The “Magic” of Photoshop

I often hear folks say, “You can do anything in Photoshop!” I’ll be shooting at a location and the marketing director might say, “Oh ‘we’ can fix that in Photoshop. Can’t we Steve?” Depending on the issue, my response might be, “What’s your budget?” My retouching fits my pricing structure. There are occasions when my limits are reached. For instance, “Can’t you give me a digital shave?” I invite the subject to go shave because, most importantly, it’s going to look better. Secondly, it will take less time. Time is money. I keep razors, shaving cream, and fresh towels in my home studio for this reason.

95% of the time I can do what’s needed. I do my best to think ahead and get it right in camera. If there’s a tough issue, I try to either fix it or get it to a point in camera where my post-production skill sets can manage it in Photoshop. Everything you see on my website I retouch.

Professional full-time retouchers, folks that work on top 100 brands, charge $100/hr or more for retouching. When I interface with them to price out tough fixes, even I gasp at the cost. I understand though. Some fixes take a lot of time. Some fixes take know how. Many fixes take both time and know how. It’s a matter of: “Where will I get the pixels?” Some fixes are accomplished by replacing body parts. Professional full-time dedicated retouchers have digital file folders full of body parts.

The good news is that I rarely get complaints. The odds are you’re going to love what we do.

Retouching your Headshot

Retouching refers to work done in Photoshop. Photoshop replaces pixels and enables you to push pixels around. Removing blemishes, age spots, eye redness, skin redness, softening wrinkles, tidying up the hairline, minor clothing fixes, fixing moiré when it occurs, thinning the face some, adding some contouring, and minor clothing fixes.

Good retouching is painstaking work. I use the frequency separation among other methods. I don’t use plugins. I’m your most affordable option for quality retouching. My goal is to leave attractive skin texture in tact and have a realistic appearance to the retouch.

A typical headshot with the retouch I include in my pricing takes 20 minutes to an hour. Beyond that retouching incurs an upcharge and the cost varies as to what you want done. There are instances where you might want to take the image further than my skill set permits. This is very rare. I suggest full-time retouchers when it comes up.

I know the Atlanta market. I research and look at my competitors work. I occasionally hire my competitors (and vice versa) to assist me on large corporate jobs. I’m accused of skewing the market with my pricing and level of retouching. When I’m hired by small advertising agencies, they usually request my retouching because they can not do better.

Do You Need Retouching Or Just Developing?

You will always notice a difference with retouching but that is in the A/B comparison. So a headshot standing alone with no comparison doesn’t scream, “I need retouching.” If your images are for internal use, and will never be larger than 150 pixels then I’d skip the retouching. I still deliver a set if images that are 12 inches on the long side at 300 ppi. You can always get those retouched as needed. The most common scenario to forego retouching is shooting a number of individuals for a company at a conference. C-Suite folks headshots larger online and occasionally need to go to print you probably want retouching. You can have some images retouched and others not retouched. You can get my “no retouching” prices and send the “print” sized images out to a service for as little as $5/image. In most cases, at a smaller web size, you may not notice a difference. Remember: I’m doing all I can to get it right in camera. In many cases that’s enough.

Poorly fitted clothes

It’s almost impossible to fix some clothing that simply doesn’t fit. Deep wrinkles that lose texture in the folds in dark clothing. The fix might be to put your head on another person. I don’t do that.

Get It Right In Camera

I try to get it right in camera. I work with the best available gear and keep my skill sets current. I’m always updating my gear and my skill sets. I can miss things so I do offer a second round of retouching if it is warranted.

Photography is a game of inches. We live in a world of small margins. Do I buy the $800 dollar lens, or the $2,500 lens? Do I use a prosumer or a professional camera body? Do I use a $300 monitor or a $2,500 monitor that I can calibrate. These little decisions compound through a photographer’s workflow. I spend the money, I spend the time, I continue to study, I care about what I do. That little bit more quality in capture pays a much bigger dividend as you carry that philosophy out in your entire workflow. At a workshop years ago, Photographer/Artist Vincent Versace said, “We live in a world of 2 percents.” What I took that to mean was quality compounds in any given direction you aim. I buy the better camera and lens combo, I do my best to get it right in camera, I learn my post-production techniques, I buy the expensive calibrated monitor… I go through my workflow and do my best to insure the sum is greater than the parts.

Your Part To Get It Right In Camera

Check your clothes out far in advance. Make sure your clothes are clean and they fit well. Make sure your jacket buttons. Men: Shave well, wear your reading glasses when you shave. Women: If you are dissatisfied with your décolletage and aging in general, dress with that in mind. Practice your expression.