Beginner here — advice on basic portrait retouching workflow?

[RawVisionary]

Hi everyone,
I’m just getting started with photo retouching and would love some advice from more experienced members.

I mostly shoot portraits and want to learn a simple, clean workflow for editing skin, adjusting tones, and maybe fixing small distractions in the background — nothing too extreme or "plastic-looking."

I'm using Lightroom and just started exploring Photoshop.
What steps or tools do you consider essential in your own workflow?
Also, how do you know when to stop retouching and not overdo it?

Any tips, videos, or even before/after examples would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Matt2134]

Hi everyone,
I’m just getting started with photo retouching and would love some advice from more experienced members.

I mostly shoot portraits and want to learn a simple, clean workflow for editing skin, adjusting tones, and maybe fixing small distractions in the background — nothing too extreme or "plastic-looking."

I'm using Lightroom and just started exploring Photoshop.
What steps or tools do you consider essential in your own workflow?
Also, how do you know when to stop retouching and not overdo it?

Any tips, videos, or even before/after examples would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

You are coming to this right at the start of the brave new AI world. A year or two ago the advice would all have been around frequency separation and dodge and burn for skin editing - but honestly there is little point learning all that now - your software will do most of it with sliders.

For Photoshop, I would highly recommend the PixImperfect channel - you will not find a better, easier to watch educator on how to use the features of that software - he is so easy to learn from with a tone of free content, He updates techniques, so watch his more recent videos for latest version functions.

But the biggest question you ask is around when to stop and not overdo it - and the answer is almost certainly a lot sooner than you think! The biggest mistake people at the start of their journey make is over-editing. Usually by a huge margin at first. Less is definitely more, and the more subtle the better. For most people they should finish their edit, look at it, go away for an hour or two and come back and look at it again - then dial your edits back by 50%, then 50% again!

 

[Major Jack]

Hi everyone,
I’m just getting started with photo retouching and would love some advice from more experienced members.

I mostly shoot portraits and want to learn a simple, clean workflow for editing skin, adjusting tones, and maybe fixing small distractions in the background — nothing too extreme or "plastic-looking."

I'm using Lightroom and just started exploring Photoshop.
What steps or tools do you consider essential in your own workflow?
Also, how do you know when to stop retouching and not overdo it?

Any tips, videos, or even before/after examples would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

In my own PERSONAL Opinion, I think learning from others is best.

You can learn from Books, and Video's, but that is usually using THEIR photos, and not YOURS.

For example. Take any photo of YOURS, look at it, and see what it is that you want to fix. Blemishes, colors, remove items, White Balance, etc, etc. Then, decide what tools you UNDERSTAND and can use to fix those things. Do you have a good knowledge of the software you are using, or are you limited in that knowledge? If there is something you can not seem to fix, POST the photo here, and sit back and watch as the members here help you and tell you how they did it. Then learn from those members who have done this type of thing many many times. BUT, PICK your own like and dislikes of what the members have shown you.

That is how I learned many years ago, from others, by watching what they did, how they did it, and what "tools" they used in the software they own. But, in my opinion, it is best to work on your own images, because after all, it is THOSE images you are really wanting help with, right?

Lightroom is very popular software, and Photoshop, in my opinion is the Best Software for Retouching Photographs on this planet. Many will agree with that, while others will disagree, but Adobe Software, including Lightroom, has a very good track record.

Finally, you have come to the right Website in my opinion, because this forum has many many members who truly enjoy working on Photographs, and they ALWAYS do it for FREE.

Best of Luck to you.

 

[Night Pixel]

Hi everyone,
I’m just getting started with photo retouching and would love some advice from more experienced members.

I mostly shoot portraits and want to learn a simple, clean workflow for editing skin, adjusting tones, and maybe fixing small distractions in the background — nothing too extreme or "plastic-looking."

I'm using Lightroom and just started exploring Photoshop.
What steps or tools do you consider essential in your own workflow?
Also, how do you know when to stop retouching and not overdo it?

Any tips, videos, or even before/after examples would be hugely appreciated.
Thanks in advance!

Here is a good start:

 

[ApertureFocus]

In Lightroom I usually start with global adjustments (exposure, contrast, white balance), then move to skin retouching with the texture and clarity sliders. For more detailed work, Photoshop’s healing brush and dodge & burn on a low-opacity layer are my go-to tools. The key is subtlety — if you notice the edit immediately, you’ve probably gone too far.

 

[Gato Amarillo]

It's hard to improve on the first post, but here's what I can offer. I don't use Lightroom, so I'm in Camera Raw or Photoshop

If I'm working with a raw file I'll start in ACR with basic adjustments for brightness and contrast, color if needed. I'll apply a little, but never too much, sharpening and Clarity. I may use the Select panel to darken or lighten the background. Then move to Photoshop.

Working in PS, my first step is to create a duplicate layer for retouch. That way I always have the original to go back to if I screw up, or if I rethink a move.

Then I do the basic retouch -- zits, blemishes, stray hairs on the face or shoulders. These days this is is mostly with the Remove tool. Now and then I have to resort to the Clone or Brush, but not often. If it's a tricky change I may create a temporary duplicate layer -- I can delete it if it doesn't work or merge it down if I get it right. Sometimes I may play with layer Opacity to blend a change better.

I'll also work the background and clothing to zap any distractions or flaws -- a Coke can in the background outdoors, a clothing label showing, wrinkles and so on. I do a lot of boudoir, so I'm always on the lookout for "naughty bits" that need to be obscured or hidden.

I may use the Select and Mask functions to mask the back ground so I can adjust it up or down separately from the subject -- if I didn't already do this in ACR. Or I may put in a new background, either from my files or created in AI.

Around the edges of the hair is a judgment call. If it was a Vogue cover I'd be working it one hair at a time, but most of my work is for online use only so I can do a pretty decent job with the Clone tool. And my clients can't afford Vogue retouch prices. The trick is to get rid of the worst frizzies without getting "helmet hair" or "Lego hair". This is usually easy on a smooth studio backdrop, can be a real pain on location with complex details in the background.

I use Actions and Presets to speed things up and, maybe more important, to keep me consistent.

My target is to average 4 files per hour. I stress "average" -- a great model with perfect skin and makeup I can do in 3 or 4 minutes. A high school senior with bad acne might take 30 minutes per photo. But overall I come out right about 15 minutes per photo.

Gato

--
It's a work in progress, but the website is up and running:
https://jrsprawls.smugmug.com/
.
Personal pictures, road trips, rural nostalgia, and kitty cats:
https://www.instagram.com/j.r.sprawls/

 

[Gato Amarillo]

A few very basic things I maybe should have mentioned --

Learn layers and masking, including Smart Objects, Smart Filters, and adjustment layers.

Study up on the selection and masking tools. There are a bunch of them now, and Adobe has been improving the old ones and adding new ones with almost every iteration of the software. The newest one to me is Mask All Objects in the Layers menu. Looks like it could be very handy.

Learn to make Actions and Presets. You can save a ton of button clicks and keystrokes.

Consider using a tablet. There is a learning curve, but even the cheapest Wacom will offer more precise control than a mouse.

A couple of people mentioned PiXimperfect. I highly recommend, but be aware of the posting dates. Some of his older videos are out of date and don't use the latest tools. If you follow his channel he's usually among the first to point out and explain new features.

Gato