Professional

Professional
Beauty Work

The Secret to Professional Headshot Retouching

Corporate headshots are the bread and butter of portrait retouching. They’re not as glamorous as beauty or fashion work, but they pay the bills — and there’s a real art to doing them well. The goal with a corporate headshot is simple: make the person look like the best version of themselves on their best day. Not younger, not thinner, not different — just polished. What to Fix Temporary blemishes (always remove) Stray hairs (clean up the silhouette) Uneven skin tone (especially redness on nose, cheeks) Wrinkled clothing (quick fix with Liquify) Distracting background elements Under-eye circles (reduce, don’t eliminate) Shine on forehead and nose (reduce, keep some for dimension) What to Leave Alone Wrinkles (reduce by 20-30%, never remove) Moles and beauty marks (these are features, not flaws) Facial structure (no Liquify reshaping on headshots) Smile lines (they make people look friendly and genuine) The reason is practical: this person’s colleagues will see this photo.

Professional
Beauty Work

High-End Retouching Techniques Used by Magazine Editors

What separates a magazine cover retouch from typical portrait editing? It’s not more Photoshop filters — it’s more time, more precision, and a completely different standard of what “done” looks like. I’ve worked with editorial teams at several fashion magazines, and here’s what the workflow actually looks like behind the scenes. The Retouching Brief Before any pixels get pushed, there’s a creative brief. The art director specifies: Overall mood and color direction How much retouching is acceptable (some magazines are going for a more natural look these days) Specific things to address (and specific things to leave alone) Reference images for the desired look This is important because editorial retouching isn’t about making someone look “perfect” — it’s about serving the creative vision of the editorial team.