Portrait Retouching with Video

 

The topic of portrait retouching is very important to me. Maybe you have heard that Seventeen Magazine, urged by a grass-roots campaign, has agreed not to publish retouched images in any of their publications from here on out. While I am very happy with that news, the level of body distortion present in media today it is still very disturbing to me. I am sure you have all seen the images of before/after retouched celebrities in various media outlets.

As a photographer,  it is imperative that I have standards in place which address the level of retouching I am willing to do. Since I photograph primarily children and families, I feel that my main job is to present beautiful but realistic portraiture to my clients. As such, I do basic retouching on almost all of my print-ready images. To me, basic retouching on the human body includes removing obvious blemishes or scratches (and sometimes even black eyes).  Occasionally I will leave bandaids or scratches if the client wants to remember those rough and tumble childhood days. Basic retouching also involves brightening or sharpening eyes a little if necessary, reducing undereye circles, skin tone color correction, removal of stray hairs, or clothing adjustments (bra straps showing, wrinkles, etc.).  Sometimes I will remove braces as well, if the child is about to have them taken off.

Extreme retouching would involve body reshaping or minimizing, facial structure reshaping, extreme skin smoothing, extreme eye brightening or iris color changes, hair color changes, and major clothing adjustments such as shortening skirts, etc.  Although I CAN do this type of retouching and will do so if a client REALLY wants it done, I do not make this a part of my regular business practice.  I want my clients to be happy, but I am uncomfortable with this level of retouch, especially in young people. I would say that the only time I will do some subtle body reshaping might be right after a client has had a baby. Sometimes new moms appreciate looking just a little less bloated. I do keep it subtle though!

There are trends which come and go in portraiture. One trend I would love to see banished is what I call the “alien eye” trend – this one is a pet peeve of mine. In these images, the eyes of the subject are sharpened and brightened into something totally unrealistic. Although I do brighten and sharpen eyes in many of my portraits, I only do so if I feel it is warranted. And when I do this, I am careful not to go overboard.

I believe the public needs to be more aware of these retouching trends. When you are searching for honest portraiture, look for a photographer whose subjects are realistically presented.  If the retouching is obvious to you as a casual viewer, that photographer has gone too far!