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Use subtle adjustments when retouching photos. Zoom in to check details and compare before and after versions. Ask colleagues for feedback on whether it looks natural.
Stop retouching once the image maintains its authenticity. For example, when skin looks healthy but not plastic, and backgrounds are natural, not overly smooth or altered.
Use low opacity brushes to gently soften skin. Avoid excessive use of blur tools. Focus on minor imperfections, so skin appears healthy but not artificial.
Overdoing skin smoothing or removing all natural textures. It makes the subject look plastic and can make viewers doubt the authenticity of the image.
A photographer or retoucher working on commercial lifestyle images, where the goal is to look appealing but still real.
AI tools can assist with quick edits, but they might produce overly perfect results. Always manually review and adjust to keep the image believable.
Retouching can include fixing details like cleaning behind the subject or removing background distractions to make the overall scene look cleaner, but focus on subtlety to avoid overdoing it.