What is Photo Retouching: Types, Techniques, Benefits, Software and Tools

Photo retouching, a subset of photo editing, is the digital method to enhance the appearance of an image. It is a technical and complicated task, with complication levels ranging from basic to complex and advanced.

There are 18 types of photo retouching popular in the photography post-production industry. Due to offering quality output, maintaining consistency, and meeting the publishing platform’s requirements, professionally edited images have a high demand for attracting buyers and driving sales.

To ensure high-quality results, photo retouchers utilize a range of software, including Photoshop, Skylum Luminar Neo, Affinity Photo, Lightroom, Capture One, On1 Photo Raw, and GIMP, for retouching. The software incorporates AI features to expedite the workflow. Still, to ensure precision and attention to detail, manual retouching is often the best approach.

What is Photo Retouching?

Photo retouching is a specialized set of photography post-production work that enhances the digital image’s appearance, quality, and size, making it flawless and glamorous enough to fit commercial and professional needs. It includes image cropping, color manipulation, background adjustment, object removal, and image composition, among other techniques. 

With its intricate and technical complexity, professional image retouchers offer photo retouching to ensure the requirements of publishing platforms, brand guidelines, and consumer visual preferences. Well-retouched images convince viewers and boost sales. 

What are the Different Types of Photo Retouching?

There are 18 types of image retouching, determined by the purpose, techniques, and industry requirements as follows. 

1. Product Photo Retouching

Product photo retouch is used for product images published on websites, social media ads, and luxury goods marketplaces. The retouching process adheres to the guidelines of publishing platforms and is primarily requested by retailers, online marketers, and product catalogs. Product image retouching covers the following types of images. 

• E-commerce product photo retouching: E-commerce retouching is performed explicitly for e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and Shopify to ensure compliance with platform-specific product image requirements. The techniques include mobile-responsive image creation, white background, product resizing, sharpening, A/B testing, and cross-platform consistency, among others. 
• Small product retouching: The small product retouching process involves micro-detail enhancement, shaping, cleaning, reflection, and highlighting, among other techniques. It is mainly used in jewelry and electronic products. 
• Large product retouch: Large products such as cars, furniture, and home-improvement products are retouched for perspective, scale, and environmentally appropriate display. The techniques include light and color balance, shadow creation, perspective correction, background optimization, etc. 
• Packshot photo retouching: The process of taking shots of a product with packaging, branding, logo, and other relevant information to educate and convince customers. Packshot image retouch techniques include surface cleaning, scratch removal, text enhancement, label clarity, and distraction removal, among others. 
• Catalog image retouch: Used for making products cohesive, professional, and consistent for professional product presentation. It includes color correction, uniform sizing, background template usage, and technical accuracy to ensure a consistent product look. 
• Product listing image retouch: Focused on a single product presentation for any specific platform, for driving traffic and conversion. The applied techniques vary from photo enhancement and creative visual application to platform-oriented requirements. 

2. Fashion Photo Retouching

Fashion photo retouching is used to create iconic, classy, and trendy fashion products that boost sales. Such images are high-quality and eye-catching, drawing the attention of both potential and existing customers for clothing brands, magazines, e-commerce stores, fashion product manufacturers, and product photographers. Fashion product image retouching encompasses various categories, as follows. 

• Apparel retouching: Clothing retouching is used to display garments in pristine condition, with a stylish, perfectly fitted, and clear fabric or material appearance. The retouching techniques include silhouette optimization, texture and drape enhancement, ghost mannequin removal, crease and stain removal, and color correction, among others. 
• Jewelry retouching: Jewelry retouch is used to display intricate and polished designs, gemstones, and the craftsmanship of the item. Some of the applied techniques in jewelry image retouching include metal reflection, surface polishing, sharpening, background removal, lighting condition adjustment, etc. 
• Shoe photo retouching: Footwear product retouching encompasses sole cleaning, color, and texture enhancements, detail highlighting, surface refinement, and 360-degree image creation to achieve a flawless presentation. 
• Accessories retouching: Fashion accessories include bags, wristwatches, hair clips, ties, scarves, belts, perfumes, etc. The retouching process, including style, detail refinement, color accuracy, and leather texture enhancement, ensures that the products showcase design and quality that convinces viewers. 

3. Model Retouch

Model retouching is used for various purposes, including fashion magazines, beauty campaigns, brand advertising, and personal portfolio creation. Depending on the purpose, the retouching process falls into the following categories. 

• Glamour retouch: Used to create a sophisticated look that emphasizes elegance. The techniques include advanced skin retouching, digital makeup application, color enhancement, hair volume enhancement, and dramatic lighting effects. 
• Beauty retouch: Enhances people’s facial features to reveal inherent attractiveness. The process combines digital makeup and application of creative techniques such as blemish removal, facial harmony optimization, color grading, creative lighting application, etc. 
• Human retouch: A comprehensive retouching is performed on the physical appearance of people to enhance their appearance. The process includes facial feature adjustments, body proportion adjustments, teeth adjustments, brace removal, artificial hair and skin enhancements, and weight adjustments, among other procedures. Some of the techniques include full-body contouring, proportion adjustment, and comprehensive skin texture enhancement. 

4. Headshot Retouching

Headshot retouching is the professional image retouching used in corporate photography, CEO and executive photos, LinkedIn profiles, actors’ portfolios, etc. This type of retouching enhances individual confidence and approachability and balances authenticity. Headshot photo retouch techniques include skin and blemish removal, eye enhancement, clothing and appearance refinement, and background consistency, among others.  

5. Commercial Photo Retouching

Commercial photo retouching is a type of retouching that focuses on fulfilling the visual needs of e-commerce, online stores, businesses, and brands through consistent and tailored image creation. The process emphasizes product/service and brand standards while maintaining authenticity. It includes image resizing, color correction, background removal, distraction removal, shadow creation, and brand color consistency, among other features. Advertising agencies, e-commerce platforms, corporate businesses, and marketing departments use commercial image retouching for promotion and marketing activities. 

6. High-End Retouching

High-end retouching is a professional and premium level of image editing that involves precision, attention to detail, and the implementation of advanced techniques to create high-quality images. Techniques include frequency separation, advanced compositing, color grading, and tonal adjustment. High-end retouching is used by luxury brands, ad campaigns, celebrity photography, etc. 

7. Digital Photo Retouching

Digital photo retouching is the process of image manipulation to rectify flaws, enhance quality, and improve digital images for online publishing. Digital retouching encompasses a range of techniques, including color correction, exposure adjustments, blemish removal, noise reduction, and straightening, among others, to achieve the desired results. The photography industry, social media platforms, advertising, and media companies primarily seek digital image retouching services. 

8. Old Photo Retouching

Old photo retouching, also known as old photo restoration, is the process of manipulating the existing parts of an image to recover damaged, lost, or torn areas, resulting in a unified and vintage look. For preserving family history, museum collections, historical documentation, or genealogy services, old image retouching is used. Some of the applied techniques of photo restoration include scratch and tear repair, color restoration, contrast and exposure adjustments, and fade corrections. 

9. Creative Retouching

Creative retouching is a type of intentional, intuitive, artistic, and imaginative manipulation of images that extends beyond realism. Advertising agencies, book covers, and movie posters are examples of creative retouching. It contributes to the storytelling concept in images with advanced composition, digital art, surreal effects, filters, fantasy elements, and dramatic color grading techniques. 

10. Editorial Retouching

Editorial retouching is performed on images published in magazines, newspapers, and other editorial platforms. Editorial image retouch blends journalistic visions with publication requirements through color correction, photo enhancement, composition, technical quality, etc. 

11. Stock Image Retouching

Stock image retouching transforms an image to appeal to a broad market. The techniques include demographic neutrality, technical quality optimization, resolution, framing, and composition that ensure technical improvement and versatility. Stock photo retouch is required at stock photography platforms, marketing materials, commercial licensing, etc. 

12. Outdoor Image Retouching

Outdoor image retouching is the retouching process applied to outdoor photography, encompassing nature photos, landscapes, exteriors, and outdoor product photography. These types of images contain the environment, weather, and natural elements, and retouching has to be a conscious use of different techniques such as sky enhancement, landscape color, seasonal adjustment, lighting balance, etc. Outdoor photo retouch is needed in travel photography, real estate photography, etc. 

13. Studio Photo Retouching

Studio photo retouching requires a blend of traditional and creative editing, as the photo set is shot in a controlled environment. Even lighting, consistent background, and accentuating the subject and its features are the attributes of studio photo retouching. Studio image retouch includes lighting refinement, shadow placement, seamless background, object isolation, and technical optimization, among other techniques. Almost all industries, products, and services need studio photography images retouched. 

14. Professional-based Photo Retouching

Photo retouching is specifically tailored to enhance the image of various professions and careers, including those of doctors, lawyers, and actors. It focuses on presentational needs and techniques, including appearance optimization, physical alterations, and appearance adjustments. Profession-specific retouch is used for marketing, career development, and business communication. 

15. Wedding Photo Retouching

Wedding photo retouch focuses on creating an elegant and timeless ambiance while maintaining a natural look and emotional appeal. Bridal magazines, wedding photography studios, event photographers, and wedding planners mostly use wedding image retouching. The retouching process includes skin smoothing, blemish removal, pristine clothing, light and shadow, background cleaning, and distraction removal, among others. 

16. Portrait Photo Retouching

Portrait retouch is applied to images with individuals or groups of people to improve facial features, adjust stray hairs and skin, and enhance the overall natural look. Portrait photography captures people in different postures, retouch is performed accordingly by blemish correction, eye brightening and enlargement, teeth whitening, light and shadow adjustments, etc. Actor and model portraits, fine art images, and personal branding are examples of portrait image retouch. 

17. Real Estate Photo Retouching

Real estate retouch is used to display residential and corporate properties at their best. In this retouching process, lighting placement, interior colors, and space measurement are mostly prioritized. Retouchers apply HDR processing, vertical line correction, exposure blending, perspective adjustment, landscape enhancement, color correction, etc. Real estate image retouch is used by property listings, real estate agents, architecture photography, and the tourism industry. 

18. Newborn Photo Retouching

Newborn baby photo retouching ensures the editing is gentle, smooth, and natural, considering the purpose. The process includes gentle skin retouching, rash removal, natural color preservation, clarity, and sophistication without any rigorous procedures. Family photographer, newborn photography studio, baby milestone documents, etc.- look for baby image retouching services.

What are the Different Professional Photo Retouching Techniques?

The different types of photo retouching techniques are categorized into 3: basic, complex, and advanced. 

Basic/Simple Photo Retouching Techniques 

Basic retouching techniques are simple and easy to perform. It takes less time, and the changes aren’t prominent, but impactful. Most complex and advanced-level techniques start with basic retouching, which includes the following tasks. 

• Image Resizing: Cropping and resizing images to increase focus.  
• Background modification: Add, remove, or replace background, aligning to context. 
• Basic correction: Group image retouching, such as color and shadow adjusting, and imperfection removal. 
• Skin adjustment: Enhance skin tone based on people’s complexion, add or remove age-based wrinkles, and display facial confidence. 
• Product polishing: Remove flaws, dust, and dirt from the product to make it look pristine. 

Complex/Standard Photo Retouching Techniques 

Complex retouching has higher difficulty than basic retouching, which commercial and corporate platforms mostly look for. Complex image retouching includes different tasks as follows. 

• Professional-grade beauty retouching: Editing exposure, hue & saturation, color, shadow, contrast, and people’s features. 
• Face retouch: Eliminating temporary facial marks such as acne, injury, pimples, etc. 
• Making models appealing: Adjusting smile and lip hair strands, teeth whitening. 
• Highlight facial features: Keep natural marks such as moles, freckles, birthmarks, etc. 
• Headshot retouching: Applying age-appropriate adjustments to face, body, weight, and health. 
• Eliminate distractions: Remove objects, unnecessary props, distractions, and flaws to ensure clarity. 
• Clipping path: Extracting any objects from the background for promotional purposes. 

Advanced/High-end Photo Retouching Techniques 

Advanced photo retouching techniques include merging several techniques and complicated application of retouching methods to bring out the desired results. Advanced techniques are used for creative, business-specific, and customized solutions, which include the following techniques. 

• Beauty correction: Adjusting advanced level techniques, frequency separation to skin tone & texture refining for natural appearance.
• Extensive eye retouching: Eye bag removal, eye swap, eye enhancement, and eye color adjustment to create a clear look on the eyes. 
• Image compilation: Adding multiple images, bringing outside elements to the background for creating a unified perception. 
• Swapping body parts: Smooth transition of body, facial features, eyes, and heads, and maintaining natural blending.
• People placement: Composition for removing or including people to align with the photo’s purpose. 
• HDR effects: Improve dynamic range by meeting exposure levels. 

Why is High-End Photo Retouching Important?

High-end photo retouching is important for creating high-quality, consistent-looking, professional images that follow industry standards and are usable in any publishing platform. Professional-standard, high-end retouched images have higher demand across all industries. 

According to 2025 (February) statistics by Verified Market Reports titled Global Photo Retouching Service Market Size By Client Type (Individual Clients, Small Businesses), By Industry Verticals (Fashion and Apparel, Real Estate), By Service Type (Basic Retouching, Advanced Retouching), By Technology Utilization (Manual Retouching, Automated Software Solutions), By Pricing Model (Per Photo Pricing, Bulk Discount Packages), By Geographic Scope And Forecast, it has been published that photo retouching service market size is projected to reach $5.1 billion by 2033. The impact and results of retouched images have surpassed in various sectors as follows. 

Importance of High-end Retouching in E-commerce 

High-end images are the game-changer for e-commerce, as they enable accurate product presentations, minimal distractions, and a professional look, making buyers confident in the brand. E-commerce sellers, online store owners, and marketers utilize well-retouched photos to establish brand credibility, enhance their platform algorithm advantage, position the brand competitively, generate new conversions, and reduce return rates. 

Importance of High-end Retouching in the Fashion Industry 

Fashion brands rely on high-end retouch for sophisticated and aspirational imagery that represents a brand. From model photography to product photography and indoor and outdoor photos, retouching offers systematic and synchronized results. It also highlights brands’ craftsmanship, product detail displaying, professional and perfect online presentation so that enthusiast fashionistas are convinced to make a purchase. 

Importance of High-end Retouching in the Photography Industry 

High-end retouched photos create a positive impression of a photographer’s work. It also impacts the display of photographers’ work diversity, enhances the portfolio, and satisfies clients. Retouching works help them by enhancing their creative vision, referring clients, and leading to more business opportunities. 

Importance of High-end Retouching in Marketing 

Advertising, marketing, and promotional activities highly depend on high-end retouched images for capturing the target audience’s attention, building the brand’s identity, and delivering a clear brand message. Professionally retouched images perform better in multi-channel campaigns and contribute to boosting sales. 

Importance of High-end Retouching in the Editorial Sector 

High-end retouching is highly valued in the publication sector. Editorial images follow a quality standard to meet both technical and visual requirements. High-end retouch maintains a visual story, balances subject presentation, optimizes images for printing, and engages viewers and readers. 

What is the Most Popular Photo Retouching Software? 

The most popular photo retouching software is the one that offers plenty of retouching features to perform basic to advanced-level editing. Hence, the best software used for photo retouching is Photoshop, Skylum Luminar Neo, Affinity Photo, Lightroom, Capture One, On1 Photo Raw and GIMP. 

1. Adobe Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop is the industry-leading software for photo editing and retouching, used for digital image manipulation. Photoshop offers a comprehensive set of tools to handle basic to advanced-level retouching and apply artistic and creative composition to meet users’ commercial and professional demands. 

Retouching Features

• Selection tools: Pen tool, Magic wand tool, etc. 
• Healing and cloning tools: Healing brush tool, Spot healing brush tool, and Clone stamp tool
• Masking features: Layer mask, clipping mask, and vector mask
• Content-aware and Content-aware fill tool
• Frequency separation tool
• For reshaping and distortion: Liquify tool

Price: Adobe Photoshop price is $22.99/mo.  

2. Skylum Luminar Neo

Skylum Luminar Neo is an AI-powered photo editing software that can be used by any level image retoucher, from beginner to expert. Its intelligent automation allows users to specify creative work as it excels in skin retouching, sky replacements, artistic effects, etc. 

Retouching Features

• Portrait bokeh enhancement 
• Dust and spot removal with AI detection 
• Creative AI filters and artistic effects 
• Smart contrast and HDR processing 
• Body AI for natural body contouring and posture adjustments 
• AI-powered skin enhancement, sky replacement, and background removal 

Price: Skylum Luminar is priced at $49.00 (subscription-based). 

3. Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is popular among independent photo editors and graphic designers for its feature to support industry-grade editing. High-end image retouching, focus stacking, HDR processing, RGB and CMYK color space supports—Affinity allows users to edit to their hearts’ content. 

Retouching Features

• Healing and inpainting tools 
• Live filter layers 
• Frequency separation workspace 
• Comprehensive dodge and burn tools 
• Focus stacking and HDR merging capabilities 
• Advanced selection refinement with edge detection 
• Advanced color replacement and selective color adjustment tools 
• Perspective correction and lens distortion tools 

Price: Affinity Photo costs $69.99 (one-off payment) 

4. Adobe Lightroom

Lightroom, another Adobe product, is renowned for its batch retouching and raw image processing workflows. The batch editing capabilities ensure consistent editing as it synchronizes settings with multiple images. Its global adjustments, photo library organizing, color grading, etc, allow users to apply their creative work as needed. 

Retouching Features

• Basic spot removal and healing tools 
• Advanced RAW processing 
• Lens correction profiles 
• Noise reduction and sharpening algorithms 
• AI-powered subject and sky selection 
• Local adjustment tools, including radial filters, graduated filters
• Color grading panel with professional-level color wheel controls and tone curve adjustments. 

Price: Lightroom costs $11.99/mo. 

5. Capture One

Capture One is a powerful image retouching tool that offers color accuracy and detailed local adjustments. Its raw processing and tethering capabilities have made it one of the most-used software programs among image specialists. For optimal image quality, Capture One has specialized camera profiles. 

Retouching Features

• Clone and heal tools 
• Skin tone adjustments 
• Portrait enhancement tools 
• Professional color grading 
• Advanced local adjustment tools 
• Comprehensive lens corrections 
• Advanced noise reduction algorithms 
• RAW processing with color rendition 

Price: Capture One Pro version costs $15.75 / month (desktop).

6. ON1 Photo RAW 

On1 is an all-around photo editor that supports extensive photo editing, retouching, raw processing, and photo organizing features. Its speed and efficiency allow users to work both manually and automatically and switch between different programs. 

Retouching Features

• Advanced masking system 
• Comprehensive noise reduction 
• AI-powered subject and sky detection 
• Professional portrait retouching tools 
• Focus stacking capabilities 
• Creative effects and presets 
• HDR processing and tone mapping 
• Batch processing and metadata management 

Price: ON1 Photo RAW costs $49.99. 

7. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program)

GIMP is a powerful, versatile, and feature-rich open-source photo retouching software that supports advanced-level retouching. Personal use to professional workflow, GIMP incorporates diverse tools to facilitate users in extensive post-production and customization while editing. 

Retouching Features

• Comprehensive healing and cloning tools 
• Advanced color correction 
• Noise reduction 
• Advanced selection tools 
• Professional layer system 
• Extensible plugin architecture 
• Customizable brush dynamics and tool presets 
• Perspective correction and geometric transformation tools 

Price: GIMP is free to use. 

Which Photoshop Tools are Used for Photo Retouching? 

Tools that are used for photo retouching cover over 20 tools with different purposes, from selection, painting, repairing, color and tone adjusting, and applying transformations. Each tool works on a specific area to make necessary changes and adjustments in the images as follows. 

• Photoshop tools used for selection: pen tool, select and mask workspace, magic wand tool, lasso tool, quick selection tool, object selection tool, and select subject (AI-powered). 
• Photoshop tools used for painting and localized adjustments: brush tool, blur tool, sharpening tool, dodge tool, and burn tool.  
• Photoshop tools used for repairing and healing: healing brush tool, spot healing brush tool, patch tool, content-aware fill tool, and clone stamp tool. 
• Photoshop tools used for non-destructive color and tone adjustment: brightness/contrast, hue/saturation, levels, curves, vibrance, etc. 
• Photoshop tools used for photo transformation: free transformation tools, liquify tool, etc. 
• Other Photoshop tools include layer mask, smart objects, neural filters (AI-powered), remove tool, etc. 

What are the Differences Between AI Photo Retouching and Manual Photo Retouching?

The differences between AI and manual photo retouching lie in the process, capabilities, and output. Manual retouching process ensures quality, accuracy, and art, depending on the project, whereas the AI retouching process ensures faster results, saving users time and energy. Other differences between AI and manual image retouching are as follows. 

Topic	AI photo Retouching	Manual Photo Retouching
Process	AI photo retouching is a set of programmed rules, even after human command, it might deliver results limited than expected.	Photo retouchers make situation-based judgments and creative choices while retouching manually. The process includes working outside the box.
Method complication	AI is best for simple corrections and batch processing. AI lacks understanding of complex images (different patterns, intricate designs, artistic transformation, etc) and requires human intervention.	Human editors ensure precision and understand the complications in images. They apply their expertise and creative problem-solving to the retouching process for quality output.
Consistency	AI is best for consistent results, mostly used for basic-level and similar batch retouching for images.	Manual retouching focuses on images and applies different techniques to create professionally appropriate and high-quality results.
Knowledge base	AI editing systems’ knowledge base is getting richer continuously as it is fed through machine learning and updates.	Human retouchers develop skills, practice, and experience. They are well-versed in popular photo retouching software and the latest updates.
Precision and control	AI tools offer results with predetermined parameters, and results might not always be as subtle as required.	Manual approach ensures precise control over the retouching process with nuanced decisions for complicated images.
Efficiency	AI retouch takes 10 seconds to 2 minutes to process images.	Manual retouch takes an average of 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on image complexity and volume.
Cost	AI photo processing is available in both free and paid versions.	Manual photo retouching is available in the paid version with free trials. Professional photo retouching price starts at $0.60.

Where to Learn Photo Retouching Online?

There are 4 primary ways to learn photo retouching online: software offered resources, post-production specialized sites, institutional programs, and video platforms. 

Software-offered Resources

Each photo editing software offers plenty of resources on its website, such as Adobe’s Learning and Adobe Creative Cloud tutorials, which comprise official guidelines directly from the software creator. 

Post-production Specialized Sites 

Search Google for designated photo editing and photo retouching websites or any LLM. You will come across a wide variety of websites where certified photo editors offer tutorials and premium courses on their websites as follows. 

• CreativeLive: Best for real-world workflow. 
• KelbyOne: Offers extensive Photoshop and Lightroom instruction.  
• Phlearn: Known for its high-quality instructional videos. 

Institutional Programs

Look for university degrees, digital courses, or other art institutional programs that directly offer comprehensive post-production photography teaching online for global learners to skill up. Stay connected with the relevant community online (Quora, Reddit, social media groups) for updates. 

Video Tutorials by a Professional 

Professional-offered videos are a reliable source of genuine source of learning for image retouching online. YouTube and LinkedIn Learning are great sources of a free library containing numerous photo editing courses. Udemy and Skillshare offer premium courses with assignments to assist learners firsthand. 

Disclaimer: This article isn’t a paid endorsement. The above-mentioned resources are solely for educational purposes.

How Do I Choose a Reliable Photo Retouching Company?

To choose a reliable photo retouching company, check the company’s service category, experience, testimonials, pricing, and value it offers. The best photo retouching services provider company would ensure that a client leaves with high-quality work and a convenient client experience. 

Consider the Service Categories

A professional image retouching company would clearly outline its service categories, including other post-production works (photo editing, color correction, shadow creation, etc). Check what services the companies offer, if they match your requirements, custom solutions, and the turnaround time during an emergency. 

Check Its Experience

Rely on the image retouching agency that is experienced in serving global clients. Experience is a good indicator to consider its service quality, portfolio, and expertise. To know their workstyle firsthand, check the ‘free trial’ and gallery. You will have a good understanding of whether the company would be a good fit for your workflow and project requirements. 

Find Out What Customers Say

Look for brand reputation in the industry, check review platforms such as Trustpilot, Google reviews, and Yelp. Know what the clients say about their service, ability to meet deadlines, professionalism, through ratings, case studies, and successful client testimonials. You will have enough insight into whether they are reliable enough in the long run. 

Learn the Pricing Structure

A reliable image retouching company would offer a transparent pricing structure, which would vary based on project complexity, volume, turnaround, and level of editing. Most retouching companies have a pricing structure based on per image, per hour, or package-based. You would get a bulk discount, seasonal cut price, and other package deals. 

Understand the Value Proposition

A qualified company would offer value in exchange for your money, from the onboarding to the client’s approval. It includes an affordable pricing structure, prompt response, quality control, project confidentiality, revision policy, and satisfactory customer service. 

How Much Does Photo Retouching Cost in New York, USA?

Photo retouching cost starts at $0.60 in New York, USA. Photo retouching prices vary based on project complexity, volume, and clients’ requirements. Professional image retouching companies offer retouching services at different tiers to fulfil individual to enterprise-level requirements. 

Photo retouching pricing at Clipping Path Studio 

Retouching Types	Hour-based Pricing
	12-hour	24-hour	48-hour
Basic	$0.84	$0.60	$0.48
Complex	$2.79	$1.99	$1.59
High-end	$5.59	$3.99	$3.19

Final Overview

• Photo retouching is a specialized set of work with the sole purpose of image improvement. Professional photographers, the fashion industry, the e-commerce industry, the editorial sector, and marketing agencies mostly look for photo retouching services.
• Popular photo editing software includes Photoshop, Skylum Luminar, Affinity Photo, and Lightroom. Photo retouching software offers plenty of tools to retouch, such as selection, painting, repairing, color and tone adjustment, masking, transformation, etc.
• AI retouching offers speedy results and is best for basic-level retouching and batch editing. Manual retouching is best for precise, high-quality, and professional-grade images.
• Photo retouching is offered in 3 categories: basic, complex, and advanced. Depending on volume, project complexity, and retouching, the price varies. The professional photo retouching price starts at $0.60 in NYC.
• To hire a reliable retouching company, check their service category, experience, reputation, pricing, and offered value.