Fixing messy hair is one of the most common photo retouching requests. When only a few stray hairs need cleaning up, the process is quick and easy.
However, if messy hair covers parts of the face, retouching takes more time and therefore costs more.
To fix large gaps in the hair, retouchers typically copy “good hair” from other areas of the photo and paste it over the messy sections. If that technique doesn’t work, they may need to manually draw in the hair.
When messy hair hides significant portions of the face, retouchers must recreate the covered facial features. This is a complex and challenging task. If available, they might copy the missing features from another similar photo of the same person. Otherwise, they’ll have to draw them in by hand.
The best and most cost-effective solution is for the photographer to ensure the subject’s hair is in place before taking the photo. But when that doesn’t happen, and the hair looks messy or distracting, retouching can often—though not always—provide a fix.
