RSS
Home
Photoshop: how to remove dark circles from under eyes
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The eye on the left is untouched. You can see the difference after
eliminating the dark circle.
This is part of an ongoing series of Adobe Photoshop tips and techniques.
Red-eye reduction is pretty standard technique at this point; most of us have a good idea of how to do it with Photoshop or other tools. But what about the other pesky eye problems in photos, especially the dark circles from late nights, early morning or general fatigue? While they may not ruin an image, they can certainly take away from the subject.
Here is my method for removing dark eye circles in Photoshop. There are plenty out there, and I've experimented with a lot. By combining several of the methods, I'm very happy with the results I've achieved.
1. Create a duplicate layer of the photo and make sure it is on top. You will only be editing the duplicate layer.
2. Select the Healing Brush. Select the size so that it's diameter is about the same width as the widest part of the dark circle under the eye.
3. Option-click on the spot of the face that you want to sample the texture from (alt-click on a PC).
4. Release the Option key (or alt key) and paint a stroke over the dark circle area.
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the other eye.
Right now, the results might seem a bit unnaturally smooth. You may have inadvertantly smoothed over some of the wrinkles that define the face you're working with. But that's why we're working in layers.
7. Go to the Layers palette and decrease the opacity of the duplicate layer. I find that somewhere between 35% and 50% yield the best results, but it comes down to personal preference. This lets some of the texture from the original photo come through, but retains the smoothness and doesn't let the darkness under the eye show up.
There you have it, no more dark circles under your subject's eyes!
