While every photo I include in your final gallery is fully edited, 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. Why? Because when you print big, the smallest detail becomes a LOT more distracting!

Retouching may conjure up some fantastical photoshopping you might have seen on the internet. But 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 edit is individualized. However, these five areas are the photo retouching basics I simply don’t skip over.

They may seem like small tweaks but taken all together, they significantly improve the impact of each photo.

 

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 nose crusties on the little ones! I minimize these while keeping skin looking realistic. For us adults, I even out skin tones and soften the signs of aging, so everyone looks youthful and glowing.

 

2) Fuzz, Crumbs, and Other Random Elements

 

Sometimes fuzz happens. Lint or other speckles can be distracting, especially when it’s a stark color contrast (like white on black). These are easy fixes to make, and I’m happy to make them. One less distraction from your beautiful family!

 

3) Stray Hairs and Flyaways

 

I do love me some wild windswept hair, but if there’s one single strand going haywire, then it’s gotta go. During the photo retouching, I’ll work some magic to remove it, while avoiding the “helmet head” look (when photoshopping goes awry).

 

4) Eyes

 

The eyes are windows to the soul, right? I love to bring out the color and clarity in people’s eyes. I usually lighten the shadows around faces too, for maximum warm fuzzies. At the same time, I make this look as natural as possible. Nobody needs to look like Thriller here.

 

5) Cords, Wall Outlets, and other Household Distractions

 

Generally speaking, I won’t suggest that you sit right next to a wall outlet for your portraits. But, photographing in a real home, with real humans, we are going to encounter an occasional cord in the frame. For the sake of maximizing the emotion of your images, I’m going to remove any unsightly background elements. As for the electronics sitting on wrists? I recommend those go in a drawer while we’re photographing. It’s much easier to photoshop an outlet off of a wall, than a health tracker off of an arm!

 

 

 

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

 

Work with me!

 

If you live near Phoenix, Arizona, and want to hire an in home family photographer, you’ve come to the right place! Book a photo session here!