The latest Trends in Fashion Retouching
Retouching and Post-Production is as integral a part in the creation of great images or series as actual shoots and pre-production. This is especially true when your shoot is for a particular client. Every gene of advertising, fashion, beauty and, particularly imagery, have varying parameters and rules, but all still adhere to the process of retouching. So if you're wondering what the various aspects of it are and what's new within each, continue reading:
Photo Retouching Services
Prior to the advent of Photoshop and other related software and techniques, photo retouching was primarily done through physical means. To clarify, I'll provide an example of how Geroge Hurrell retouched Joan Crawford's 1931 shot. To satiate the demand for a perfect image, Crawford's skin had to be painted over to remove the fine lines and imperfections within it. This was done by using a physical retouching machine which created vibrations affecting the photo's negatives, along Hurrell to manually paint over the imperfections.
Compared to the sophistication and efficiency of today's retouching methods, Hurrell's seemed barbaric and ubiquitous. But as with every other aspect of the fashion industry, photo retouching is still subject to trends. One of the most prominent retouching trends today is the intended highlighting of imperfections on a photo. The widely held standard for "perfection" a few decades prior is now facing gigantic challenges. Fashion, as it has always been, is geared towards identity and individuality. This is then reflected on the images of some of the largest names in fashion. Instead of airbrushing all imperfections away, editors now focus on making people notice quirks on the image. A photographer may lighten the image to get rid of shadow or smoothen out wrinkles in clothes, but the non-distracting imperfections are retained to convey identity.
Product Retouching Services
A great shot would always begin with a vision. However, that vision can never come into fruition if you are unknowledgeable of shaping, modifying, and controlling light according to the parameters set by your industry or your clients. Since the marketability of a product relies most on how it is delivered to the masses, its banner photo must represent everything that needs representation and it must capture the identity of the product.
A prominent trend nowadays in product retouching is minimalism, or simplicity. All the elements should be kept at the minimum. Lighting and reflection, for example shouldn't be made out to be too complicated, with the addition of several light source and reflectors which in turn could create unwanted highlights, shadows, and saturated surfaces. One light source and a few basic reflectors would do, so long as the product is adequately modeled without any other distractions. Keeping the product's texture true and rich without impairing its original integrity is also preferred.
Color Correction Services
Although traditional, color correction is primarily geared towards the achievement of a perfectly chiseled face, the onset of the principle of complimentary colors has now entered the limelight. "I woke up like this" has pretty much become the guiding mantra of this recent trend.
Color correction follows the principle of the color wheel: for red, sore pimples, a green-toned concealer would cancel it; for yellow, sallow skin, foundation with a purple tint would do best etc. This allows everyone to specifically target what needs only to be targeted in their complexion. Gone are the days when one needs to wear layers upon layers of full make-up just to achieve that beautiful, seemingly perfect complexion. Now, the guiding principles of optics would allow you to achieve your desired complexion in as little as one or two layers.
