Tooth whitening is a very effective way to improve a portrait of a family member or friend and you will earn their undying respect and thanks!
Here is the image we will be working with.
Original Photograph
Tooth Whitening How To ...
To begin your digital dental hygiene you need to decide what has to be done. In our example there is some nasty yellow stains between the teeth and the overall color needs to be whitened.
Before
The Clone Tool will be used on a layer to clean up the yellow stains and then a Soft Light Layer will be added to lighten the teeth.
When you are doing this technique it is helpful to zoom in as close as you can to work each individual area.
Open your image, zoom in tight on the teeth and then create a new layer (Layer > New > Layer) and click OK.
Select the Clone tool and then drop down the brushes menu.
Brushes
It is best if you select a Clone Brush that changes its opacity with pressure (assuming you are using a Wacom Tablet, of course). The reason is because you can remove the stain a bit at a time with a pressure sensitive cloner for a seamless look. If you are using a mouse then you may get those ugly seams with the Clone Brush.
You select a brush that changes opacity with pressure by looking at the brushes in your brush menu. Some go from small to large at one opacity while others go from small to large with changes in opacity (highlighted on the brush image).
Now that you have your clone brush , you're zoomed in tight and the layer is selected there is one more thing to do.
Look up to the top of the screen and make sure that Sample All Layers is selected.
If it is not then you can clone for ages on your layer and nothing will happen. When you sample all layers then you will be working on a layer without damaging the original photograph.
Now Alt-Tap (or left click with a mouse) on a good source and start working away the yellow stain. go slowly and be careful and make sure you know where the Undo keys are located - or - better yet - program one of your pen buttons as the undo key combo.
After
Compare the Before and After images and you will see that the yellow stain has been pretty much removed and the teeth look much better.
As you are working turn off the visibility of your layer from time to time to check your progress.
Now for the rest of the technique - you can start the actual tooth whitening!
Create a new layer and when the New Layer Dialog comes up, drop down Mode: and select Soft Light Layer.
Directly below Mode there is a check box (Fill With Soft-Light neutral color (50% gray)). Put a check mark in the box and click OK.
Soft Light Layer
Now press the D key on your keyboard to bring up the default foreground and background colors (black and white) and if white is not the foreground color (the top color) press the X key.
Almost there ...
Drop down the Tablet Options and select Opacity so that the harder you press the pen the lighter the image.
Start lightly painting the teeth and they will become progressively whiter. Resist the temptation to spend too much time in one place or you risk getting the teeth too white. What you want is some natural tooth whitening - like a good digital dental hygienist!
Keep at it until you are satisfied. Zoom out to check your progress from time to time.
When you are satisfied go to Layer > Flatten Image and save with a new name and you are done!
After
This may seem like a lot of set up work (it is) but the end results more than make up for all your preparations.
Once you have done this a time or two it will be simple!
You can also use the Soft Light Layers technique to either lighten or darken areas in other images. To darken an area you need to make Black the foreground color.
