Real World Practices Archives

30 May

Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial, Working With Colors

5 Hidden Tricks for Speeding up Your Workflow in Adobe Lightroom

January 13, 2019
Posted by Kendra Paige
adobe lightroom, digital image editing, lightroom tutorial
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Adobe Lightroom is a robust application with hundreds of tools, making it very possible to discover entirely new techniques years into using it. Lightroom is not just a powerful RAW Converter, but it is a fantastic program for organizing...

29 May

Creative Retouching, Fundamentals, Video Tutorial

How to Use and Create Color Look Up Tables in Photoshop

December 27, 2018
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
look up tables, photoshop, video tutorial
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Photoshop has so many tools built within its massive toolbox that it can be easy to get lost for a beginner. Which tools we use can be up to mere personal preference or ease, while other tools are overlooked...

23 May

Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial, Working With Colors

How to Retouch Natural Light Photographs in Lightroom and Photoshop

January 13, 2019
Posted by Kendra Paige
portrait retouching, working with colors
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Photography captured outdoors with natural light is typically the starting point for many new photographers, and the approach to retouching those images is often entirely different from studio shots. This excellent video by Sydney-based fashion photographer, Julia Trotti, goes...

22 May

Efficiency & Productivity, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

Portrait Retouching Using Lightoom CC Mobile and Adobe Fix

December 27, 2018
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
mobile retouching, portraits, smartphone retouch
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Retouching on the go is a new and popular theme which has been popping up more often these days with apps like Lightroom CC Mobile and Adobe Fix. While they won’t be taking the place of their desktop siblings...

21 May

Beauty Retouching, Stay Inspired, Video Tutorial

RA Beauty Retouching Contest Update & Timelapse Retouching Video

Wow, what a great run! We accepted 785 submissions from artists all over the globe! On behalf of the Retouching Academy team and the Contest sponsors, Wacom and Capture One, I'd like to thank everyone who participated! We really enjoyed seeing how...

17 May

Business & Clients, Commercial Retouching, Real World Practices

14 Tips on How to Increase Your Chances of Getting Hired Again

As a freelance artist, one of your primary goals is securing return clientele. For retouchers, makeup artists, hairstylists, wardrobe stylists, digital techs, photography assistants, models, and others, one of those primary sources of income can be from the photographers...

16 May

Real World Practices, Video Tutorial, Working With Colors

How to Color Calibrate All of Your Devices for Accurate Color

Color calibration is one of those topics that can be intimidating to beginner retouchers and photographers alike. This fantastic tutorial by our friends at Fstoppers makes calibration easy to understand by breaking down the process for several devices. If...

15 May

Creative Retouching, Fundamentals, Stay Inspired

How Understanding Composition Can Make You A Better Retoucher

December 27, 2018
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
art history, photography composition, retouching fundamentals
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Retouchers can learn a lot from traditional art forms like painting, as many of the fundamental concepts are quite similar. While retouchers tend to lend their focus in the areas of skin retouching and color grading techniques, composition is...

10 May

Efficiency & Productivity, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

Improve Your Workflow With These Hidden Gems in Photoshop

January 13, 2019
Posted by Kendra Paige
photoshop tools, photoshop tricks, photoshop tutorial
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Photoshop is one of those astounding applications where learning never ends. Despite this, it’s possible to get complacent when it comes to seeking out new methods for improving your workflow. These useful, little-known techniques from Blake Rudis might be...

07 May

Industry & Community News, Software for Retouching, Stay Inspired

Adobe Slashes Creative Cloud Subscription Fee for Students

May 6, 2018
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
adobe blog news, adobe education, Creative Cloud
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Last January Adobe announced that it would provide Spark Education — a set of storytelling apps — free of charge for K-12 (kindergarten to 12th grade, primary and secondary education) schools and High Education institutions. This was great news for...

01 May

Beauty Retouching, Industry & Community News, Stay Inspired

Announcing the RA Beauty Retouching Contest

We hope that you’ve been inspired by our @retouchingacademy Instagram feed while learning and growing as a retouching artist and member of our Facebook RA Community. Now is your chance to show off your skills and win some cool prizes...

30 Apr

Efficiency & Productivity, Fundamentals, Software for Retouching

How to Use Styles and Presets in Your Capture One Workflow

December 28, 2018
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
capture one 11, retouching workflow, styles and presets
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Capture One Pro version 10.1 brought us an improved Styles workflow, which has now been enhanced in version 11.1 with the addition of Style Packs. Styles and Presets are a quick way to apply adjustments on the background layer...

26 Apr

Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial, Working With Colors

How to Lighten or Darken Selective Colors in Photoshop

January 13, 2019
Posted by Kendra Paige
photoshop, photoshop tools, working with colors
1 comment

There are endless techniques for color grading your images, but one aspect that can be tricky is manipulating the tonal range of those colors. If you prefer performing your color work in Photoshop, this quick tip will show you...

24 Apr

Efficiency & Productivity, Hardware & Tools

Wacom Releases the New Cintiq Pro 24 and 32

Like a contractor’s hammer, a Wacom pen tablet is a mandatory piece of hardware for any creative looking to become a retoucher. The pen-to-paper-like experience allows the creative to work with greater precision and finesse, which is otherwise not...

22 Apr

Business & Clients, Real World Practices

5 Ways To Alienate Clients & Lose Potential Jobs

There are so many similarities in business practices among different creative fields, that I constantly pick up great advice from brilliant people of completely different professions than my own. I am a big fan of the great blog for writers Write...

19 Apr

Industry & Community News, Software for Retouching

Phase One Releases Capture One 11.1

April 19, 2018
Posted by Julia McKim
capture one, phase one
1 comment

Phase One announced a significant update today to its popular RAW conversion and image editing software, Capture One. This new release promises to improve the user experience with a plethora of useful new features. Improvements were made to produce a...

15 Apr

Business & Clients, Commercial Retouching

When Are You Good Enough to Become a Retouching Freelancer?

December 8, 2020
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
business of retouching, freelance, retouching business, retouching education
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Waking up all hazy, you raise your head up, your eyes slowly focusing back in, you come to and suddenly realize, you fell asleep at your day job, again. Most days, you find yourself unfulfilled, bored and unchallenged. Back at...

12 Apr

Real World Practices, Software for Retouching, Working With Colors

Adobe Profiles vs Capture One Color Curves

January 3, 2019
Posted by Gerry Kingsley
adobe camera raw, adobe lightroom, capture one
12 comments

Adobe has recently released a substantial update to Camera RAW and Lightroom in the form of “Profiles.” These profiles determine how the software renders color during initial RAW conversion. In this article, we will compare the new profiles from...

10 Apr

Fundamentals, Software for Retouching, Video Tutorial

How to Use History Snapshots in Photoshop While Retouching

January 13, 2019
Posted by Kendra Paige
adobe photoshop, History Panel, history snapshot
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Post-production is a thoughtful and meticulous process, with a variety of applied techniques and adjustments to color, texture, and exposure. While working on an image, it is common to go too far in a particular direction or find yourself...

05 Apr

Business & Clients, Real World Practices, Successful Retouching Business

How to Protect Your Work as a Photographer or Digital Artist

When it comes to protecting your work and your brand, there are many things to consider, and the top of that list is copyright. With images on display on websites, digital magazines, social media, online contests, etc, the opportunities for someone to misuse your work are plentiful.