Portrait Retouching Without Losing the Person

There is a specific point in retouching where the image stops looking like a person and starts looking like a render. Most photographers know when they have crossed that line but have trouble finding it before it happens. This course is built around that problem.

Vasyl Teren worked as a retoucher for a portrait studio for four years before moving to freelance. His client list includes photographers who shoot fashion, corporate headshots, and documentary-style editorial work — three contexts with very different expectations for what finished means. He brings examples from all three throughout the course.

Topics include frequency separation setup and its actual limitations, dodge and burn technique using luminosity masks rather than manual brush work, skin tone neutralization across mixed light sources, and eye and hair detail recovery from RAW files. There is also a session on when not to retouch — a practical guide to reading a client brief and knowing what to leave alone.

All exercises use supplied RAW files with documented shooting conditions. Students also submit one image from their own work for a one-on-one review session at the end of the course.