BY BRITTANY SMITH
Retouching is one of the necessary job
requirements in today’s definition of what
it means to be a working photographer.
Thanks to our mainstream media, the
general public has a keen understanding of
not only what this means, but what a prop-
erly retouched image should look like.
One of the key differences between
retouching men and women is texture.
When photographing men, it seems the
more texture the better. Men’s skin doesn’t
have to be perfected by any means. In fact,
it’s perfectly acceptable to leave a few
blemishes as well as scars in the retouch
to maintain a certain level of authenticity.
Less is more. Lines in the forehead,
between the brows from furrowing, and
smile lines under the eyes are encouraged.
Since men are like a glass of fine wine and
are viewed to be better with age, it goes
without saying that the more texture they
have, the more attractive they seem in
today’s society.
On the other hand, we often lean toward
perfection with a more heavy-handed
approach when retouching women. Today’s
standards require women to have definitive
texture in their skin without excess lines
and wrinkles. The more youthful and flawless a woman’s skin is, the more beautiful
she’s thought to be. Thankfully, the days of
plastic-looking skin are gone and texture is
encouraged. Due to the demand for normalcy
in our world today, women are now allowed
to age with a little grace and showcase the
details of their subtly imperfect skin with
a badge of honor.