Newborn photography captures precious early moments, but babies often have blotchy skin, red spots, and dry patches that need gentle retouching. These common skin conditions are completely natural but can distract from those perfect first portraits.
This tutorial demonstrates professional techniques for smoothing newborn skin while maintaining natural texture and avoiding over-processed results.
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Practical Tips
Key techniques for retouching newborn skin while preserving natural appearance:
- Use channels to create precise selections targeting only dark, blotchy areas for even tonal correction
- Apply color correction on a separate layer set to Color blend mode to fix red spots without affecting luminance
- Work with the Spot Healing Brush on a new layer to remove dry skin flakes while maintaining underlying texture
- Add subtle highlights using Blend If options to restore dimension after evening out skin tones
- Always invert channel-based layer masks to target shadows rather than highlights for more natural results
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