How to Give Skin a Golden Glow Using Photoshop

Giving skin a nice golden glow can be a great finishing touch on a portrait to put the image over the top. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how to add the effect to a portrait using Photoshop.

Coming to you from Kayleigh June, this excellent video tutorial will show you how to give skin a golden glow using Photoshop. This can be a popular technique among clients, particularly in more northern clients, where people cannot tan as much during the colder months. June's technique for achieving this is rather clever, using a combination of the black and white adjustment layer in tandem with the luminosity blending mode, photo filter layer, and selective color to dial in the effect along with a few final adjustments. Of course, with any such technique, particularly when retouching skin, it is really important to err on the side of caution so as to not overdo it, as the effect can quickly become rather artificial-looking. I generally recommend stepping away from your computer for a few minutes after you finish an edit and then returning with a fresh set of eyes to evaluate it before exporting. Check out the video above for the full rundown from June. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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2 Comments

I think the before image looks better. Why make someone look like they had a greasy spray tan applied?