Retouching images with digital photo editing software Gimp

This tutorial is a help for photo retouching with Gimp. Gimp is a free photo editing software for digital photo image editing, retouching and correction.

Autor Moris Garon for Gimps.de with photo editing software Gimp.

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Image Retouching and Photo Editing

Retouching of images is a fundamental task for any photo editing graphic designer. The phrase "digital photo retouching" commonly means correction and improvement of an image through digital image processing.

Some Photographer are editing a photo portrait in a sense of digital photo retouching to achieve higher price for their picture. Photo editing can be used for photo restoration ; retouching and removing of under eye bags, small red spots on skin, warts, acne scars and other problems of humanity in an photo portrait image.

Gimp is a free photo editing software,

a program and a professional image editing tool for photo retouching. You can use Gimp to fix, correct, edit and retouch photos and images in the most optimal way. The following guide is a help for photo editing and retouching with Gimp.

Guide for retouching with Gimp's clone tool

Gimp's clone tool is a basic tool for photo retouching. Use the clone tool for editing of wrinkles, acne or small red skin spots in a photo portrait.

#1 select the source for clone tool

Choose a soft fuzzy paintbrush. Hold the Ctrl button pressed and click with Gimp's clone tool on a clean spot near the blemish that you are retouching to use this clean spot as a source for the clone tool.

#2 photo retouching is art

After you have chosen the source for the clone tool, you can paint with the source over the blemish that you are editing in order to remove, retouch or fix it in a photo.

Tips for retouching with the clone tool

* Use only soft fuzzy brushes to avoid sharp edges, corners and stripes.
* Use as many different sources for the clone tool as possible to avoid obvious repetition in the image.
* Use Gimp's clone tool to replace, cover and copy small areas in a picture or photo portrait image.

Guide for retouching with a paintbrush

Gimp's paintbrush is a good drawing tool that can be used for retouching of under eye bags and deep wrinkles with help of Gimp's enormous photo editing features. Use the paintbrush of Gimp as a digital make-up to cover wrinkles, dark stains and spots on skin. After you have gained more experience, you will retouch photo portrait images much better than Andy Warhol.

#1 paint over the spot that you are editing

Create a new transparent layer. Choose white as color to retouch, remove and fix dark spots on skin. Choose black as color to retouch and fix bright spots on skin.

Paint with a paintbrush on the transparent layer over the spot or blemish that you wish to correct and retouch.

Blur the retouching layer with Filters » Blur » Gaussian Blur. I used a value of 75x75 px to blur the layer in my photo image.

#2 magic of photo retouching

Set the layer mode of the retouching layer in the layers dialog to Overlay to retouch the underlying layer in the image.

Duplicate the original layer, move the copy to the top of all layers. Set the layer mode of the moved layer to Hue to keep the natural hue and colors of the picture.

Duplicate the upper layer, set the layer mode of that duplicated layer to Saturation to save natural saturation and colors from being lost through photo editing.

A photo before and after retouching with Gimp.

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