Knowing how to light, pose, and shoot a good portrait is only half the battle; you also need to be able to edit your images to produce a fully finished and compelling final product. If you are new to portraiture and looking to improve your work, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a full image edit, including retouching, dodging and burning, color grading, and more.
Coming to you from Eli Infante, this excellent video tutorial will show you the full process of retouching and color grading a portrait in Photoshop, including using techniques like dodging and burning, frequency separation, selective color, Curves, and more. Being able to produce a compelling portrait takes a careful touch when it comes to editing, as it is very much about a balance between a proper amount of retouching and not taking things to the point that they look artificial. Generally, the best technique I have found is to keep zooming out to check things as I edit and to step away from the computer for a minute or two when I am done to allow my eyes to reset, then return to evaluate the image one more time before I export it. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Infante.
