Rarely is a portrait image finished once you have pressed the shutter; almost every such photo requires some degree of retouching to finish it. If you are not as comfortable at the computer as you are behind the camera, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced portrait photographer showing you a complete portrait retouching workflow sure to help you create compelling images.
Coming to you from Eli Infante, this excellent video tutorial will show you how to retouch a portrait using Photoshop, including techniques such as frequency separation, dodging and burning, color grading, and much more. If you are a bit newer to retouching portraits, perhaps the most important thing to remember is that less is more. It can be very easy to go overboard when editing a portrait, which can make the results look overly artificial or even plastic. As such, it is a good idea to get in the habit of keeping track of how your edits are progressing in the process. This can include toggling between the before and current image every few minutes or zooming out to check the overall progress when you are working on small details. Small habits like these will help you develop a finer sense of how far to take an edit. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Infante.
