Removing Skin Blushes

In an ideal world, everyone’s skin would be smooth and flawless and no one would ever have a scratched knee or an unwanted pimple. Unfortunately, we don’t live in such an Utopia, but Photoshop Elements can help to fix all sorts of skin blemishes in your photos.

Excerpted from "Scrapbooking" by Helen Bradley, published by Sellers Publishing. Images by Helen Bradley.

Step 1

Zoom Image

This is a cute photo of a young girl sporting her favorite sunglasses, but
a scratch on her knee detracts from the image. We can fix this problem in
Elements to make her skin blemish free.

Step 2

Zoom Image

With the image open in Photoshop Elements 4, locate and click the Spot Healing Brush on the Toolbar — it shares a position with the Healing Brush tool. Select a brush shape from the drop-down brush list, a soft round brush is a good choice. Adjust the size of the brush so that it just covers the blemish.

Step 3

Zoom Image

Click once on the blemish to remove it. If you don’t like the result, click the Undo button on the Toolbar and try again. If you have more than one blemish, fix them one at a time by clicking on each in turn. Remember to adjust the brush size each time so that it just covers the blemish.

Step 4

Zoom Image

With the injury on her knee fixed, this portrait is now ready for scrapping.

Step 5

Tip:

The Spot Healing Brushtool is handy for fixing problems other than skin blemishes. It can be used to fix damage to heritage photos after you have scanned them and to remove very small unwanted objects in photos.