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Frequency separation, dodge and burn, and skin that still has pores in it.

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[ 6 pieces ]

The standard

Reference pieces by other creators, chosen to set the bar for photo retouching. Our own named client work lives on how we work.

  • Striking portrait of a woman with red lipstick and sleek hairstyle, set in dramatic lighting.01

    Striking portrait of a woman with red lipstick and sleek hairstyle, set in dramatic lighting.

    Alexander Krivitskiy · Pexels

  • Close-up portrait of a young woman with flowing hair, posing elegantly in a studio setting.02

    Close-up portrait of a young woman with flowing hair, posing elegantly in a studio setting.

    Ehsan · Pexels

  • Captivating close-up portrait of an elegant woman with flawless makeup, exuding grace and beauty.03

    Captivating close-up portrait of an elegant woman with flawless makeup, exuding grace and beauty.

    Юлиана Маринина · Pexels

  • Close-up portrait of a woman with make-up posing against a red background.04

    Close-up portrait of a woman with make-up posing against a red background.

    Fher Garza · Pexels

  • A captivating portrait of a woman with afro hair, illuminated by vivid neon lighting, in a studio setup.05

    A captivating portrait of a woman with afro hair, illuminated by vivid neon lighting, in a studio setup.

    Oscar Calstrom · Pexels

  • Vibrant studio portrait of a woman with curly afro hair and tattoos under colorful lighting.06

    Vibrant studio portrait of a woman with curly afro hair and tattoos under colorful lighting.

    Oscar Calstrom · Pexels

[ How this gets made ]

Retouching removes distractions. It does not remove the person.

Turnaround 30–90 min per image
  1. 01The image is split: texture on the high-frequency layer, tone and colour on the low, so blemishes and shadows get fixed without touching each other.
  2. 02Contouring is dodge and burn at low opacity on the low-frequency layer — never a blur, which eats the skin.
  3. 03Every change sits on its own layer at its own opacity, so a client asking for "less" is a slider rather than a redo.
  4. 04Delivered layered. A flattened file is a file that cannot be revised.

The recognisable failure of cheap retouching is plastic skin, and it comes from one thing: fixing tone and texture with the same tool. Separating them is slower and it is the entire difference, you can lift the shadow under an eye and keep every pore. A high-end beauty retouch runs 30 to 90 minutes an image for that reason, and anybody quoting it in minutes is running a filter.

What you get

[ 4 deliverables ]
  • Layered PSD or TIFF, nothing flattened01
  • Frequency separation and dodge-and-burn on separate layers02
  • Masks live and re-editable03
  • 30–90 minutes per image on a high-end beauty retouch04

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