Since 2022, Adobe has been retiring the legacy CEP framework used by non-UXP Photoshop extensions. With the most recent security updates, CEP extensions can no longer be installed or used, even inside older Photoshop environments on both Windows and macOS. Because this change was made at the platform level by Adobe, it is unfortunately not technically possible for us to maintain, reinstall, or update the old panels.

To ensure continuity for professionals who rely on our scripts, we spent over a year rebuilding all RA Panels from the ground up in Adobe’s UXP format – the only plugin framework supported in current Photoshop versions. The UXP versions preserve the familiar workflows from our legacy panels and minimize any need to re-learn processes.

With that said, your options are:

► Keep your legacy purchase (we won’t remove it from your account) and use it only on older Photoshop versions that still allowed CEP extensions (functionality not guaranteed and no longer supported by Adobe).

► Upgrade to the new UXP version for ongoing compatibility, updates, and support.

To log into your Member Account, please use the email address that this message was sent to. If you cannot log in, please follow these instructions.

To honor the original investment of our long-time panel users, we offer a significant legacy-user discount. You can subscribe at a discounted upgrade fee of $29 (see available billing options on the upgrade page linked below).

We also honor the original annual Maintenance & Support fee at $29/year that was set when the UXP panels just came out, while it is now $39.99/year for all new users. You can lock that in your account when you upgrade today.

Upgrade to Beauty Retouch v5 (UXP) »

Over 90% of our old panels’ users have already upgraded to the UXP versions to continue saving their precious time while retouching.

Please review some Frequently Asked Questions at the bottom of this page.

Our New UXP Panels

Today, the new Beauty Retouch v5 is equipped with even newer tools and scripts:

● Includes all legacy panel scripts and workflows.

● Read about the only script that has been removed from the old panel here and more: Frequency Separation: Gaussian Blur vs Median.

● Adds new AI-powered tools for even more efficient professional-level retouching

● Installs via Creative Cloud and appears under the Plugins menu in Photoshop

● Fully compatible with current Photoshop on both Windows and macOS, including M-series Apple computers.

● One of the many upsides of the UXP Panels is that one Software License allows you to install and use your RA Panel on both Windows and Mac OS computers.

You will find all the instructions here: Upgrade Your Legacy Panel to the latest UXP version (including the option to upgrade to the UXP panel as a one-time payment, no annual fees going forward).

Now, we are working on the MUA Retouch panel upgrade.

Below are some video tutorials demonstrating the new functionality of the Beauty Retouch UXP v5.

New AI-Powered Tools for Beauty Retouching

The creative industry has been dramatically changing with the introduction of new AI tools.

One of the biggest shifts in today’s professional photography and retouching is the growing client demand for faster, more affordable high-quality results.

Clients now often choose to hire creative professionals who leverage automation and smart retouching tools so they can offer high-quality work at lower rates.

Here’s a video tutorial on how the new Beauty Retouch v5 panel’s AI Tool button works:

AI-Powered Tools for Hair Retouching

In this new Hair Retouching course lesson, we share how these new AI-powered and latest selection tools in Photoshop can help get hair retouching work done faster in beauty and portraits: AI-Powered Tools for Hair Retouching

Can You Retouch Skin in Just a Couple of Minutes?

One of the most exciting additions to the new Beauty Retouch v5 Panel is the New Skin script.

In just a couple of minutes, it will help you even out skin tone, remove blemishes, and blend in a realistic skin texture layer, all while allowing you to keep full control over the final look.

This script is designed specifically for close-up beauty and portraits, where we always want to preserve as much visible skin texture as we can while combating the blotchiness and imperfections.
Here is a quick video of what it can do for you: Retouch Skin in a Couple of Minutes? On that page, scroll down past the video to see all the new buttons and functions of the new Beauty Retouch v5.

You can also enroll in our FREE Beauty Retouch panel Training for the detailed tutorial: The New Skin Script Lesson.

 

This video lesson is an outtake from our Photoshop Essentials for Beauty Retouching course.

The term Keyboard shortcuts refers to a combination of keys that allow you to easily select or adjust a tool without the need to navigate to a certain part of the screen to activate it or dig through endless Photoshop menus.

While keyboard shortcuts may not make much of a difference when you are surfing the web, they will have a big impact on your retouching workflow and output in the long run.

As you become more adept at Photoshop, you notice that there are some tasks and actions you perform regularly. By investigating keyboard shortcuts to perform these tasks, you save a lot of time in the long run and become more efficient at your craft, which is extremely important in the current fast-paced digital world and rapid automation.

You can find the list of default Photoshop keyboard shortcuts here: Default keyboard shortcuts.

The steps to customize your shortcuts in Photoshop here: Customize keyboard shortcuts

 My Most Used Keyboard Shortcuts

^{By Julia Kuzmenko McKim}

One of my most used combinations of keyboard shortcuts is the brush size adjustment keys: Q and A.

They are different from the default hotkeys, and you will understand why they are much more convenient after watching the video (above) from our Photoshop Essentials for Beauty Retouching course.  that comes with our MUA Retouch panel purchase.

These will work for all of your retouching instruments including the Clone Stamp and Healing brushes.

Tool size adjustments are needed regularly throughout the retouching process, especially when Dodging & Burning. The ability to adjust my brush size on the fly allows me to work fast and keep my eyes locked in on the area I am retouching.

This is very important, especially if you are a busy freelancer and your time is YOUR money.

The next in line would be CMD (CTRL) + S to save the file you are working on – I press it quite often and it has become my second nature. I guess we all learn this the hard way after a few Photoshop crashes that make you lose some work that you have already done because it was not saved.

Saving your working file regularly in anticipation of software crashes helps to preserve your work and maintain your efficiency. Unfortunately, programs crash. When they do, your hard work invariably goes with them, unless you build habits on the front end that keep it from happening.

I am a longtime Mac user, so I will list my most used keys and key combinations for MacOS, and if you are a Windows user, just note that Command = Control, Option = Alt, and Shift is Shift for the both OS.

I use the Command, Option, and Shift keys in all sorts of keyboard shortcut combinations all the time. I would absolutely recommend that you go through the list of the default Photoshop hotkeys mentioned above to see in which combinations they are utilized.

Here are my favorites:

Decrease Brush/Tool Size > A 
Increase Brush/Tool Size > Q
Default Foreground/Background colors > D
Switch Foreground/Background colors > X

The above keys are probably the most used to speed up my Dodging & Burning because I typically work on a 50% Gray layer rather than on Curves adjustment masks, so I can switch between dodging and burning by simply pressing the X key as I work through the entire image.

Free Transform > Command + T
New layer via copy > Command + J
New layer via cut > Shift + Command + J
Toggle layer mask on/off (layer mask must be selected) > \ (backslash)
Scroll image with Hand tool > Spacebar-drag 
Zoom In > Command + + (plus)
Zoom Out > Command + – (hyphen)
Group layers > Command + G

And of course, there are many other useful shortcuts out there. I also use retouching panels in every single retouch, and they contribute to my fast retouching workflow the most.

The main idea of this lesson is to highlight the importance of pushing yourself right from the start in establishing simple habits that will significantly improve and accelerate your workflow in the long run.

Start memorizing and using some of the common keyboard shortcuts that will help you to work faster while keeping your eyes on the image without interruptions. Believe me, You will thank yourself later!

One of the most powerful professional selection tools for retouching is Luminosity Masking, which is based on the luminosity values of an image.

While in many retouching situations you may not need the advanced Luminosity Masking, it is important that you know what is possible and how to achieve those complex selections.

The simpler Luminosity Masking selections, especially those that are available on our Beauty Retouch panel, are very useful for quick correction and adjustment of complex targeted areas such as the brightest highlights, midtones (with the exclusion of highlights and shadows), and the darkest shadows.

These are also incredibly helpful for advanced color grading.

Check out how the Beauty Retouch panel makes selection, adjustment and inversion of Luminosity Selections quick and easy in a couple clicks of a button: video tutorials.

The following video is an excerpt from the Professional Beauty Retouching video course:

One of the important things we do often in retouching is targeted color corrections. To isolate parts of an image for localized adjustment we use Photoshop selection tools and methods.

There is no shortage of selection tools, and some will work quicker and better than others depending on the area you are selecting – we have listed the simple ones below.

Additionally, the latest versions of Photoshop make simple selections of an object or a region super easy with the Object Selection tool – it’s very straightforward (steps below).

However, a few manual methods are considered the professional standard and you should know how to use them in case the simple automatic tools do not yield the desired results.

These methods will be required for more complex selections when there are no sharp, high-contrast, or well-defined edges of the area that you need to select.

In this video lesson, we cover the professional selection staples: Color Range, the Pen Tool, and Channel Masking.

With that in mind, you still will most likely use automatic selection tools available in the latest versions of Photoshop in the majority of cases that are simple.

This is an outtake from our Professional Beauty Retouching online course.

The Object Selection tool

The Object Selection tool is great for automatically selecting objects or regions such as nails, accessories, props, products, background, or facial features that are well-defined, for example, the lips, teeth, eye whites, and parts of the body in beauty, fashion and portrait images.

 Tips: Use the “Object Subtract” mode to remove unwanted parts from the selection. This tool is beneficial for quickly selecting distinct objects in an image.

1. Select the Object Selection tool (W)  from the toolbar.
2. In the Options bar, at the upper-right corner of the workspace, ensure that the Object Finder is enabled.
3. Hover the mouse pointer over an object or region in your image you would like to select. Selectable objects and regions will be highlighted with an overlay color. To customize the hover overlay, select the gear icon in the Options bar and modify desired settings.
4. Click to automatically select the object or region.
5. Additionally, you can press the Shift (macOS) / Ctrl (Windows) key on your keyboard to add other objects or regions to your selection and Option (macOS)/Alt (Windows) to subtract objects or regions from your selections.

Other Available Selection Tools 

These are the common selection tools every non-beginner retoucher is familiar with.

Each has its benefits and may be helpful in certain situations where other tools fail, so just keep them in mind and reach for them in appropriates situations:

Quick Selection Tool

• Usage: Ideal for quickly selecting areas with similar colors and textures.
• Method: Drag the tool over the area you want to select, and Photoshop will automatically detect the edges based on contrast differences.
• Tips: Adjust the brush size to refine the selection and use the “Add to selection” or “Subtract from selection” options for more control.
• Adobe instructions here.

Magic Wand Tool

• Usage: Best for selecting areas with uniform color.
• Method: Click on the area you want to select, and the tool will select contiguous pixels of similar color.
• Tips: Adjust the tolerance level to increase or decrease the color range of the selection. Lower tolerance for more precision; higher tolerance for broader selections.
• Adobe instructions here.

Lasso Tools

• Lasso Tool: Freeform selection tool allowing you to draw around the area.
• Polygonal Lasso Tool: For selecting straight-edged segments by clicking around the area.
• Magnetic Lasso Tool: Snaps to the edges of defined areas, making it easier to select objects with high contrast edges.
• Tips: Combine these tools with “Add to selection” and “Subtract from selection” options to refine your selections.
• Adobe instructions here.

Pen Tool

• Usage: Provides the most precision for creating complex and smooth selections.
• Method: Create paths by clicking to create anchor points, which can be adjusted and curved to fit the exact outline of the object.
• Tips: Convert the path to a selection by right-clicking and choosing “Make Selection.” Use this tool for high-precision work, such as cutting out detailed objects or creating masks.
• Adobe instructions here.

Select and Mask

• Usage: For refining selections and masks, especially with complex edges like hair or fur.
• Method: After making an initial selection, go to Select > Select and Mask. Use tools like the Refine Edge Brush, Smooth, Feather, Contrast, and Shift Edge sliders to fine-tune the selection.
• Tips: Use the “View Mode” to see your selection against different backgrounds for better accuracy. The “Edge Detection” and “Global Refinements” options are particularly useful for creating natural-looking edges.
• Adobe instructions here.

Color Range

• Usage: Selects pixels within a specific color range.
• Method: Go to Select > Color Range, then click on the color in the image you want to select. Adjust the fuzziness slider to include more or fewer colors in the selection.
• Tips: Use this method for selecting and isolating specific colors in an image, which is especially useful for color correction and adjustments.
• Adobe instructions here.

Focus Area

• Usage: Automatically selects areas of an image that are in focus.
• Method: Go to Select > Focus Area. Photoshop will detect and select the areas that are sharp and in focus.
• Tips: Adjust the “In-Focus Range” slider to refine the selection. This is useful for images with a shallow depth of field where the subject is in focus, and the background is blurred.
• Adobe instructions here.

Channel Selection

• Usage: For detailed selections based on the luminosity of different color channels.
• Method: Go to the Channels panel, select the channel with the best contrast for your subject, and use the Load Channel as Selection option.
• Tips: Combine with levels or curves adjustments to increase contrast before making the selection. This method is excellent for selecting fine details like hair.
• Adobe instructions here.

Selection Tools Usage Tips

Combine Tools: Often, using a combination of these tools yields the best results. Start with a broad selection using a quick tool, then refine with more precise tools.

Layer Masks: Always use layer masks for non-destructive retouching. This allows you to refine selections and make adjustments without permanently altering the image, and makes client revision rounds easier to execute.

Refine Edge/Mask: Always refine your edges to ensure smooth, natural transitions between the selected area and the rest of the image via the Select and Mask workspace.

Feathering: Use feathering to soften the edges of your selection depending on where in the image the selected region is in relation to the focus plane. This helps in blending the retouched area seamlessly with the rest of the image.

Save Selections: Save complex selections in your working PSD file by going to Select > Save Selection. This allows you to reuse and modify selections without starting from scratch, especially for the client revision rounds.

We are delighted to announce the official release of our new RA Panels, now available in Adobe’s Universal Extensibility Platform (UXP) format!

After nearly a year of development and a full month of field testing with hundreds of our valued customers, we’re confident that these UXP panels will transform your retouching workflow. They’re designed for seamless installation/uninstallation, helping you get more retouching work done faster—empowering your freelance business to thrive!

Creating these UXP panels was a journey that demanded significant time and resources. For a closer look at the complexities involved, be sure to watch this video: Adobe UXP: Things you need to know.

After a critical issue was found and fixed by the Photoshop team in version 23.4, which was announced last week, a new version 23.4.1 was swiftly released, however, some new error messages began popping up in the UXP panels.

We have now updated the new UXP panels to be fully compatible with v23.4.1 and it is now safe to update Photoshop to the latest version.

We are currently working on adding the activation reset buttons right into your user account, so you will be able to reset your activation without our help in the near future.

And you will need to reset your activation every time you buy a new computer and want to install your UXP panels in place of an old one, or when you purchase new UI (skins) for your UXP panel, which we will also make available in the upcoming months!