Whitening and Brightening Teeth

This really should be called “Removing Yellowing, Then Whitening Teeth” because almost everyone has some yellowing, so we remove that first before we move on to the whitening process. This is a simple technique, but the results have a big impact on the overall look of the portrait, and that’s why I do this to every single portrait where the subject is smiling.

Step One:

Open the photo you need to retouch. Press Z to switch to the Zoom tool and zoom in if needed.

SCOTT KELBY

Step Two:

Press L to switch to the Lasso tool, and carefully draw a selection around the teeth, being careful not to select any of the gums or lips. If you’ve missed a spot, press-and-hold the Shift key while using the Lasso tool to add to your selection, or press-and-hold the Alt (Mac: Option) key and drag the Lasso to remove parts of the selection. If you’ve grown fond of the Quick Selection tool, then give that one a try here, as it works great too.