10 Steps to Authentic Headshot Retouching

What is included in Basic Retouching of your Professional Headshot?

The first rule of retouching is it must look like you and completely natural. In the day of AI, authenticity is key.  I am not a plastic surgeon, and I do not play one on TV either!  I do not want your headshot to “look” retouched. I have 10 things that I provide with my basic retouching which brings your final image up to the next level by adding a little polish to your professional headshot portrait.  

1. Background cleanup – This includes removing lights that may be in the frame, or any stray marks in the background.
2. Clothing reshaping – Sometimes the clothing will make a bulge on the arms or shoulders. I smooth out these spots to look natural.
3. Hair gaps, splits, and fly-aways – We try to take care of this before we take the shot, but sometimes there are gaps, void spaces, or splits in your hair that need to be filled in. These can tend to distract from your face, so I fill them to look natural. I remove fly-aways that make be sticking out from your head, on your face, or on your neck. I do not completely remove ALL stray hairs, only the ones that are distracting. I do not want you to look like a cutout from the background, but a natural authentic photo.  
4. Nose and ear hair removal – OK, your nose and hair grooming should have happened BEFORE the photo session, but I know a stray may have been missed. I will take care of this for you.  
5. Blemish removal – Blemishes happen. DO not try to cover these up with concealer or extra makeup. That simply makes the retouching harder. I can easily fix blemishes during retouching.  
6. Bloodshot eyes – So you stayed up a little too late the night before… Well, I have you covered. I fix blood shot eyes to look natural, and not be the glowing, whites things you see in other over-retouched images.
7. Eye Glass Glare – We work on this during the shoot, but the final glare removal happens during retouching. The glare removal fixes color or exposure shifts.
8. Teeth whitening – Most people need a little whitening. I help with the yellow staining from too much coffee and tea, and I balance the color out between the teeth also. If you have a diastema, and would like it retouched, please let me know.
9. Shine taming – Some of our skin is more shiny in the lights. I have face blotters to remove excess oil from your face before the shot, but sometimes there may be a few hot spots that need some toning down. I do not remove the natural highlights from your face, just tone them down a bit to avoid distracting elements, and make you look natural.
10. Skin tone balancing – Often times the neck skin tone is different than the face skin tone. I balance the skin tones to look consistent but natural in your final image. If you have red areas due to sunburn or rosacea, I will help to tame these areas as well.    

So, these are my 10 Retouching Steps for your Authentic Professional Headshot. Did you notice how many times I said “natural”?  I want your headshot to look like you. I fix the non-permanent items and keep the spots and shapes that are unique to you. We discuss the retouching at the end of the session to identify any areas you are concerned about before you leave the studio.