Whiten Teeth in Photo

Whitening teeth in a photo means reducing the yellow on the teeth so the smile looks clean, while keeping the shape, gaps and shading of each tooth. In this example, a man in a dark suit is laughing at an outdoor wedding reception. It is the most natural photo of him from the day, and he wants to use it as his profile picture, but the warm evening light makes his teeth look noticeably yellow.

What changed in this photo, and what stayed the same?

• Changed: the color of the visible teeth, from a clear yellow to a natural ivory.
• Framed: both photos are shown cropped to the same close frame on the smile, so the teeth fill much more of the picture and the change is easy to see.
• Kept: the shape, size and spacing of every tooth, the gums and lips, his face, and the guests blurred behind him.

How white is natural?

Real teeth are never pure white. They are slightly warmer at the gum line, more translucent at the edges, and darker toward the back of the mouth. The editor keeps those differences and stops at a soft ivory, because paper-white teeth are the most common sign of an over-edited smile. The whites of the eyes are a useful limit: teeth should not be brighter than they are.

What teeth whitening in a photo cannot do

• It does not straighten crooked teeth or close gaps. That is a different, more noticeable edit.
• Dark stains on a single tooth, fillings or crowns can be evened out, but tell the editor if you want them left as they are.
• Teeth in deep shadow or motion blur can be lightened, but not sharpened.

What should you send?

The original file and a note on how much whiter you want: "just less yellow" or "as white as looks natural". For group photos, say which person to edit.

Teeth are often edited together with other small fixes. See brighten eyes in a dark photo, or the full list under face and skin retouching.

Private: recreated on our own images, not customer photos

The before/after shown here is recreated on images created or licensed for this site — never a real customer's photo. Your upload is seen only by the editor working on it, and the edit comes with free revisions within 14 days of delivery if anything needs adjusting.