In this video tutorial we will continue with our introduction to the Adobe Camera RAW Adjustment Brush. Today we’re using the adjustment brush along with increased exposure to whiten teeth and add hair highlights. We’ll also look at how we can lower clarity to smooth out skin texture!

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The Adjustment Brush can do a lot to improve a photo by adding highlights as well as smoothing skin. With it you can control exposure, brightness, contrast, saturation, clarity and even color in a very specific area of the photo.

What Does it Do?

As we learnt in Part 1 of the Introduction to the Adjustment Brush we can make subtle or drastic adjustments to a localized area of the photo. While this can do a lot of good to the photo, use it too much and you start to develop the plastic-model look that is so popular with glossy magazines.

In this screencast we will use the adjustment brush along with increased exposure to whiten teeth and add hair highlights. We’ll also look at how we can lower clarity to smooth out skin texture.

We’re using another picture from photographer Dušan Šimonovič to show how we can use all these adjustment to add some sparkle to our model.

A word of reminder – while the brush can be very fun to play around with, don’t go overboard. Too many or too drastic of an adjustment can make the photo look horrible. Take it easy and go light on the adjustments. You can always start off strong and pull back the effect after you get a look at it.