Adjust the Low Frequency Layer
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What is Frequency Separation?
Frequency Separation is a jargon used in the retouching world to describe a skin airbrushing technique. The technique involves splitting an image into two "frequencies":- Low Frequency Layer: smoothed layer where only the colors and tones can be seen
- High Frequency Layer: sharpened layer holding the finer skin details
How to Airbrush Skin With Frequency Separation
Prepare Your Layers for Nondestructive Editing
Start by converting your layer into a Smart Object. This will let you change the filter settings later on without undoing a bunch of steps. Open an image then right-click on the layer and select "Convert to Smart Object".
Create the High Frequency Layer
Select the High Frequency layer then go to Filter > Other > High Pass. This filter is used to create a gray layer with an embossed effect of the fine details. Set the Radius to 3 then click OK.
Traditional vs Modern Frequency Separation
Traditionally, the frequency separation technique applies a low-pass filter to the Low Frequency layer. In Photoshop, the low pass filter is called the Gaussian Blur filter and it is the opposite of the High Pass filter. Instead of revealing the fine details, it's used to blur the image so that only the tone and color are visible. However, the traditional frequency separation technique doesn't produce the best results. It creates a diffused-glow effect on the skin which looks artificial. Instead, we'll be using a newer variant of the frequency separation technique which uses Photoshop's Surface Blur filter instead of the Gaussian Blur filter. This produces much better results and it helps preserve the edges in your image. Below is a comparison between the two techniques.
Create the Low Frequency Layer
Select the Low Frequency Layer then go to Filter > Blur > Surface Blur. Adjust the settings but don't spend too much time on it because we'll be fine-tuning this later.
Adjust the High Frequency Layer
Right now we have an overly-sharp image. Reduce the opacity of the High Frequency layer until you get something that looks more natural. Generally setting this to around 50% is a good start.
Adjust the Low Frequency Layer
Now that we're done with the High Frequency layer, we can go back into the Surface Blur filter and fine-tune the effect. In your Layers panel, doubleclick on the Surface Blur filter to edit it.
Group the Layers
Select the two frequency layers then press Ctrl+G (Cmd+G on Macs) to group the layers. Rename the layer to "Frequency Separation".
24 comments on “How to Airbrush Skin With Frequency Separation”
Great Job
I have never used frequency separation like this before. My eyes are opened wider every single day!
I have been trying to get this right for so many years. Up close like this, the task looks daunting to me, but you tutorial is really a good one.
so amazing!
Huh, I have never heard of this technique before and I am wondering why. I would be using this all of the time on the photoshoots that I deal with on a regular basis.
Very nice training videos. Very informative! Thanks for the share.
Great post here. It's amazing what can be done with Photoshop. And it's fun to learn all the tricks of the trade. :)
wow its amaizing
Very informative!
where the download link source image?
May I ask the picture?
Following so I can watch later
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Nice :p
Thank a lot for teaching.
Very informative! Thanks for the share.
IMO anything about story telling is great , who agrees?
absolutely correct
hi! i downloaded file a couple of times and couldn't open it with winzip. any suggestions on my next step? thanks
link is broken
try again...it works for me
super
Interesting :p :)
Helpful, but I'm not sure how many newbies will be able to reach to the smart layers and frequency layers in the first place. A thorough tut with VO would've been great.