RETOUCHING
What is retouching?
Retouching has gained a whole load of bad press in recent years and quite rightly so. Fashion magazines distorting figures, airbrushing skin and creating hyper real images that are more to do with selling products than expressing somebody’s likeness.
Retouching really is a fantastic process for headshots as it really focuses on removing any distractions from an image and allowing more attention to be drawn to the eyes rather than a crease in a jacket for example. This is where the removing fly away hairs, blemishes, balancing uneven skin tone, brightening and darkening certain areas, altering colour of clothing etc takes place. Just to note that grading is also applied to any retouched image (see below for information about grading).
Balancing and toning are essential to creating a true representation of skin-tone. Blemish removal and eye bag softening, anything that isn’t a permanent feature on the face can be removed.
Have a look at the movable slider for a before and after.
GRADING
What is grading?
I wanted to offer my clients more flexibility when choosing their photographs from me because sometimes retouching might not be necessary for a photo that already looks fantastic and just needs a little expert tweaking rather then extensive retouching. The best way to describe the process and the difference between retouching and grading is this:
Grading is like a tailor made instagram filter, basically the styling of the image as a whole.
Retouching is all about focusing on the details in an image removing any distractions/imperfections.
Grading commonly affects tone, contrast, brightness etc, essentially creating the mood, look, and feel. Each image that you select for Grading will be uniquely customised by myself.
This is a fantastic option to have at your finger tips especially with my more creative sessions because not every shot will require the more in-depth process that retouching offers.
Have a look at the movable slider for a before and after.