A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Smooth Skin in Lightroom

I don’t shoot in studios. My portraits happen on the street — in hard light, reflections, and weather that rarely cooperates. But even in those raw moments, sometimes a face needs a touch of refinement. That’s where Lightroom’s skin-smoothing tools come in handy. Used sparingly, they help tame glare, soften uneven tone, and bring attention back to what matters: the expression.

So, if you’ve ever wondered how to smooth skin in Lightroom without losing the grit and honesty of real life, here’s exactly how I do it.

Why Use Skin Smoothing at All?

Street portraits aren’t about perfection — they’re about presence. But small distractions like harsh light, stray blemishes, or a shiny forehead can pull focus away from a subject’s character. Smoothing skin in Lightroom isn’t about hiding reality; it’s about refining it.

The goal is subtlety. I use just enough adjustment to make the portrait feel intentional while keeping texture intact. Whether I’m editing on desktop or Lightroom Mobile, the same principle applies — less is always more.

Understanding Skin Tones

Understanding skin tones is a key factor in achieving effective skin softening in Lightroom. Every person’s skin is unique, with subtle variations in color, undertone, and texture. Recognizing these differences allows you to apply skin softening techniques that enhance the natural beauty of your subject without making the skin look flat or artificial. When working with skin tones, pay close attention to how the light interacts with the skin in your image and how different tones respond to adjustments. By carefully observing and respecting the natural tones, you can apply targeted edits that smooth imperfections while preserving the authentic look of the skin. This approach ensures your results look polished and professional, helping you create portraits that truly stand out.

Preparing the Image

Before you begin applying any skin softening techniques, it’s important to properly prepare your image in Lightroom. Start by making foundational adjustments in the Develop module, such as correcting the white balance, setting the right exposure, and fine-tuning the contrast. These basic edits help create a natural and balanced look, which is essential for effective skin softening. Use the histogram to review the tonal range of your image and ensure that highlights and shadows are well controlled. By preparing your image with these essential adjustments, you set the stage for more precise and natural-looking skin softening, allowing the tools in Lightroom to work more effectively and deliver the best possible results.

Removing Blemishes

A crucial step in the skin softening process is removing blemishes to create a smooth, even complexion. Lightroom’s Spot Removal tool makes this easy and efficient. Simply select the tool, adjust the brush size to match the blemish, and click on the area you want to correct. Lightroom will automatically sample nearby skin and blend the correction seamlessly, helping you eliminate acne, spots, or other imperfections. This targeted approach allows you to maintain a natural skin texture while enhancing the overall appearance of your portrait. By carefully removing blemishes, you can create a flawless look that still feels authentic and true to your subject.

A Step-by-Step Guide: How to Use Skin Softening to Smooth Skin in Lightroom

Adobe Lightroom, a favorite amongst photographers for its impressive array of editing tools, can be a game-changer for portrait photography. Among its many powerful features, it can enhance portraits by smoothing skin, adding a professional touch to your photos. This comprehensive guide is an opportunity to learn how to smooth skin in Lightroom to enhance your portrait images. For a visual demonstration, watch our video tutorial to see the process in action.

Importance of Skin Smoothing

In portrait photography, the subject’s skin is often a focal point. However, everyone has natural skin texture, including wrinkles, blemishes, acne, or uneven skin tone, which may be more apparent in high-resolution images. Lightroom provides tools to smooth the skin; using the technique results in a cleaner and more polished look while maintaining a natural appearance.

Tools for Skin Smoothing in Lightroom

Lightroom’s Develop Module provides various tools for skin smoothing, primarily the Adjustment Brush, Spot Healing Tool, and Clarity and Sharpness sliders. The Adjustment Brush and Spot Healing tools are found in the Develop panel. You can choose from different skin softening presets or create your own for consistent results. Photoshop also offers alternative skin softening techniques for more advanced retouching. The key is to use these tools subtly to retain the skin’s natural texture while smoothing out unwanted imperfections.

Steps to Smooth Skin in Lightroom

Here is a list of steps to help you achieve smooth skin in Lightroom:

Step 1: Import and Select Your Image

Start by importing your portrait photo into Lightroom. Once imported, select the image and navigate to the Develop Module.

Step 2: Basic Adjustments

Before you smooth the skin, it’s good to make any necessary basic adjustments to the photo, like exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, and white balance.

Step 3: Select the Adjustment Brush

Begin by clicking on the Adjustment Brush tool or pressing ‘K’ on your keyboard to open its options. You can find and select the Adjustment Brush from the panel. This brush allows you to make adjustments to specific areas of your image.

Step 4: Adjustment Brush Settings for Skin Smoothing

For skin smoothing, you will want to decrease the Clarity and increase the Sharpness slightly. A common starting point is to set Clarity to -25 and Sharpness to 25, but these values can be adjusted based on your specific image. You can drag the Amount slider to control the intensity of the effect—dragging to the left reduces the effect, while dragging to the right increases it. The kind of preset or adjustment you use matters; some presets can be heavy-handed, so subtle tweaks are preferable for a natural look. Ensure that your brush’s Feather and Flow are at a high setting (around 75-100) for a soft and natural effect. The brush size will depend on the area of the skin you’re working on. You can also find the People masking option in Lightroom to target facial features for skin smoothing.

Step 5: Apply the Adjustment Brush

Start painting over the skin areas you want to smooth. Selecting the right area is important for a natural result. Be careful to avoid areas with sharp edges like the eyes, nose, and mouth, as the adjustment could make these areas look unnatural. Zooming in on your image will make this process easier.

Step 6: Fine-tune the Skin Smoothing

Once you’ve applied the Adjustment Brush, you can fine-tune the skin smoothing effect by adjusting the Clarity and Sharpness sliders. You can soften the skin by adjusting these sliders. The 'Soften Skin' preset is available in Lightroom as a useful starting point, but you may need to adjust it for a more natural look. If the effect looks too strong, reduce the Clarity adjustment; if the skin looks too soft, reduce the Sharpness adjustment. The kind of adjustment you make will depend on the specific needs of your image. You can watch the effect change in real time as you drag the sliders left or right. Compare the edited image to the original image to see the difference the adjustments have made. You can see the difference between the original image and the edited version. If you’re happy with your settings, you can save your custom skin smoothing settings as a preset for future use. Saving your settings as a preset allows you to quickly apply the same effect to other images. The time you spend fine-tuning the effect will pay off in more professional-looking results.

Step 7: Spot Healing for Blemishes

For blemishes or spots, use the Spot Healing tool. This tool works by replacing the selected area with pixels from another area of the image. Simply select the tool, adjust the size to cover the blemish, and then click on the blemish.

Skin smoothing in Lightroom is an essential technique for enhancing portrait photos. The process involves delicately using the Adjustment Brush and Spot Healing tools, coupled with careful adjustments of the Clarity and Sharpness sliders. These things—settings, tools, and steps—can save you time and make the process more efficient. For a step-by-step demonstration, watch our video tutorial to see how to achieve natural skin smoothing in Lightroom.

Remember, subtlety is key when it comes to skin smoothing. Overdoing it can make skin appear unnatural or airbrushed. The goal should always be to enhance the natural beauty of your subjects, preserving their individuality and uniqueness.

With practice and patience, you’ll master this technique, allowing you to bring a professional touch to your portrait photography

A Note for Mobile Editors

If you prefer editing on Lightroom Mobile, nearly all these features are there — including the Healing Brush, Selective Masking, and Texture slider.

The best way to practice is by loading a few street portraits into your phone and trying these adjustments by hand. You’ll quickly see how easy it is to create subtle skin refinement on the go.

Final Thoughts

Skin smoothing in Lightroom isn’t just for glamour or studio work — it’s a creative refinement for photographers who want their portraits to look intentional while still grounded in reality. When you use Lightroom’s Adjustment Brush, Spot Healing, and masking tools with restraint, you get professional results that still feel authentic.

Lightroom Mobile is one of the best tools for enhancing these RAW photos. Explore more editing tips in my full Lightroom library: Lightroom how-to articles