We all work quite hard to develop a range of post-processing techniques to help us realize our creative visions and to satisfy the needs of clients, but one thing that even experienced photographers struggle with is knowing when to stop retouching. If you find yourself unsure of how far to take your post-processing, check out this helpful video tutorial that features an experienced portrait and beauty photographer discussing philosophies of retouching and how to know you are doing just the right amount.
Coming to you from Kayleigh June, this insightful video tutorial discusses the issue of retouching and how to know when enough is enough. No doubt, this is a really tricky thing to develop a feel for, but of course, it is crucial that you do. One of the best things you can do is get in the habit of checking in while you are working, not just at the end. It is easy to get a bit of tunnel vision when you are in the midst of things, particularly if you are working zoomed in a lot and not keeping track of the global progress. Make a habit of zooming out every few minutes to keep an eye on how things are progressing so you can see how the photo will look when viewed at a normal distance. Aim for the minimum amount of retouching to accomplish what you or the client need (this will reduce your amount of work anyway). The goal should be to retain both texture and realism. Check out the video above for the full rundown from June.
I used to retouch too much but I got sick of how sterile and plastic my subjects looked. It was mostly because of frequency separation. It's too good at helping you get out all the blemishes. I stopped using FS and started just doing very basic retouching and am much happier with the results because I'm not trying to hide who people really are. I can also get through retouching much faster since I'm not paying attention to every single little speck on someones face. I can understand if it's like a clothing model or a some sort of beauty model but even then it's a bit much imo.
Most of my clients are those that want to upload their headshots to LinkedIn. My style is do the lightest retouching. Some clients might request a heavy retouch and I try to let them know what this particular product can't take heavy retouching unlike glamour shoots.
the best thing one needs to do is just dodge and burn that it self is enough if you want to achieve beautiful natural pics but that itself is tedious if you have a lot of pics
I've heard a saying that I stick with regularly- if it looks retouched, you've gone too far.