Model Photographers - Do You Retouch Your Photos?

[pacopixs]

Almost all pros photoshop or have someone photoshop their photos!....even wedding photographers .....One of the most expensive wedding photographers from Australia ...teaches that you should never show a pic without it being photoshoped!!...In truth ....almost all women want their pictures photoshoped ...

[louann108]

Our clients depend on our retouching. If doing shots meant for things like beauty contests, the photos get really heavy in the retouching. For family portraits, it's a bit lighter, but we have been known to shave off a few pounds from people. They love it-the majority of the income is from repeaters. Even babies are no immune to our retouching department.
We did have one man who refused to take the portrait because too many wrinkles were removed from his wife's face.

[marxz]

this is the old "how long is a piece of string" question.

and the answer, as always, is "it depends"

And what it depends on is what you are trying to achieve artistically, technically and (if you're a professional) financially.

Many, many moons ago I worked as a darkroom tech for a photographic business who's main contract was taking pictures of cars for the local classified ads papers.

Some days the photographers would go out and shoot two hundred budget second hand cars and all I'd do is do a "near enough" print and cut out the background (with a real stainless steel scalpel mind you non of this fancy pants "paths" tool stuff back in '85/86 'ish when Photoshop was just a dim light in Thomas Knoll's subconscious mind). With these jobs the payment per car was so small that I had a limit of 5 minute per car (and in reality a lot less than that, more like 2 minutes per car else I'd be there beyond press deadline)

Other days I'd get a single picture of some expensive performance and/or luxury car and have to spend hours and hours dodging and burning shadows out from off the bonnet or roof and cutting out or inking over heads and faces out from all the the windows that were from all the spectators that would gather around, to use the photographers expression, "like flies to shit" when ever and where ever they would park something like a Ferrari or a Maserati. A job like that would usually get a full page spread that would pay more than a hundred budget cars worth of images and so got as much, or as little editing work as needed to make it totally shmick (err that's local slang for "like a rat with a gold tooth" ... err as in looking really overly attractive... often above and beyond how good it actually looked in real life... faded paint? no problems we'll burn that back in (or if colour retouch it with ink), naff white wall tyres? I'll make a mask and burn those suckers blacker than coal etc etc etc).

[akjack]

Is this faster than Photoshop ???? We tried the trial version and it seemd you had to do each part of the image by itself. My asistant used PS but it takes forever too !!!!

[akjack]

I want to re-touch the models, not the photos !!!

[thegallopingflasher]

I think the real question is "Who are you producing the "photoart" for. Let's face it we can make all the restrictions on ourselves by making rules that help us meet our own intentions but when we consider the needs/wants of the client we may have to sacrifice those intentions or lose a customer.

Gary

[sean_mcr]

Check this farce out

http://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/2008/10/and-damned-if-y.html

[cwest]

Benjikan summed it all up with just one word: ALWAYS.
Digital photography is exactly like traditional photography - the techniques of retouching may be different, but post-processing is essential. The only question is how much is needed to perfect the job at hand.

[wgrzesiakcom]

I always preffer to have the photo shoot a bit longer but also have a good make up - then the retouch is nearly not needed and rest of stuff I only play with colours etc. from the RAW level.

[surindersinghstudio]

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