Whether you are a product owner or just an avid photography lover, embrace the fact that at some point, you’ll need to use professional photo retouching. The technique is essential and inevitable, particularly for someone who expects marvelous photo quality.
Photo retouching is a critical part of image production and has its own pros and cons. You can dive deeper into its benefits, techniques, and types here!
Why Is Photo Retouching Important
Photo retouching requires a more intricate yet interesting step-by-step process. This image post-production service involves manipulating the photo through extensive processes, including removing flaws or unwanted elements and enhancing the photo quality aesthetically, particularly in professional fields.
Another significant aspect of photo retouching is that it is professionally required to achieve specific objectives based on a client’s needs. It aims to improve the appearance of objects in the photo, such as people, backgrounds, or products.
Therefore, industries like commercial photography and graphic or visual design frequently rely on this kind of professional post-production photography service.
Common Retouching Types In Photography
Since the photo retouching process demands complexity and depth, there are several variations in the works. This article covers two categorizations based on the level of intensity in professional photo retouching and the specific objectives related to the subject.
1. Based on The Working Gravity
Here are some retouching types that are based on the working gravity :
a. Basic Service
This type of service aims to preserve the originality of the picture. It typically involves photo editing basics, such as correcting the color and exposure. Additionally, it includes small tasks to remove defects, flaws, and imperfections such as scratches, spots, or blemishes (in the case of people).
b. Advanced Process
This process requires a professional retoucher to work on the background, model, and product. In addition to the basic service, advanced photo retouching includes tasks such as removing wrinkles, rearranging the background, correcting silhouettes and shapes, and applying dodge and burn techniques for contrast adjustment.
c. Extensive Retouching Task
The extensive retouching may provoke change in various and in-depth aspects of the picture. You can ask a photo retouching services provider to do the following retouch tasks: perspective correction, removing or adding people, color and also gamma correction, and merging, or combining images. The process of old picture restoration is also categorized as extensive retouching.
2. Based on The Specific Subject Objective
Meanwhile, retouching based on the subject objective is divided into five categories, including:
a. Beauty
Industries that deal with beauty products for hair, skin, and face typically utilize this type of retouching. The process takes considerably more time as the retoucher needs to focus on intricate minor details. For instance, smoothing the skin texture, eliminating oil on the skin, or teeth whitening.
b. Commercial
Images intended for commercial use are those displayed in public areas, such as billboards, brochures, posters, or e-commerce platforms. Their purpose is to capture the audience’s attention with high-resolution pictures and meticulous details. Therefore, they should be handled with utmost care.
The important part of this professional photo retouching type starts with the basic corrections (brightness, color, contrast, and shadows) as they have direct effects on the artistic and nuanced aspects of the picture. Afterward, they proceed to more extensive tasks.
It involves removing facial, hair, and skin blemishes and wrinkles, balancing skin tones, and cleaning up the background or backdrop. Sometimes, this service also involves adding another artistic element by combining or merging two images to convey a key message through a single photo.
c. Fashion
The tasks involved in retouching an image for fashion or catalog objectives are interconnected with the model, background, and product. There is a process of adjusting, manipulating, and polishing various aspects of the picture, particularly for the main elements.
Retouchers should match the in-picture colors of fashion products as closely as possible to their actual appearance. Manipulation may involve the model’s face, hair, body fit, and overall composition but not on the product itself.
Ensuring a clean background, free from dust specks or scratches, is also crucial in creating an eye-catching and visually pleasing fashion photo.
d. Portrait
Headshot or portrait photos are intentionally taken up close, exposing the subject’s skin with fine detail. As a result, the correction process for portrait photo retouching focuses on colors, image sharpness, skin details, and textures. The retouchers must also carefully preserve the natural look of the subject, making the retouching process require more professional skills.
e. Product
Image post-production for product objectives involves a basic service process, which includes changing and cleaning up the background, removing defects and flaws from the product, adjusting shadows, and highlighting aspects to showcase the product’s dimensions.
Moreover, professional retouching goes even further by meticulously fine-tuning details such as buttons, corners, and edges, as well as enhancing stitching. Retouchers often utilize techniques like using a ghost mannequin and liquifying it. This process helps the mannequin fit the product or creates a better focus on the product.
In Need Of Professional Photo Retouching?
If you’re unsure or facing a tight deadline to give your pictures a more professional look, entrust the post-production process to a provider of photo retouching and photo editing services like Dropicts. We can handle a wide range of retouching objectives. Don’t hesitate to try our free trial or contact us for more details.
FAQ
- What is The Difference Between Photo Editing and Photo Retouching?
Photo editing involves less time and simple tasks such as adjusting exposure, brightness, color saturation, contrast, and cropping images. On the other hand, photo retouching entails a more detailed and complex process, as explained throughout the article. - How Does Retouching Work?
The process comes up once the pictures or photographs are already taken. Before starting the tasks, the retouchers need to understand the client’s needs, objectives, and preferences. Professional retouchers utilize a PC or desktop along with software related to photography to receive and analyze the image. They carefully select the retouching tools and apply the techniques to make adjustments and enhance the picture quality accordingly. - What Are Tools Technique For Image Retouching?
Usually, the retoucher utilizes Photoshop to accomplish the task. The essential tools in the software include the spot healing brush, dodge and burn, frequency separation, and color correction tools such as color balance, hue/saturation, and levels. Additionally, clone stamps, eye retouching, resizing tools, and curves for adjusting highlights are also necessary. - What is The Standard Retouching?
Basic or standard professional photo retouching focuses on color balance and exposure correction, small flaws removal, and image resizing and/or cropping.
Image Source :
Pexels
