Retouching or ‘Airbrushing’ is always a hot topic of controversy when it comes to portrait photography. There is an emerging trend for a few celebrities to reject any form of photo enhancement on their promotional photos. The reality is that the vast majority of photos we are exposed to have some form of digital manipulation applied to them.
What is Retouching?
Using photoshop, we can digitally change the appearance to make the final photo ‘look more appealing’. Of course this is a very subjective process and all too often the process is taken too far and the person looks fake or ‘plastic’.
Why Retouch?
The logic goes something like this:
When we meet someone, we talk to them in a respectful way – not getting too close – not staring at them for too long. They are animated, talking, laughing and we get an overall impression of them.
When we take a photo of someone, it is a slice of time, and we have the opportunity to stare it – look closely at the detail.
Because professional cameras can pick up so much detail we see a super real perspective of the person.
To counter balance the ‘super real perspective’ we may have to dial back some of the detail – whilst still staying true to the character of the person.
Secondly, we all have good days and bad days. And usually the bad day is the day you are scheduled to get your photo taken! For that reason, we remove any temporary blemish or skin irritation or sign of sickness.
When not to retouch
A big reason for not retouching is that often your photo will only be used to the size of a postage stamp. Even if you have a slightly lazy eye – no one will see it when the photo is that small.
Metro Headshots – The Retouching Experts
The way we work with our clients on a daily basis is to apply an ‘editorial’ retouch on all Executive Photos. This means removing any blemishes, evening-out the skin tone and minimising any signs of sickness or tiredness. We want you to look like you have just stepped off the plane from a 7 day health retreat!
The Client is always right!
Our job is to supply you a photo that you are happy with. If you feel you need more ‘work’ done on your photo – we are happy to help out. Conversely if you feel we have gone too far – we are happy to pull back. You have the confidence to know we have the experience and expertise to achieve whatever level of retouching you require.
