Photo Retouching Toronto

About 40 years. After 15 years as a daily newspaper photographer, followed by 24 years doing wire service photography, corporate photography, and part-time photo retouching, I now do retouching full time. I started in digital photography in the early 1990s and have been using Photoshop since 1993.

I know that retouching business photos has to make your business look good. Plus, the retouching has to be realistic and credible.

For example, my portrait retouching will *not* make you look like a movie star and it will *not* make you look 25 years younger. But it will make you look your best.

My job is to correct and polish your business photos so you look more professional.

Retouching family and wedding photos also has to be realistic. Here the purpose of retouching is to fix mistakes the photographer may have made, clean up blemishes and distractions and enhance your memory of the captured moments.

I don't work for speed. Although my rate is time-based, my work is results-based.

I do all the retouching myself. Nothing is sub-contracted to anyone else. You are always directly in contact with the person working on your photos.

I do not batch process. Each photo is retouched one at a time.

I do use some artificially intelligent software but the bulk of my retouching is done using human intelligence and each edit is carefully thought through.

The photos on my website are real. There are no stock photos, no AI-generated images. I always show Before and After pictures so you can see the retouching that was done.

Portrait retouching is the biggest portion of my retouching. Business headshots, social media profile photos, family portraits, and wedding photos.

People photography is the most popular type of photography. So it's to be expected that portrait retouching is also popular.

My retouching also includes a variety of corporate photos and business event photos.

Improving photos of office interiors, house interiors, and other real estate images is another part of my retouching work.

Pushing a camera shutter button only starts a photo. Retouching finishes the image.

For casual use, unfinished photos are fine. But for business, professional, or commercial use, or anytime you need to make a positive impression, retouching should be utilized.

Retouching can fix most mistakes the photographer may have made. It can repair technical errors and polish a photo to look its best.

Professional retouching makes your photos look their best so you can look your best.

If it's free, go ahead and try it. Maybe you'll get lucky. But we all know you get what you pay for.

Free online retouching software is very limited in what they can do and they don't work with all types of photos.

Those low-cost retouching services in a faraway country, some of which pretend to be in Canada, use low-paid pieceworkers. They have to work as fast as possible. I work for results not speed.

You can also trust me to handle your photos properly. I do not share your images with anyone and I delete my copies after the retouching is complete.

Yes but I work only with digital files. I do not scan prints, negatives, slides or film. The reason is that digital images are easier, faster and safer to send back and forth. Sending precious prints or film through the mail or by courier is fraught with risk and I don't want that liability. There are a few businesses in Toronto that do photo restoration and they scan film and paper prints.

The cost is based on $140 per hour. Most photos require about 15 to 45 minutes. A photo that needs extensive retouching can take an hour or more, but this is usually for photos that are being used commercially or photos that require a lot of compositing.

After I've seen your photo(s), you will receive a quote with the exact price before any work is done.

If you don't like the results, you don't pay.

After you have agreed to the cost, I will do the retouching and send you small, watermarked proofs.

If you're happy with the proofs, I will send an invoice payable by credit card or e-transfer. After payment is received, you will get the full-size retouched photos.

If you're not happy with the proofs, I can do one revision or you can cancel the work without owing a cent.

Even though I make some creative decisions when retouching a photo, much of the retouching I do would be considered technical in nature. Copyright applies only to creative work. As such, I do not claim any copyright in the retouching that I do.

Copyright would apply if I were to create a new picture for you. For example, if you sent me a photo of yourself and asked that you be converted into a costumed superhero flying over an erupting volcano with lightning and flames in the background, then that new image could be copyrighted by me. But I don't do that type of retouching.

Casual, personal photos don't need retouching. Although those pictures might benefit from basic photo editing which you can do yourself. Most people have some kind of free photo software.

But important family photos, especially those that will be printed and displayed, should be retouched. This will ensure the photo is polished to its best, will print properly, and will give you better memories.

Photos for business, professional, or commercial use, should have some retouching or photo editing done. This is a very common practice because there are valid business reasons for photo retouching.

Professionally edited and retouched images make a positive first impression, they send a stronger message, they attract more viewers, and they enhance the reputation of the company using those photos.