How to Retouch Portraits in Darktable Without Destroying Skin Texture

Most skin retouching destroys the very thing that makes skin look real: texture. In this video I show you how to retouch a portrait in Darktable using wavelet frequency separation in the retouch module — smoothing uneven skin tones and removing blemishes while keeping pores and fine detail completely intact. This is the technique that separates a natural retouch from the plastic, over-smoothed look you get from a simple blur (or Lightroom's softening slider). And it's all done with Darktable's native modules — no plugins, no AI, no destructive editing. The file used is Pat David's open-source portrait of Mairi (CC BY-NC-SA), so you can download it and follow along exactly. This video builds on the previous one where we fixed the skin tones with AgX — here we clean up the skin itself. What you'll learn: Why a gaussian blur destroys skin texture (and frequency separation doesn't) How the retouch module's shapes work as your selection Reading each wavelet scale with "display wavelet scale" and the auto levels button Blur on the coarse scales to even out broad skin tones Heal on a medium scale to remove a blemish without smearing texture The one rule that keeps retouching believable: if it looks right, it's already too much 00:00 – Intro: Retouching Skin Without Losing Texture 01:00 – Gaussian Blur vs. Wavelet Decompose: The Side-by-Side Comparison 02:35 – The Theory: Understanding Scales & Detail Layers 04:30 – Exploring the Retouch Module Tools (Heal, Clone, Fill, Blur) 07:09 – Setting Up the Wavelet Decompose Scales 08:15 – Visualizing Detail Levels (Auto-tune & Levels) 11:10 – Practical Demo: Retouching the Forehead with Precision 12:00 – Advanced Technique: Merging Detail Levels for a Natural Look 13:10 – Region-by-Region Retouching Tips 15:20 – Using the Healing Tool on Specific Detail Scales 17:45 – Conclusion: Why "Less is More" for Natural Portraits Download the RAW file (free, CC BY-NC-SA) — by Pat David: https://patdavid.net/2013/03/the-open... Pat David's original GIMP wavelet tutorials (still worth reading): https://patdavid.net/2011/12/getting-... https://patdavid.net/2014/07/wavelet-... Previous video — Natural Skin Tones in Darktable (AgX):    • Natural Skin Tones in Darktable (AgX) — Th...   #darktable #skinretouching #frequencyseparation #wavelets #portraitretouching #darktabletutorial #rawediting #lightroomalternative #opensourcephotography #darktable56