What is Photo Retouching for Headshots?

Retouching photographs is an art and should be left to highly skilled and experienced photo retouchers - many times this is not the photographer. When it comes to retouching images of people, especially headshots due to the dominating element being that of someone’s face, a ‘less is more’ approach is always the best practice. For headshots, one of the worse things you can do is pull, what I call, a ‘bait and switch.’ This is when the headshot photo and the ‘real’ person differ in very obvious ways. We need to own who we are by addressing mostly temporary things like blemishes, while providing very moderate reductions in some of the less attractive details of ourselves (emphasis on moderate). The majority of retouching for professional headshots should be more about ‘fixing’ things that could not or were not able to be corrected in what we call ‘in-camera.’ Reducing wrinkles in a jacket, shirt, or blouse would be a typical example of ‘fixing’ things since they have no effect on the person’s face or head.

When retouching is implemented this way, by skilled and experienced retouchers, there should be no apparent signs that the photo was altered in any way.

Here’s a typical list of things that can be addressed during the retouching process. I’ve separated the items into three categories ranging from ‘fixes’ to the more aggressive retouches.

Category 1 Retouches
Mainly ‘fixes’, not
enhancements

•Shirt/Blouse Wrinkles
•Jacket Wrinkles
•Collar Spaces
•Men’s Tie to Collar Fit
•Eye Glasses Glare
•Shiny Spots on Skin
•Stray Hairs
•Alter/Change Background

Category 2 Retouches
This is the removal of things that could be corrected naturally

•Blemishes
•Hair Fly-Aways
•Hair Spaces
•Exposure to Sun/Wind
•Teeth Whitening
•Darkness Under Eyes

Category 3 Retouches
Aggressive measures to be performed in moderation

•Red Skin Removal
•Gray Hairs
•Thinning Hair
•Under Eye Wrinkles
•Side Eye Wrinkles
•Neck Lines and Wrinkles
•Eye Size Differences
•Eye Brow Issues

I hope this information provides a better understanding of the photo retouching process as it pertains to professional headshots and their typical uses. If I can be of further assistance or should you have any questions, just let me know.