing. 

Step 1: Adjust the contrast of your photo

For the first step, we’re going to adjust the contrast of the photo to optimize it for a line drawing. In this photograph, the red parts of the bike contrast significantly against the white background. However, you’ll see there are sections of the bike’s frame that are very light, like up here by the bike’s seat.

We’ll adjust the contrast of the entire photograph so the light areas of the bike won’t blend into the background as we modify this photo. Go to your Layers panel and make sure the layer that contains your image is selected. If you’re working in a flattened image (such as a JPG), this layer will be the locked Background layer. 

If you can’t see your Layers panel, you can access it by going to the top menu here, selecting Windows, and then scrolling down until you see “Layers.”

Using Curves

We’re going to use Curves to make the light parts of the photo darker against the light background. To do this, choose Image > Adjustments > Curves from the dropdown menu at the top of Photoshop’s application window. 

Now I have my Curves window open. This can look intimidating but it’s actually really easy and fun to use. What I’m going to be doing is clicking and dragging on this line here to change the lights and darks in my image, like this. 

I’m working in RGB, so when I pull down on the curve, it darkens the inside shades of the image, and when I pull up, it lightens them. If you’re working in CMYK, it’s just the opposite—down to lighten, up to darken.

I want to adjust just these white areas of the bike, so I’ll click on the area in the image to see where those colors correspond on my curve—for this image, it’s up here—and that gives me an idea of where I need to adjust my curve. So, I’ll grab here, and pull down here, and see what that does to my image? Every image is a little bit different, but you should have an idea now of how to use curves to create more contrast between the object and the background.

Once you’ve got some significant contrast going on, click OK in the Curves dialog box.

Step 2: Set up your layers

Next thing we’ll be doing is setting up our layers. We’re going to have four regular layers in all and an adjustment layer, and I’ll walk you through each layer, one by one.

In your Layers panel, duplicate the layer containing your image three times, so that you have four identical layers. To duplicate the layer, select the original layer in the Layers panel, click on the Layers panel menu in the upper right hand corner of the panel, and choose Duplicate Layer. 

Name your layers

Let’s name these layers so we don’t get confused. We can keep the Background layer called “Background,” that’s fine. Now, click on the layer name of the Background copy layer so you can rename it. We’ll call this one “Inverted.” The next layer up—this one called “Background copy 2”—we’ll name “Sketch.” And the top one we’ll rename to “Cross hatch.” Let’s move on to the next step. 

Step 3: Convert the image to grayscale using an adjustment layer

This is going to be a black and white sketch, so the next thing we’re going to do is convert our image to black and white. Yes, you can go to Image > Mode > Grayscale and convert it that way, but we’re going to use an Adjustment Layer, which is a little more elegant and isn’t as destructive.

To start, select the duplicated layer at the top of the Layers panel. We’re doing this so that the adjustment layer we’re going to create will sit on top of all the other layers.

Select the Adjustment Layer icon at the bottom of the Layers panel—it’s the icon that looks like a half black, half white circle. Choose Hue/Saturation from the dropdown menu. 

Voila! You’ve just created an adjustment layer for Hue/Saturation, which means all layers that appear beneath the adjustment layer will retain the Hue/Saturation properties you set for that adjustment layer.

Adjust properties

With your adjustment layer still selected, go to your Properties panel, located to the right of your image by default. If you don’t see your Properties panel, you can choose Window > Properties from the dropdown menu at the top of the Photoshop application window.

You’ll see three sliders in the Properties panel: Hue, Saturation and Lightness. Drag the slider for Saturation as far as it will go to the left, so that the value listed for Saturation is now -100. 

Your image now appears grayscale. Pretty cool, right?

Step 4: Convert your photo to a line drawing

In this next step, you’ll learn how to outline, or trace, the picture in Photoshop using a series of layer effects. If your goal is to create just an outline of your photograph, you may decide your picture is complete after this step.

Make your top two duplicated layers invisible by clicking on the eye icons next to the layers in the Layers panel. Then select the visible layer that is second from the bottom of the Layers panel, the one we named “Inverted.” 

Change the Blending Mode

Click on the dropdown menu at the top of the Layers panel next to Normal. Select Color Dodge. 

With the same layer still selected, invert the image by typing CTRL+I (COMMAND+I on a Mac). You can also invert the image by choosing Image > Adjustments > Invert from the dropdown menu at the top of Photoshop’s application window. 

So, if you look here in the Layers panel, there’s a preview of what the image would look like if it didn’t have the Color Dodge blending mode attached. Don’t worry—this is all correct. And it’s about to get even better.

Add a Blur

Next, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window.

In the Gaussian Blur dialog box that appears, adjust the slider until your image looks like a line drawing.

Moving the slider to the left will result in thinner lines; moving the slider to the right and increasing the blur will thicken and darken the lines, and add some shading to the image. Make sure that Preview is checked in the dialog box so that you can see how the image changes as you move the slider to the right or to the left. 

How to make the strokes of your line drawing thicker in Photoshop

Now, as a side note, you may decide you want to thicken the strokes of your line drawing as it looks so far. To thicken the strokes, duplicate your original layer one more time and move the new layer above the layer you just adjusted (layer with Color Dodge blend mode).

Choose Filter > Filter Gallery… from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. Choose Glowing Edges under Stylize. Here, you can adjust the Edge Width on the right-hand side of the window. Reducing Edge Brightness will result in a cleaner edge. Click OK. 

Back in your Inverted layer, click CTRL+I (COMMAND+I on a Mac) to invert the layer, and change the layer blend mode to Multiply.

The outlines of your image will now be thicker and darker.

Step 5: Set your background and foreground colors

For the next steps in this process, we’ll need to make sure that our foreground and background colors are set up correctly before we do anything with our filters. So let’s do that now.

In your Toolbar, set your Background Color to white by double-clicking on the Background Color icon. In the Color Picker (Background Color) dialog box, click on the upper left-hand corner of the large color box.

Next, set your Foreground Color to a medium gray. Double click on the Foreground Color square in the Toolbar. In the Color Picker (Foreground Color) dialog box, click midway down the left side of the large color box. 

Other colors in the large color box (such as the blues and reds visible in the Color Picker panel image below) are irrelevant since you’re keeping the cursor all the way to the left side of the large color box.

Step 6: Add pencil shading to your image

In the Layers panel, select the layer above the layer you just worked with—the layer called “Sketch.” Click on the eye icon to make the layer visible again. Your image will now look like a black-and-white photograph again. 

Choose Filter > Filter Gallery… from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. That big Filter window will pop up again.

Add Charcoal Filter

In the Filter window, click on the folder marked Sketch and choose Charcoal.

Adjust the Charcoal Thickness, Detail, and Light/Dark Balance sliders until the image in the preview window has the appropriate amount of detail. Remember, you already have a line drawing of the photo in a lower layer, so you only need to create shading in this step. 

Click OK.

Back in the Layers panel, click on the dropdown menu next Normal and adjust the Layer Blend Mode of the charcoal layer to Multiply. 

Step 7: Add a cross-hatching effect to your image

The last part of the process is what will really set your image apart, and make it truly look like something drawn by hand. We’re going to add a cross-hatching effect.

In the Layers panel, click the eye icon on the top layer—the “cross-hatch” layer, to make the layer visible. All layers should now be visible in your image.

With the top layer selected, choose Filter > Filter Gallery… once more from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. If you see the Filter Gallery option more than once in the dropdown, make sure you select the lower option. 

Add Torn Edges Filter

In the Filter window, click on the option marked Sketch and choose Torn Edges. Adjust the toggles on the right-hand side of the window until you can see the details of your image, just like you see here on my screen.

Once you’re happy with the appearance of the Torn Edges filter, click on the New icon located at the lower right-hand side of the Filter window. (This icon looks like a piece of paper with a plus sign in the middle of it.) 

Add Graphic Pen Filter

You’ll see Torn Edges appear twice in the right-hand side of the Filter window. While the top instance of Torn Edges is still selected, click on the Graphic Pen filter and change the Stroke Diagonal to Left Diagonal.

You can also adjust the sliders for the Graphic Pen filter until you’re satisfied with the image in the preview window. As with the previous layer, you’re only creating shading at this stage. 

Click OK.

Change Layer Blend Mode

And now, change the Layer Blend Mode from Normal to Multiply as you did with the previous layer. 

We’re almost done!

Finally, because the graphic pen filter is crisper than the charcoal filter we applied to the lower layer, we’ll add a slight motion blur.

Add Blur

With the same layer still selected, choose Filter > Blur > Motion Blur from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

In the Motion Blur dialog box, set the angle to -45° and move the Distance slider to the left to create a very slight blur. Make sure Preview is checked so you can see the blur before you apply it. 

Click OK.

Step 8: Make your final tweaks

You’re not done yet! Playing with the opacity of your layers and cleaning up any dark spots that you see in your image will put the final touch on your new pencil sketch.

First, let’s adjust the opacity of some of our layers. You can adjust the opacity of the top two layers to reduce the intensity of the pencil shading.

In the image below, the top layer’s opacity is reduced to 60% and the next layer down has an opacity of 70%.

You should not adjust the opacity of the bottom two layers as doing so could undermine the line drawing effect you have created.

Erase artifacts

Next, let’s clean up any artifacts.

Depending on your image, there may be several places where the white background looks as if it has smudges, or dark spots.

In order to remove dark spots such as these, stamp the layers by selecting all layers, including the Hue/Saturation adjustment layer, within the Layers panel. Type SHIFT+CTRL+A+E (SHIFT+COMMAND+OPTION+E on a Mac) to create a stamped layer, which will appear at the top of your Layers panel. 

Set your foreground color to white in the Toolbar and choose the Brush tool from the Toolbar. Within the new stamped layer, carefully paint over any smudges using the brush tool. And there you have it! Your finished image will now look like a pencil sketch. 

Now that you know how to turn a picture into a line drawing in Photoshop, be sure to check out our other Photoshop tutorials to master your skills.

The post How to Turn a Picture into a Line Drawing in Photoshop appeared first on Path Edits.

The process of smoothing wrinkles on fabric and clothing in Photoshop requires subtlety and skill to prevent your final photo from looking flat and overtouched. Therefore, you should always retouch wrinkles by hand rather than relying on AI to do it for you. However, when you’re working with many photos a day, you need to have methods you can use quickly.

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This Photoshop tutorial covers three different methods for smoothing wrinkles on fabric and clothing: the healing brush tool, the patch tool, and the frequency separation method. The best method depends on the photo and your needs.

We’ll use the following product photo—the wrinkles on the model’s pants are distracting. We’ll use Photoshop to smooth out these wrinkles. You can click the image below to open it in a new tab and save it to your computer if you want to follow along. 

Scroll down below the video for the full written tutorial.

Method 1: Healing Brush Tool

The Healing Brush method is the least automated method for removing wrinkles, meaning it might take the longest but it typically leads to the best results. If you only have a few wrinkles on a solid color to remove, the Healing Brush tool can do the job quickly.

Step 1: Select the Healing Brush Tool

Select the Healing Brush Tool from the Toolbar on the left column of the application window. If you don’t see it, the Healing Brush Tool might be hiding behind the Spot Healing Brush Tool or the Patch Tool.

Step 2: Set your brush size

In the Options bar at the top of your application window, set your brush size to about twice the size of the deepest wrinkle you want to remove. Set Hardness to 0% and Spacing to about 20%. Make sure the Source is set to Sampled and the Sample is set to Current Layer. 

Step 3: Sample smooth fabric

Take your Healing Brush tool and “sample” an area of the fabric where it’s not wrinkled by hovering the mouse over that area, typing the ALT key (OPTION on a Mac) and clicking the left mouse button. Then, “paint” over the wrinkle as if you were using the brush tool. You’ll see a plus sign symbol (+) over the area of the image you’re sampling from, and a circle over the area you’re fixing with that sample. 

Continuously grab new samples as you work so the smoothed fabric looks natural and not flat. In the photo below, we smoothed one leg but not the other so you can see the difference. 

If you’re only smoothing one or two wrinkles, the Healing Brush Tool can be a great option. But if you have a lot of wrinkles you need to remove, this tool can become very time-consuming. If that’s the case, you should consider using the Patch Tool.

Method 2: Patch Tool

The Patch Tool takes whole “patches” of pixels from one area of your image and merges them with another portion of your image. Use the Patch Tool when you have many wrinkles over a large area to fix, especially if the wrinkles are crisp and defined.

Step 1: Open the Patch Tool

To begin, grab your Patch Tool from the Toolbar. It might be hiding behind the Healing Brush Tool or the Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Step 2: Adjust your Patch Tool settings

Once you’ve selected the Patch Tool, you’ll see some settings for it in the Options bar at the top of the application window. 

For this exercise, set the Patch to Normal and also select Destination (instead of Source). The Diffusion option gives you the ability to determine how much the edges of your patch will blur with the original pixels. You can play with this setting to see what works best for the image you’re editing.

Step 3: Select smooth fabric

With the Patch Tool, draw a selection around an area of your garment where it’s not wrinkled. Then, holding down the mouse button, move that selection over an area you want to smooth. 

The patch of smooth material will replace the patch of wrinkled material in your image.

The patch tool does something similar to the Clone Stamp Tool, but in larger areas. It’s a very simple tool to use. Knowing how much of an area to select, and how much diffusion to apply, comes with practice and can change from fabric to fabric.

Step 4: Finalize with the Healing Brush Tool

Once you’ve “patched” your wrinkles, you can use the Healing Brush Tool to blend in the edges of the patch if necessary.

In the image below, you can see how a combination of the Patch Tool and Healing Brush Tool can help patch the wrinkles in the model’s pant leg. The whole process took just a few minutes. 

Method 3: Frequency Separation

The Frequency Separation method requires more setup than the other two wrinkle smoothing methods described in this tutorial. But once you set up your document for frequency separation, you’ll find this is a very quick and easy process.

The Frequency Separation method is good to use when you need to smooth wrinkles throughout the entire garment. With this method, you separate the color from the texture of the clothing, allowing you to smooth wrinkles quickly without losing the fabric’s texture and shading.

Step 1: Set up Layers

To begin, duplicate your Background layer three times. You duplicate a layer by choosing Duplicate Layer from the Layer panel’s dropdown menu—this looks like four tiny horizontal lines—in the upper right corner of the panel. 

If you like using Photoshop shortcuts on your keyboard, you can type CTRL + J (COMMAND + J on a Mac) to duplicate a layer.

Name your new layers Color and Edges, respectively. 

Step 2: Blur color Layer

Make the Edges layer invisible by clicking the eye icon next to the layer.

With the Color layer selected, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

In the dialog box that appears, move the slider to the right until most of the wrinkles in your image are blurred out. 

Click OK.

Step 3: Prepare Edges Layer

Next, choose your Edges layer and toggle on the eye icon to make that layer visible again.

Go to Image > Apply Image from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

In the dialog box that appears, choose your Color layer from the Layer: dropdown menu. Set your Blending Mode to Subtract, set Scale to 2, and Offset to 128. Click OK. 

Now, back in your Layers panel, set your Blending Mode for your Edges layer to Linear Light. 

If you’re not sure how to change your Layer blending mode, it’s the dropdown menu just to the left of your Opacity setting at the top of your Layers panel.

Once these layers are set up correctly, you’re ready to begin actually smoothing the wrinkles in your image’s clothing or fabric.

Step 4: Smooth wrinkles

To begin smoothing, make sure you’re in your Edges layer. Choose the Lasso Tool from the Toolbar. If you don’t see the Lasso Tool, it might be hiding behind the Polygonal Lasso Tool or the Magnetic Lasso Tool.

In the Options bar at the top of the screen, adjust the selection Feather to a number between 20 and 40—you can play with this number to see what works best for you depending on the image you’re working with. Select a wrinkle or an area of wrinkles you want to smooth out using the Lasso Tool. 

Next, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

Note: You may see “Gaussian Blur” as the top option in the Filter dropdown menu. Do not select that, as its settings will be the same as the last time you used it. Be sure you select “Gaussian Blur…” from the Blur sub-menu.

A dialog box will appear. Move the Blur slider until the wrinkles dissipate. 

Repeat the process as necessary until you’ve obtained the smooth, wrinkle-free look you’re after. 

Smooth wrinkles, smooth sales

Smoothing wrinkles in clothing or fabric is a subtle art that really must be done by hand in order to get a realistic result. Once you master the tools and techniques outlined above, you’ll be able to smooth wrinkles in your product images in a matter of minutes.

Not enough time to master these techniques yourself? You don’t have to. We can take care of your trickiest or simplest wrinkles, be it apparel, furniture, or any other product. No AI or shortcuts here—every edit is carefully done by hand.

The post How to Smooth Wrinkles on Clothes and Fabric in Photoshop appeared first on Path Edits.

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There are many reasons you’d want to change a face in Photoshop, including:

• Adding variety to the models featured in your product photos (remember, consumers like to see people who look like them)
• Using a shot where everything but the model’s face was in the right position
• Making an unhappy or angry child happy again

In this article, we’ll learn how to face swap and blend in Photoshop in just 10 easy steps.

Watch the video here or scroll down below for the written tutorial.

Step 1: Open image files in Photoshop

Before you can begin the face swap Photoshop technique, you’ll need to select the photos you want to work with. For best results, choose two photos where the models are looking in the same direction. Also, pay attention to the location of shadows on both models’ faces. The easiest photos to work with will have minimal shadows and soft lighting.

We’ll use the following two images in this tutorial: 

Open both images in Photoshop by clicking CTRL+O (COMMAND+O on Mac) or selecting File > Open from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window.

Since we’re learning how to photoshop someone’s face onto another body, we’ll refer to the photo with the yellow background—the first model—as “Body” and the photo with the blue background—the second model—as “Face.”

Step 2: Select the second model’s face

We’ll begin working with the Face photo. In the Face photo, ensure you are on the layer containing the model’s face. If you are working in a JPG, the file is flattened and you will be on the correct layer by default. However, if your file is a layered Photoshop file, you need to select the correct layer in the Layers panel. 

Once in the correct layer, choose the Lasso tool from the Toolbar on the left side of the application window. 

If you don’t see the Lasso Tool in the Toolbar, it may be hiding behind the Polygonal Lasso Tool or the Magnetic Lasso Tool. Click and hold on either of these tools if you see them to reveal the Lasso Tool. 

Draw a rough outline around all the important features of the model’s face that you want to swap onto the other face. This may be just the eyes, nose, and mouth, but also consider cheekbones, eyebrows, and any distinguishing features such as moles. Do not select any of the model’s hair. 

Step 3: Copy and paste the second model’s face

You should now see a dashed marquee line (known fondly as marching ants) around your selection. Choose CTRL+C (COMMAND+C on Mac) to copy the selection of the face. Alternatively, you can choose Edit > Copy from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. 

Next, we’ll move into the Body photo. In the Body photo, paste the selection you made from the other photo by typing CTRL+V (COMMAND+V on Mac) or choosing Edit > Paste from the dropdown menu. 

Don’t worry about it looking bad right now. We’ll be learning how to blend faces in Photoshop in just a minute.

Using the Move Tool in your Toolbar, move the new face so that it is roughly in the same place as the face you’ll swap faces with in Photoshop.

Step 4: Resize the face

Make sure your Layers panel is visible. If you don’t see it, you can bring it to the forefront of your screen by selecting Window > Layers from the dropdown menu.

In the Layers panel, make sure the new layer with the face from the Face image is selected. Rename this layer to “Face” by double-clicking on the name of the layer until it becomes available to edit. 

Next, reduce the opacity of this layer to 50%. You can now see the features of both faces to swap in Photoshop. 

In the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, select Edit > Transform > Scale.

You’ll see a box around the face. Place your cursor at one of the corners of the box, hold down the SHIFT key, and drag the corner until the new face is the same size as the face underneath. Since you are working in reduced opacity, you should be able to line up the eyes, nose, and mouth as you resize the face. 

Hit ENTER (RETURN on Mac) when you’re satisfied with the resizing.

If you need to rotate the face, select Edit > Transform > Rotate from the dropdown menu and rotate the face until it lines up correctly.

No two faces will line up exactly, so you’ll need to use your own judgment here as to what size and rotation works best.

Again, remember to hit ENTER (RETURN on Mac) when you’re done so Photoshop knows to make the rotation permanent.

Reset the opacity of your Face layer to 100%.

Step 5: Duplicate your Background Layer

The Photoshop face swap technique is a destructive process, so we need to duplicate our background layer before we go any further just so we can retain our original image for touch-ups.

To duplicate the background layer, select the layer containing the first model’s body (if you originally started with a JPEG or flattened layer, this will be a locked layer called Background).

Look for the small block of four horizontal lines at the upper left corner of the Layers panel. This is your Layers panel menu. Click on those lines to pull down the Layers panel options.

From the dropdown, select Duplicate Layer….

Alternatively, you can type CTRL+J (COMMAND+J on Mac) to duplicate the layer without needing to access the Layers menu.

In the pop-up window, name the new layer “Body.” 

Back in the Layers panel, click on the button that looks like an eye just to the left of the Background layer. This will toggle the layer’s visibility off.

Step 6: Make a selection in the Body layer

In the Layers panel, select the Face layer. Then, from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen, choose Select > Load Selection. 

A pop-up window will appear. In it, the channel should say “Face transparency.” Underneath Channel, make sure the box next to Invert is unchecked.

The radio button next to “New Selection” should be selected.

Click OK. 

Back in the Layers panel, click on the eye icon next to the Face layer to make the new face invisible. DO NOT deselect your selection, though. We’ll be using that selection in the next step. 

Step 7: Create a slight overlap of the face with the body

Next, select the Body layer in the Layers panel.

From the dropdown menu, choose Select > Modify > Contract. 

In the pop-up menu that appears, set the contract amount to 10 pixels. Click OK. 

Step 8: Delete the face from the body layer

With the Body layer still selected, press BACKSPACE (DELETE on Mac) to remove the area beneath the face.

Press CTRL+D (COMMAND+D on Mac) to deselect.

Your image should look something like this. Horrifying, yes. But we’ll be fixing it in just a moment. 

Step 9: Blend everything together

Click on the eye icon next to the Face layer to toggle visibility on. You should see both the face and the body again.

Still in your Layers panel, select the Face and Body layers at the same time by holding down the SHIFT key. 

Go to the dropdown menu at the top of the screen and choose Edit > Auto-Blend Layers…. 

In the pop-up window that appears, Select Panorama and check the box for Seamless Tones and Colors and Content Aware Fill Transparent Areas. 

Click OK.

You’ll now have a new, merged layer with the two faces merged together. 

Step 10: Perform touch-ups (if necessary)

You may be done at this point! But for this example, the original model’s hair is covered up in places by the new model’s face.

To fix this and similar issues, toggle the visibility of the original layer back on by selecting the eye icon next to the Background layer.

Then, toggle off the visibility of any layers existing between the new merged layer and the original background layer. 

In your new, merged layer, select the Eraser tool.

Carefully erase any areas of the new model’s face to reveal the original layer beneath. Work carefully, and use a small brush with 0% hardness for best results. 

Once you’re satisfied with the results, remember to save your image. 

Congratulations! You now know how to Photoshop a face onto another body, and you’re ready to use this image to enhance your ecommerce photos. 

FAQs about Photoshop face swap

How do you Photoshop a face onto another body for free?

You can’t really Photoshop a face onto another body for free because Adobe charges a fee to use its photo-editing software. If you outsource the Photoshop face swap, you’ll also have to pay for the services. 

Can you swap heads in Photoshop?

Yes, you can swap heads in Photoshop. You can use the steps in this tutorial to swap faces and apply the same techniques to the whole head.

How do you put a face on another body without Photoshop?

1. Open image files in Photoshop
2. Select the second model’s face
3. Copy and paste the second model’s face
4. Resize the face
5. Duplicate your Background Layer
6. Make a selection in the Body layer
7. Create a slight overlap of the face with the body
8. Delete the face from the body layer
9. Blend everything together
10. Perform touch-ups (if necessary)

The post How to Swap Faces in Photoshop in Just 10 Easy Steps appeared first on Path Edits.

One study found that when a model’s gaze is looking away from rather than at the audience in an ad, the user is “more readily transported into the ad narrative and responds more favorably to the ad than when the ad model’s gaze is direct.”

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You can change the gaze of a model in a photograph with just a few steps in Photoshop.

How to change the direction of someone’s gaze in Photoshop

1. Open your image and select the correct layer
2. Open Neutral Filters
3. Adjust the person’s gaze
4. Adjust the person’s head
5. Clean up your Layers

Step 1: Open image and select the correct layer

Photoshop works with layers for each image. If you’re working with a JPG, you’ll only have one layer by default. But if you’re working with a layered or composite photo, you need to make sure the layer containing the model’s face is selected in the Layers panel. You can do that quickly by heading over to the Layers toolbar and selecting the corresponding layer. 

Step 2: Open Neural Filters

From the dropdown menu at the top of the application window, choose Filters > Neural Filters. 

The large Neural Filters dialog box will fill the screen. In the column just right of your image, turn Smart Portrait on. In the far right column, the filter you’ll be working with is Gaze. 

Step 3: Adjust the Gaze

Eye direction has only two directions: right and left. Moving the toggle to the left will move the model’s eyes to the left. Moving the toggle to the fight will move their eyes to the right.

At this time, there is no way to move the eyes up or down from their original position using Neural Filters. However, this may be a feature in future versions of Photoshop. 

If that’s not cool I don’t know what is.

Step 4: Adjust the person’s head

You might consider yourself finished at this point, but we’re going to take this portrait a step further and move both the model’s eyes to the left and her head a little to the left.

Below the Gaze toggle in the Neural Filters window, you’ll see a Head Direction toggle. For this example, we moved the Head Direction toggle a little to the left. 

Because this particular image has the model’s hands in it as well, the results aren’t perfect. That’s okay, though. We can still apply the Head Direction and then clean up the image to restore the model’s hands and hair.

At the bottom of the Neural Filters window, you’ll see a drop down that says Output. Make sure Output is set to “New Layer.” Then click OK. 

Step 5: Clean up your Layers

After you hit OK, you’ll see a new layer above your original layer in your Layers panel. This layer contains all the changes you made using Neural Filters and the original, unchanged image sits on a layer underneath.

In the Layers panel, make sure this new layer is selected. Then look for the Add layer mask icon at the bottom of the Layers panel. The icon looks like a black rectangle with a light gray circle inside of it. Click on this Add layer mask icon to create a layer mask. 

Once the layer mask is created, you’ll see an additional rectangle appear next to the layer thumbnail within the new layer. This is your mask, and you can toggle between selecting the mask or selecting the layer image by clicking on their respective thumbnails. When you have the layer mask selected, you’ll see a broken black rectangle around the mask thumbnail. 

With your new layer mask selected, use your Eraser tool to remove sections of the new layer to reveal portions of the original image beneath. In this case, we’ll carefully erase areas to reveal the model’s hands in the original layer.

When you work within a Layer mask, you’ll notice the foreground and background colors in your Toolbar are black and white. If the foreground is white and the background is black, then using the Eraser tool will “erase” portions of your mask to reveal the layer below.

If you mess up while you erase, simply toggle the foreground color to black and use the Eraser tool to restore the pixels you erased. You can also leave the foreground and background colors as is and use the Brush tool to “paint back” erased pixels. 

As you work, you can adjust the size of the eraser, hardness, and opacity using the Options bar at the top of the application window.

Keep in mind this is the most difficult step in the process, and you’ll need to work carefully and slowly to achieve a realistic result. It’s always best to do edits by hand so you have a careful attention to detail. For instance, as I worked on this particular image, I needed to repair part of the model’s hair and some of the original image’s background to get the outcome I wanted. 

The final result looks realistic, and we didn’t need to reshoot the photo.

The post How to Change Eye Direction in Photoshop (VIDEO) appeared first on Path Edits.

How to add a smile in Photoshop

1. Duplicate the layer
2. Open the Liquify Filter
3. Adjust the smile
4. Adjust other features
5. Add the details

1. Duplicate the layer

The way we will be adjusting the image will be destructive, so you will want to duplicate the layer of your image containing the model (most likely your background layer). To do so, select Duplicate Layer from the Layer Panel menu. Rename the layer “Smiling Face.” 

2. Open the Liquify Filter

We’ll be using the Liquify Filter to add a smile to our model. With your new “Smiling Face” layer selected, choose Filter > Liquify from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window, or type SHIFT+CTRL+X (SHIFT+COMMAND+X on a Mac).

The Liquify Filter window will come up. On the left-hand side of the window, you’ll notice a small icon menu. Choose the Zoom tool to zoom in on the model’s face, and use the Hand tool to recenter the face within the view window.

3. Adjust the smile

Once you have a clear view of the face, click on the Face Tool (or use the key command shortcut by typing the letter A). Once selected, you’ll notice that small lines appear around the model’s face when you hover over the cheeks, mouth, eyes, and other facial features. You can use these to adjust the individual features of the face. 

On the right-hand side of the window, you’ll also see menus for individual features, where you can control the size of different parts of the face. Photoshop even has a smile filter where you can adjust the upward curve of the lips, creating a smile.

Create a smile

To edit the smile in Photoshop, either grab the curved line around the edge of the smile and drag upward, or increase the smile filter using the toggle on the right-hand side of the window. To see the curved arrow, hover your cursor over either edge of the mouth. 

As you can probably figure out, if you want to make someone frown in Photoshop, you would pull the edges of the mouth down instead of up.

Widen the smile

When you smile, your mouth actually widens, so once you have increased the model’s smile, you can widen the mouth by dragging the double-headed arrows that appear when you hover your cursor over the model’s mouth in the image, or by increasing the Mouth Width toggle on the right-hand side. 

Change lip height

If necessary, you can also increase or decrease the height of the upper and lower lip. Again, you can use your cursor to do this within the image, or use the toggles on the right. With the toggles, moving the toggle to the right pulls the lip up, and moving it to the left pulls the lip down, so on the upper lip pulling the lip up by moving the toggle to the right will increase its height, but pulling the lower lip up by moving the toggle to the right will decrease its height (and vice versa for moving the toggle to the left). 

Adjust the insides of the lip edges

Finally, you need to pull on sections of the lips to adjust the entire smile and not just the edges. Grab your Forward Warp Tool on the left-hand menu (or use the key command shortcut by typing the letter W). Adjust the size of the brush so that its diameter is about 50% wider than the width of the model’s lips, and set the pressure to 50. 

The Forward Warp Tool can be used to warp certain areas of your image in the specific direction of your choosing by pushing on those areas with the brush. You will want to use this tool with care so that your resulting image doesn’t look distorted.

Using the Forward Warp Tool, pull up the inside edges of the upper lip just enough so that it looks like the entire upper lip is smiling, not just the outside edges. 

Repeat the process just inside the edges of the lower lip, making the lower lip extend out to the sides of the smile. 

You can also use this tool to pull the edges of the smile a little wider if you don’t think Photoshop’s smile app is enough.

4. Adjust other features

A smile isn’t just on the mouth. It affects the entire face: chin, nose, cheeks, and eyes.

Jawline

First, let’s reduce the model’s jawline to mimic the way the jaw moves up when we smile. You can do this using the Face Tool again. On the right-hand side, move the Jawline toggle to the left to decrease the width of the jaw. If you feel confident using the Forward Warp Tool, you can fine-tune the edges of the jaw with this tool as well. 

Cheeks

When we smile, our cheeks move up. There is no toggle for the cheeks, but you can manually manipulate them using the Face Tool. Grab each of the model’s cheeks with this tool and move the cheek upward. 

You’ll notice that when you do so, the eyes get a little shorter. That’s fine, we do squint a little when we smile, which moves us into the next facial feature.

Eyes

On the right-hand side, you will see toggles for eyes. It’s best to use the toggles when adjusting the eyes so that you can ensure you adjust each one equally. Reduce the height of each eye just a little (here, I set the eye height to -38). You can also use the Forward Warp Tool to gently push the lower lid of each eye upward, mimicking a smiling eye. 

If you’re concerned the eyes look too small now, you can widen the width of the eyes using the toggles on the right. Just be aware that this widens the eyes uniformly, so you may have to adjust the width between the eyes to compensate.

Nose

When we smile, the bottom of our nose widens slightly and our nostrils might flare. You can mimic this effect by slightly increasing the width of the nose using the toggles on the right or by using your cursor on the image itself. 

Forehead

Some people’s entire face seems to move up when they smile. You can mimic this effect by shortening the forehead, using the toggles on the right.

5. Add the details

If you are mostly satisfied with how your face looks, click OK to exit the Liquify filter.

We have a few more details to add to make this image look its best. In our example image, this model’s lips are slightly parted, but if this were a real smile her lips would be together. We can use the Healing Brush Tool and/or the Clone Stamp Tool to paint the space between her lips, making it look as if her lips are touching.

Reference: Introduction to Tools article to find out more how the Healing Brush Tool and Clone Stamp Tool work. 

If there are any areas that look too distorted or sharp from using the Forward Warp Tool, use the Healing Brush Tool to clean up those areas as well.

Next, we’ll want to add dimples. Remember, when we smile our face comes alive with dimples, laugh lines, and other interesting features. We’ll want to add these things in moderation, but a little definition on our model’s face will make the smile more believable.

Create a new Layer and call it Dimples.

Set the layer’s Blending Mode to Multiply, and set the Opacity to 50%. 

With the Eyedropper Tool, select a part of the model’s face that is in shadow. 

Once the color is selected and set as your Foreground color, select the Brush Tool. In the tool’s preferences, adjust the width so that the brush’s diameter is about half that of the height of the model’s lower lip. Set the opacity to 10%, and set the brush’s Blending Mode to Multiply. 

Within the Dimples layer, gently paint smile lines around the model’s mouth and add definition under the cheek bones and to the sides of the eyes. As you work, make sure that the lines are not obvious, but also make sure they don’t look like dirt.

The image below shows where I painted dimples and laugh lines in the example image, with contrast enhanced. 

If the Dimples look too gray compared to the model’s skin, select the Dimples layer and choose Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window. Then, adjust the Saturation toggle to the right until the shadows look more natural in color.

Not happy with the shadows in your shot? You can learn how to add a natural shadow in Photoshop to fix them in post-processing. 

If the dimples look too defined, choose Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur from the dropdown menu at the top of the application window and set the Radius to anywhere from 1 to 5 pixels, depending on the size of your image. 

You can then fine-tune the opacity of your Dimples layer to make the laugh lines more or less noticeable.

And there you have it! A smiling photo. If you did everything correctly, you still have the original image in a layer under your new, adjusted layers. You can compare your original image to your modified image to see the difference you made. 

How to fix a crooked smile

If your model is already smiling, but that smile is crooked and you wish to straighten it out, you can use the Forward Warp Tool in the Liquify filter to adjust the edges of the smile so that it is uniform throughout. See the second part of Step 3 in this tutorial for detailed instructions on using the Forward Warp Tool.

How to add teeth to a smile

We don’t recommend trying to add teeth to a smile, because there are only two ways to do it and both are tedious and will likely produce subpar results. However, if you are determined to add teeth to a smiling model, you can attempt one of the following methods:

1. Using your Brush tool, set your foreground color to white or off-white and gently paint in areas of teeth that would be visible in your image.
2. Find an image of a grin (smile with teeth showing) from another photo and swap just the smile out using the Face Swap method outlined here.

Moving forward with Photoshop

Photoshop is an incredibly powerful tool, and you can do so many things with it. But it also has a learning curve, and it takes time to perfect every little detail. No time to fumble with Photoshop yourself? Outsource your edits to your virtual photo-editing studio. 

The post How to Make Someone Smile in Photoshop: A Tutorial for Brands appeared first on Path Edits.

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Wondering how to learn Photoshop for free? We put together this list of the best Adobe Photoshop tutorials to learn what you can do in Photoshop to make shots shine. Use the table of contents here to navigate or scroll down to read through them all:

Easy Photoshop tutorials for beginners

1. Beginner’s guide to using Layers

Using Layers will streamline your photo-editing process and keep you organized. But if you’re first starting out or you’re reacclimating yourself to the software after some time apart, it can be confusing to get started. This Photoshop Layers for beginners guide will help you get started.

2. Photoshop tools for beginners

Photoshop has tons of tools to help you achieve different effects. Before you start editing, you need to learn which tools will help you do what. This tutorial looks at how to customize the Toolbar in Photoshop and how to use each tool, with examples.

3. Create a transparent background in Photoshop

Transparent backgrounds mean you can use your product photos across the web and in print collateral. For example, a transparent background gives you the ability to place your product against a background that dynamically changes colors. On responsively designed sites, a featured product with a transparent background can interact differently with its background depending on the user’s screen size.

Using Photoshop to create a transparent background, and then saving the file in the appropriate web-ready format, is easy with this tutorial.

4. How to replace the background with the Magic Wand Tool

Looking to swap out the background for a different scene? Learn how to select and mask in Photoshop with the Magic Wand Tool.

5. How to use the Pen Tool to edit product photos

The Pen Tool in Photoshop creates paths and shapes which can be duplicated and manipulated to create complex selections, masks and objects. This step-by-step tutorial will show you how to use the Pen Tool to remove the background from your product photos.

6. How to remove unwanted objects from your photo

Catch something you don’t want in the frame? Instead of scheduling (and paying for) a reshoot, learn how to remove unwanted objects with image-editing software like Photoshop. This tutorial includes bonus how-tos for GIMP and other programs too.

Best intermediate Photoshop tutorials

1. Change the background color

Rather than removing your background (or putting an invisible cloak on it), some situations call for a new background color. This allows you to repurpose photos and add pop and color to your shots. This tutorial also goes a step further by showing you how to automate the process using Photoshop actions.

2. 10 steps to do the Photoshop face swap

Change face — literally — with this tutorial that will show you how to swap faces with another photo or model. (Hint: This can also help when you have grumpy child models who refuse to smile for the shot.)

3. How to change the sky color

You can’t control the weather on shoot day, but this tutorial will show you how to turn any day into a bluebird sky day. Or create different, surreal effects with red, orange, green, and purple skies. All you need is to know how to change the sky color in Photoshop — and you’ll learn that right here.

4. Add smoke and fog to product photos

Spooky fog isn’t just for Halloween — there are tons of reasons why you’d want to add a smoky effect to your product shots for dramatic effect. Harnessing this element may seem challenging at first, but there are actually a few ways you can create a fog effect for your product photos — one of those involves Photoshop.

5. Remove the background from an image with hair

When you’ve got a human, animal, or product with fur or hair, edits can get tricky. You can waste time and ruin your images if you do it incorrectly. In this Photoshop tutorial, you’ll walk away knowing how to remove hair from a white background with the Background Eraser Tool.

6. Create simple lighting effects in Photoshop

Lighting is everything for product photography. Learn how to fix lighting, change the color of lighting and create spotlight and lens flare effects on your product photos. This tutorial is super detailed and gives you four different manipulation techniques to add lighting effects to your shots.

7. Make reflections in Photoshop

Adding a reflection in Photoshop makes your photos come alive. Learn the simple steps to create the illusion that your products are sitting on reflective glass or sitting in a clear pool of water.

Free Photoshop tutorials for advanced users

1. Create a realistic drop shadow in Photoshop

Drop shadows only add appeal to your photos if they’re realistic. When you don’t have the correct lighting to achieve the shadows you need, you can use Photoshop. Find out how to add natural-looking shadows to your product photos — in a process that takes time, skill and an understanding of how shadows work.

2. Turn a picture into a line drawing

Illustrations can enhance the style and appeal of your ecommerce site and engage your audience on social media. Learn how to turn a picture into a line drawing in this free Photoshop tutorial. Images of objects isolated on a white background work best for this technique, making this a great option for modifying or enhancing product photos.

3. How to retouch product photos to fix blemishes and smudges

Skin retouching in Photoshop without causing a face to look fake or “plasticky” is no easy feat. But you can use it to fix blemishes, smooth skin, refine lines and even change the shape of a person’s face. Check out how.

4. How to add a ghost mannequin to product photos

No budget for human models? You still need to give apparel dimension and show it would look on a person. Add a ghost mannequin in Photoshop following the steps in this tutorial.

Check out more Photoshop-related content

• Clipping path vs. image masking: what’s the difference?
• How to reduce image file size and maintain the quality
• What is photo editing?
• 11 Photoshop plugins for product photography
• Clipping path and Photoshop shortcuts

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