I was asked this very question recently and it got me thinking, “How much retouching do I do on any given project?” Honestly, it comes down to each individual subject and image. For instance, retouching an image of the Blue Angels in flight might only require repairing a few dust spots from particles left on the camera’s sensor or lens (If you don’t keep your equipment clean…). Whereas, shooting teenagers (with the acne issues most of us faced during that time of our lives) will require quite a bit more TLC.
This image of Michelle, taken in early January, was only lightly retouched.Another question I field occasionally is, “What can I do to limit the amount a retouching required after my shoot?” For that, I refer you to this document I posted here some time back entitled, “Getting Ready for Your Photoshoot“.
