1. A method of enhancing an appearance of a face within a digital image, comprising one or more processors performing the steps of: acquiring a digital image of a scene including a face, wherein acquiring the digital image includes capturing the image using a lens and an image sensor, or receiving said image following capture by a device that includes a lens and an image sensor, or a combination thereof; identifying the face within the digital image; identifying within the face two or more skin tone portions to be enhanced with localized luminance smoothing; applying one or more localized luminance smoothing kernels to at least one skin tone portion of the one or more skin tone portions identified within the face to produce one or more enhanced skin tone portions of the face, wherein applying the one or more localized luminance smoothing kernels comprises: determining an amount of difference between a luminance value of a current pixel of the at least one skin tone portion and a local average luminance value of the at least one skin tone portion; determining whether the amount of difference between the luminance value of the current pixel and the local average luminance is less than a particular threshold amount; determining a weight of smoothing to apply to the current pixel by the one or more localized smoothing kernels by: increasing a prior smoothing weight if the amount of difference between the luminance value of the current pixel and the local average luminance is less than the particular threshold amount; or decreasing a prior smoothing weight if the amount of difference between the luminance value of the current pixel and the local average luminance is not less than the particular threshold amount; applying the one or more localized luminance smoothing kernels only to luminance data of the at least one skin tone portion; generating an enhanced image including an enhanced version of the face comprising certain original or otherwise processed pixels in combination with pixels corresponding to the one or more enhanced skin tone portions of the face; and displaying, transmitting, communicating or digitally storing or otherwise outputting the enhanced image or a further processed version, or combinations thereof.