Advertising Retouching

I’m a London-based advertising retoucher with over 25 years’ experience working with photographers, agencies and brands. My advertising work covers a wide range of projects, from individual campaign images and creative treatments to larger sets of images I prepare for advertising and design use.

I usually work from a supplied brief, references or existing artwork. I then develop the images to meet those requirements. Where there is more creative freedom, I can also offer suggestions and explore different approaches with the photographer or art direction team.

My advertising and commercial work has included projects for brands such as Innocent, Vodafone, Avon, LSA, De Beers, Lancôme and Rodial, as well as work for The Football Association and other organisations.

Retouching for Advertising Campaigns

Advertising retouching covers everything from careful correction and refinement to more involved image manipulation and artwork preparation.

I work on individual images or larger sets where consistency between images is important. The work often includes cleaning and refining details, making precise selections and masks, and adjusting colour and tone. I also remove unwanted reflections or imperfections, and prepare cutout elements for wider designs.

Some projects need a fairly straightforward treatment, based closely on the supplied photography. Others involve completely taking an image apart and rebuilding or enhancing elements to achieve the intended result. On a Gallagher Cup campaign below, for example, I isolated all the panels to remove unwanted reflections and created artificial gradients as part of the finished treatment. I then redrew all the details like reflections and engravings on top of the artificial surfaces.

I also understand how retouched images need to fit into a wider production process. Depending on the project, I can deliver a finished image or supply layered files for a designer or art director to use.

Working to the Brief

Advertising projects often involve several people, with photographers, art directors, designers and clients all contributing to the final result. I’m used to working within that process and responding to feedback as the project develops.

Where the brief is clearly defined, I work closely to the supplied instructions and references. Where there’s more room for interpretation, I can provide options and use my judgement to help develop the right treatment. I then apply it consistently across the rest of the work.

Changes can also happen as a project develops, so I keep working files organised and retain key stages of the work. This makes revisions and later adjustments far easier, particularly when another designer needs to pick up the files.

Advertising Retouching Portfolio

A selection of advertising and commercial projects, including different approaches to retouching, image preparation and finishing.

View more examples in the Advertising Retouching Portfolio.

Advertising Retouching Before & After

Before and after examples show more clearly what has changed between the original photography and the finished image. The examples below can include a brief description of the original requirements and the retouching or image manipulation carried out.

In the above image for Milwaukee Powertools, I enhanced this image by:

• creating a HDR version of the image by fusing multiple exposures of the image to create local contrast and detail
• altering the contrast and saturation of the image to highlight the key branding red colour
• selectively brushed highlight detail to emphasise the contours of the image
• created debris and smoke to emphasise the drill action as well as making the subject ‘pop’

See more Advertising Retouching Before & After examples.

Discuss an Advertising Retouching Project

If you have an advertising or commercial retouching project you’d like to discuss, get in touch with details of the brief, the images and any relevant references. I work remotely from London and can also consider on-site work in London where required.

All images copyrighted John Deaville / Photofixer.