The business of photography and retouching
Sometimes a portrait doesn’t reflect how we felt in the moment it was taken. We may have felt confident, glamorous, or even radiant, but the photo just doesn’t show it. Maybe the photographer was in a rush, the camera angle was off, the lighting wasn’t ideal, or perhaps our expression wasn’t as strong as we remember.
That disconnect between how we felt at that moment and how the image looks is where professional retouching becomes invaluable.
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A photograph can serve as a factual document, a visual record of what happened at a specific time and place. This kind of image is important, especially for journalism, archival purposes, or anytime accuracy is paramount. It offers clarity, objectivity, and a shared point of reference.
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This business portrait (above) has several problems. The top-half of the head is overexposed, the lower hair is underexposed, the hair is a little messy, the teeth are a bit dark, and the eyeglasses are too low on the nose which puts the frames too close to the eyes.
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The original portrait (above) is a mess. The white shirt is very overexposed, wrinkled, and distracting. Big reflections in the eyeglasses obscure the subject’s eyes, and one eye has an odd, extra catchlight. The background is too bright, poorly lit, and wrinkled. On top of all that, the pose looks awkward.
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We all know that retouched portraits are everywhere: most advertising, fashion magazines, entertainment magazines, billboards, Instagram, LinkedIn profiles, and many business headshots. Sometimes the retouching is very subtle and sometimes not. We may criticize the retouching of portraits, but research shows that we’re still drawn to them. Why?
The answer lies in the neuroscience of beauty. The combination of psychology, biology, and visual perception reveals just how deeply our brains are wired to respond to certain aesthetic cues.
Even with all this retouching, the person’s appearance is not perfect, and that’s intentional.
Photo retouching works on the “garbage in, garbage out” principle. If you start with a low-quality or poorly composed image, retouching can only do so much — it might improve a few elements, but it will mostly just enhance the flaws. But if you begin with a reasonably well-produced photo, retouching can take it from good to outstanding.
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Here are a few more examples of my photo retouching of business headshots and other portraits.
Retouching also fixed a few minor issues. This person is wearing a hair weave and, in a larger photo, the netting is visible in the hair part. The hair was retouched to make the part look more natural. Also, the lighting was a bit harsh and the skin was over-sharpened. These were softened with retouching.
