Welcome to PSKiss Portrait Photography Toolkit step-by-step free tutorial
After you installed and opened the panel in Photoshop, you are ready to start working on your portraits
Working in “Button Mode”
All you need to do once the panel is visible, is to click on buttons. It’s truly that simple.
Each button in the panel launches a filter that allows you to manipulate your photo, quickly and easily. In this tutorial you will learn what each and every filter does.
The work with the panel is progressive – Each filter starts with the results of the previous one. Note that each filter creates a separate layer of it’s own, so the original image stays untouched. This layer has a unique name given by the filter. Please do not change this name, it is used by the very useful Merge All button.
At the bottom of the panel are 4 workflow assistance buttons.
These are explained at the end of this tutorial.
Download the Free Demo – Here
1. Density
This filter adds density to skin tone and hair:
- Use the Density Amount slider to add more density
- Use the Restore Reds slider to decrease influence on lips and other red objects in the image
- Use the Contrast Control slider to increase or decrease the contrast of the image
2. Expose
This filter controls the exposure of the image:
- Drag the slider to the right to brighten the exposure
- Drag the slider to the left to darken the exposure
- Increments are 0.1 EV in each direction
3. Pop-Out
This filter enhances contrast selectively, while protecting skin tone and aims directly to the eyes. Darkening shadows and highlights can be used to emphasize the effect:
- Use the Global Amount slider to enhance selective contrast
- Use the Plug Shadows slider to darken shadows
- Use the Restore Highlights slider to darken highlights
4. Punch
This filter emphasizes contrast and color combined, giving the image a “punchy” look with “softness” control:
- Use the Level slider to increase the effect
- Use the Softness slider to slightly blur the effect
5. Black & White
This filter converts the image to black and white using a smart channel mixing script, result is a contrasty and detail rich image :
- Use the Density slider to lighten (to the right) or to darken (to the left) the B&W layer
- Use the Details slider to increase detail
6. Clarté
This filter increases or decreases local-contrast:
- Drag the slider to the right to increase local-contrast and deepen details
- Drag the slider to the left to decrease local-contrast and soften the image
7. Face Sharp
This filter sharpens the image using smart auto-mask that protects skin tone:
- Drag the Amount slider set the sharpness intensity
- Drag the radius slider to set the edge width
8. Look Factory
By all means, the heart & soul of the Portrait Toolkit. This filter allows you to apply a unique and creative look to your portrait. We chose to demonstrate it by itself, although it can be used before or after any other filter in the panel:
- First, choose one the 6 presets. The intensity is set automatically to 50
- Choose the desired cast – Red/Cyan or Blue/Yellow (can be removed with No Cast button)
- Choose the lighting type – Warmth, Blast or Darkness (can be removed with Reset Light button)
- Use the Global Control sliders to control Saturation and Vibrance
- The Manual Adjustments sliders are set automatically by the preset you chose in step 1. You can manually adjust each one until you reach the desired look:
Magic – Controls the brightness of Reds
Passion – Controls the brightness of Yellows
Stardust – Controls the brightness of Greens
Desire – Controls the brightness of Cyans
Mystery – Controls the brightness of Blues
Secrets – Controls the brightness of Magentas
The Look Factory Presets (click to enlarge):

The workflow assistance buttons:

Undo the last operation. Click again to Redo
Sets the view to Actual Pixels
Merge the selected layer with the one below, or merge selected layers together
Merge all PSKiss layers added by the filters, into a single layer
About the Free Demo
The Free Demo decreases image size to 640px (wide or tall) before activating the filters. All features are identical to the commercial version.
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