This is a guide covering everything you need to know about photo retouching.
Maybe you’re new to photo retouching and want to learn more about it — or perhaps you are more experienced and just want to brush up on some information.
Either way, we’ve got you covered!
Table of Contents
What is Photo Retouching?
The term “retouch” implies the act of improving the appearance of an image. In photography, to retouch is to remove certain defects from an image. This can be minor objects such as dust or dirt on the camera lens or sensor. Retouching can be used to remove some physical defects on the skin of a model, as is commonly seen in fashion publications.
This process of altering an image can be used for final presentations as well.
Typically, the process of retouching an image involves small localized adjustments to it.
As such, photo retouching services are employed as a finishing touch to polish off the final image.
This would normally come after globalized adjustments such as color correction, cropping, and white balance have been applied.
What is the Difference between Photo Retouching and Editing?
Now that photography is receiving more interest from casual hobbyists and new enthusiasts, it is very easy to fall down the rabbit hole of using the terms “retouching” and “editing” interchangeably.
The fact remains that the meanings of these terms differ from one another significantly.
There have been instances where even photographers themselves believe they mean the same thing.
This can lead to misunderstandings, especially between photographers and their clients unless the job scope and final images have been specified clearly and explicitly explained.
So, what really is the difference between photo retouching and editing? Let’s begin.
Photo Editing
Editing a photo is often quick, ranging from a few seconds to a couple of minutes for each photo.
This range solely depends on the desired look of the final image.
These are the globalized adjustments mentioned earlier, where lighting/exposure, color temperature, and cropping are corrected.
In the case of a wedding photographer, photo editing is the bulk of the work, aside from actually taking the photographs.
There could be hundreds or more photos to sift through, and this process could take hours if not days.
The number of photos to be edited depends on how large each batch of photos taken was.
Typically, before the actual edits, photographers filter out the images that do not cut.
Each photo would be assessed and determined whether it would be delivered (and edited) to the client.
This process saves time for the photographer and maintains the quality of the overall batch of photos to be delivered.
Photographers who have just started professionally normally have a larger percentage of images in the bin, though the quality will increase over time and experience.
This is part of the photography service so that clients would not need to waste time going through unwanted photos. The service is helping them get to the good stuff straight away.
Photo Retouching
Photo retouching begins when basic edits do not cut it.
The rule of thumb for retouching is to remove unsightly items in the image and possibly enhance the overall quality of the image.
Why is Photo Retouching Important?
Better retouching skills equals more money as a photographer.
Your photos will look better, and everyone wants a good-looking photo!
In portrait photography, the retouching process could use masks to hide blemishes, and smooth skin as well as whiten teeth.
The width of the face can be adjusted. The eyes can be enhanced, too. Hair color can also be changed. The Body can be enhanced.
In product photography, retouching can remove fingerprints or make the product’s surface smoother.
One can apply highlights to the product for added depth. These adjustments are applied in order to make the final image more attractive to potential customers.
There are many layers when it comes to retouching a photo.
On another level, the process of retouching may involve enhancing the look of gemstones in jewelry.
This action would make diamonds look more defined, gold and silver shine brighter, and more texture to leather materials.
Adjustments are made according to the wishes of clients in photo retouching services. In such cases, the resulting images must align with the client’s branding.
How do you Make Money Retouching Photos?
There are many instances where the client specifically requires extensive photo retouching.
Some people have even come to me just to retouch their photos!
The requests will often be made on a case-by-case basis. Some professionals only do a handful per event or upon request from the client.
This could mean removing a person entirely from the image, changing the background, or compositing several images together.
An additional fee can be charged for this sort of work, as it requires creativity from the photographer, aside from the extra hours to work on each image surgically.
The final image would have to be subtle, and there would be barely any sign of retouching, if at all.
What do Professionals Use to Retouch Photos?
Retouching is usually done digitally with photo editing software such as Photoshop.
These photo editing software packages offer many tools, namely blurring brushes, color replacement tools, and clone stamps, among others.
Although this method of tweaking images may be faster, it could create images that look unnatural or ‘plastic’.
What is Photo Retouching in Photoshop?
Photoshop is one of the most powerful photo editing software packages available.
Developed by Adobe, the program is widely adopted by photographers when it comes to enhancing or manipulating photographs.
Graphic designers, architects, and publishers also utilize the software since it allows them to create.
Furthermore, Photoshop is a pixel-level editor. This allows users to zoom in all the way to see and change each pixel of color in the digital image.
Photo retouching in Photoshop is the process of enhancing or manipulating photographs using the advanced program mentioned above.
Advanced or extensive retouching can be performed with this software. Examples of retouching tasks include pixel-level editing and changing the width of a model’s face.
Common Photo Retouching Techniques
After filtering out the unusable photos from the batch and making global adjustments to the images, the process of photo retouching comes.
The following are some of the more common techniques in photo retouching using Photoshop:
1. Spot Healing
Spot Healing is a basic primary tool in many photo editing software packages.
In model photography, this tool is useful for removing blemishes on the face or body.
Photographers and editors should learn to use this tool as early as possible in order to get started.
To further explain spot healing and see it in action, check out this video by tutvid:
2. Frequency Separation
This tool allows you to make tweaks to the skin texture of your image.
This tool would be useful for fixing the model’s skin if it looks too sharp or blurred.
Frequency adjustment can make the skin on an image look either sharper or blurred.
When this tool is used, the editor can retain the skin tone and condition of the model in the image.
To further explain frequency separation and see it in action, check out this video by Anita Sadowska:
3. Dodge and Burn
The dodge and burn tool is a simple way of adjusting the lightness and darkness of certain spots in an image.
Although it is an easily overlooked tool since it only adjusts brightness and darkness, the amount of control provided by this tool contributes a lot to the photo retouching process.
The resulting image can be of much higher quality.
That said, one should use the dodge and burn tool in moderation since too much of it applied to images may ruin the overall quality and make them seem unnatural.
To further explain dodging and burning and see it in action, check out this video by PHLEARN:
4. Eye Retouching
In model photography, the editor always works with images of models. As such, eye retouching is a very commonly known adjustment.
This process could include eye bag removal, changing of the eye color, and shadow adjustment in the eyes.
Since human attraction relates to the eyes of the model, successful efforts to improve the look of the eyes would improve the image overall as well.
To further explain eye retouching and see it in action, check out this video by PiXImperfect:
5. Toning, Using Colour Balance, Levels, and Hue/Saturation
Toning is essentially a color filter. It can be used to significantly change how the viewer of the image feels about the resulting image.
A warmer tone would exude a friendlier and more inviting sense, whereas a cooler tone would give off a more distant atmosphere.
This tool requires subtlety and moderation. Once an editor masters it, it will greatly improve the quality of the photographs produced.
6. Resizing
Another simple tool that is usually passed over is the resizing tool.
Many find this tool extremely basic since practically every photographer and editor knows it well.
This tool should never be undermined because when one applies the rule of thirds/the golden ratio with it, the excessive areas of the image can be cropped out.
This is called the art of leaving things out. In photography, drawing, or any art form, a good piece does not beat around the bush to speak to its audience.
It is direct and requires five seconds to capture the audience’s attention.
As such, any image in photography must have what it needs to speak and leave the rest out.
7. Clone Stamp
The Clone stamp can be used to lighten the image.
This tool can be used on backgrounds or a model’s skin. The clone stamp’s opacity should ideally be around 15% and applied to areas that are not very detailed.
Such instances may include images shot in natural light, as they have less detail.
Some professionals prefer this tool over frequency adjustment as they find it simply is not worth the time and trouble.
The clone stamp tool can also be used for blending transitions in the sky or onto patterns where there are not a whole lot of details.
To further explain the clone stamp tool and see it in action, check out this video by Brooker Films:
8. Highlights, Using Curves
By using the curves adjustment layer, you can add some more contrast to the image.
One photographer prefers to have a small S curve with several points most of the time.
Though it was warned that this is not a one-size-fits-all formula, some exploration of the curves would be needed.
To further explore the subject of the curve tool and see it in action, check out this video by PiXImperfect:
Frequently Asked Questions
What does basic photo retouching include?
Basic photo retouching typically includes correcting exposure and color balance, removing small blemishes and imperfections, and cropping or resizing the image as needed. This can be done using simple editing tools like brightness and contrast adjustments, spot healing tools, and basic cropping tools in photo editing software.
Who can retouch photos?
Retouching is normally done by professional retouchers, but some amateurs can also be quite good at it and will do the work for free.
Should every photo be retouched?
Not necessarily. Whether or not a photo should be retouched depends on the intended use and purpose of the image. Some photos may require more extensive retouching, such as for commercial or advertising purposes, while others may be fine with minimal or no retouching.
Final Remarks
In conclusion, the question of “what is photo retouching” can be answered that it is an integral part of post-processing in photography.
One can either invest in the widely used and discussed photo editing software that is Photoshop or looks into cheaper or free software for a more budget-friendly tool for photo retouching.
Retouching photos takes lots of practice and with enough time and effort put into it, you can come up with quality images that could win you clients and if you are lucky enough, international photography competitions.
Happy post-processing!
Nate Torres, with over seven years of professional photography experience, founded Imaginated, an educational platform designed to teach photography enthusiasts. Nate Torres is also a professional portrait and headshot photographer in the Orange County and Los Angeles areas. He specializes in portraits of individuals, couples, groups and headshots. Nate Torres is also a photography writer and content creator and educates other photographers on exposure, photography composition, photography editing, photography gear, and photography business. You can find his content on his personal website, social media, and YouTube Channel, as well as on blogs such as Fstoppers, Photofocus, and SLR Lounge.
