People & Portrait Retouching

I’m a London-based portrait retoucher with more than 25 years’ experience retouching images for photographers, agencies and brands. My work spans sporting figures, actors, celebrities and other public figures, alongside portraits shot for corporate, PR and editorial use.

Good portrait retouching isn’t about perfection — it’s about improving the photograph while keeping the person recognisably, unmistakably themselves. Depending on the image and its intended use, that might mean subtle skin work and colour correction, or more considered tonal and creative treatment. If you’re looking specifically for commercial beauty work, please see my Beauty Retouching page.

Portrait Retouching

No two portraits need the same touch. Skin can be refined while keeping natural texture intact, distractions removed, and small adjustments made to eyes, hair, clothing and other details — all without the subject looking like a different person.

The goal isn’t a uniform, airbrushed look. It’s making the photograph work as hard as it can while protecting what makes the subject recognisable — their skin, their expression, their presence.

I also work on an image as a whole: colour, contrast, tone and background distractions. For more creative portraits, that treatment can go further, building a distinct visual mood or atmosphere.

PR & Corporate Portraits

PR and corporate portraits have to do two things at once: look polished, and look like the person actually looks. When multiple portraits are used together — on a website, in a report or across a series of communications — consistency in retouching style matters just as much as the individual result.

I work with the existing character of each photograph, making the refinements it needs without stripping out what makes it distinctive. Skin, hair, clothing and background are adjusted carefully, alongside colour and tone, so the set holds together as a whole.

Much of my experience here comes from a long-standing working relationship with a photographer shooting a wide range of people for PR, corporate and editorial clients, alongside portrait projects for others throughout my career.

A Considered Approach to Portrait Retouching

There’s no default setting for portrait retouching — no single level of work that suits every image. The right treatment depends on the person, the original photograph, and what the final image needs to achieve.

Some portraits need little beyond careful skin and detail work. Others call for stronger adjustments to colour, tone or overall character. If a particular visual direction is needed, reference images or a mood board help establish it early. For larger projects involving a series of portraits, I’ll often provide initial retouched examples for approval before working through the rest.

The aim, always, is to improve the photograph without losing what makes the portrait recognisably them.

Portrait Retouching Examples

Here’s a look at how that approach plays out in practice — from subtle refinements to more involved retouching, depending on what each portrait called for.

View the People & Portrait Retouching Portfolio for more examples.

Portrait Retouching Before & After

These before-and-afters range from small, natural refinements to more noticeable transformations — a sense of the full range of what’s possible. The below image slider of Buzz Aldrin was a more creative edit for the photographer’s folio. The original treatment for Guinness Book of World Records was more formal, whilst this treatment uses blurring, overlays and grading as well as accentuating the texture of the face.

View more Portrait Retouching Before & After examples

Discuss a Portrait Retouching Project

Got a portrait, PR or corporate photography project that needs professional retouching? Get in touch to talk through the images, how they’ll be used, and the level of retouching required.

I work with photographers, agencies and brands from my studio in London, and remotely on projects across the UK and beyond.

Contact me about your portrait retouching project.

All images copyrighted John Deaville / Photofixer.