Photo retouching doesn’t have to mean fake looking. The goal with my retouching is twofold—to minimize distractions and bring out the person’s best, while keeping an authentic feel to the image itself. Each image is individualized, but there are 5 common adjustments I make across the board when I’m retouching photos.

5 Pro Tips for Photo Retouching

 

After each photography session, it’s time to start retouching photos! These are five things I look for when I sort through each portrait. This is all part of the process of making high-quality printed photos!

 

1) Skin

 

No need to worry about acne or kids’ nose crusties! I minimize these while keeping skin looking realistic.

 

2) Fuzz

 

Sometimes fuzz happens. Lint or other speckles can be distracting, especially when it’s a stark color contrast (like white on black).

 

3) Stray Hairs

 

I do love me some wild windswept hair, but if there’s a single strand going haywire. During the photo retouching, I’ll work some magic to remove it.

 

4) Iris

 

The eyes are windows to the soul, right? I love to bring out the color and clarity in people’s eyes. At the same time, I make this look as natural as possible. Nobody needs to look like Thriller here.

 

5) Teeth

 

If you’re like me, you haven’t been blessed with perfect pearly whites. That’s ok! Without going overboard (read: freakishly white), I can give teeth a little boost. So don’t stress if you didn’t make it to the dentist for whitening trays prior to your session- I got it covered!

 

I go even more in-depth with master retouching for larger wall art. This ensures that every square inch is absolutely perfect before it is ordered.

These five areas are the photo retouching basics though and are standard enhancements I make for sessions. They may seem like small tweaks but taken all together, they significantly improve the impact of each photo.

 

Before Your Photography Session

 

Be sure to check out these tips before you schedule a photography session!

• How to find the perfect photography location
• Preparing for your photography session
• How to pick photo session outfits
• 4 simple things you can do for better photos

 

Hire Wild Sonora Photography

 

If you live near Phoenix, Arizona, and want to hire an adventure photographer for an outdoor portrait session, you’ve come to the right place! Take a look at my portfolio, follow me on Instagram, and book a photo session here!