I'm torn between an aggressive repair that will lose the antique feel and a conservative fix that leaves a faint crack…
Select the teeth with the Lasso Tool, then use the Hue/Saturation adjustment to brighten. For red-eye, select the pupils and reduce the red color with the Color Balance or Hue/Saturation. This smooths the flaws and improves the portrait's look without making it obvious.
A photojournalist often does this after basic adjustments like cropping and exposure. Fixing red-eye and whitening teeth happens early enough so the face looks natural in the final version, especially before printing or publishing.
Use a soft brush with low opacity to gently lighten teeth for a natural look. For red-eye, carefully select the pupils and reduce redness without losing the eye's sparkle. Overdoing can make the subject look fake or tired.
Over-brightening teeth or removing all red in pupils can look unnatural. It's better to subtly enhance teeth and only reduce red-eye to a natural level. This keeps the portrait realistic and professional.
A portrait retoucher often handles this when preparing images for publication or print, ensuring subjects look their best without obvious edits, especially in high-quality portraits.
AI can help with quick adjustments, like automatic red-eye removal or whitening suggestions, but fine-tuning usually requires a human touch. A photojournalist or retoucher still needs to check and adjust for natural results.
Teeth whitening focuses on brightening the teeth, while softening skin tone smooths the face, and cleaning behind the subject removes distracting elements or background flaws. Each task targets a different aspect of portrait retouching.