Portrait Photography: What Can & Cannot Be Retouched

Having been a portrait photographer for many years, I have grown to love photographing what is natural and real. With the advent of digital photography and tools like Photoshop, the ability to retouch images and “fix” the way people look has become commonplace. Portrait photography clients frequently ask whether I can make them look younger or thinner. The answer to those types of questions is handled on an individual basis guided by what can or can’t be changed in a photograph and still remains natural and believable.

Once you choose your finished photographs, the images selected for printing can undergo a number of corrections. Some basic retouching to your photographs can include minimizing wrinkles, brightening eyes and teeth, evening out areas that are too dark or light, and eliminating some stray hair and facial blemishes.

At times, especially in posed group portraits, smiles can be fixed and blinking eyes can be opened, but only if there is a suitable image to pull the best features from. This technique generally doesn’t work for candid photographs. The extent and limitations of these retouching techniques can be discussed when selecting your favorite images.

Here are some examples of more extensive retouching:

1. The girl in the white dress gets a new leg from another image, and the bandage is removed from her toe.
2. In the close-up photograph of the young girl, she had been bitten by a bug at the beginning of the session. Her eye swelled immediately. I made a conscious effort to photograph her in a pleasing way, and when I wasn’t able to avoid showing her eye, my team was able to retouch it and make it look “normal and real;” something I constantly strive for.
3. In the third photograph, a woman’s thigh is slimmed. In some situations this is possible. Sometimes not.  Wrinkles from a shirt can be softened drawing less attention to it. A piece of dress can be made longer to cover a piece of underwear that may be showing.

We will work together with each photograph you’ve chosen. These images will be carefully analyzed for what can and cannot be done to keep them looking real & natural while guaranteeing that you not only look like you, but you look your finest.

Click here for more information on how to choose your finished portraits.