Benefits of Headshot Retouching

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A recent Spanish study, published November 2024, confirmed once again that people whose portraits are perceived as attractive are also seen as more intelligent and trustworthy.

The study used 462 pairs of portraits, each showing a person before and after a beauty filter was applied. The photos were rated by 2,748 participants, aged 18 to 88, with an equal number of males and females from the UK, US, and Canada. The participants were shown random subsets of the portraits, but never both versions of the same photo.

The results were clear: portraits with the beauty filter consistently received higher ratings for traits like intelligence, trustworthiness, and sociability.
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Give Your Photography Value A Nudge

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Price is set by you, the photographer, but value is set by your customers. Your task is to align the two. You have to align your prices with the perceived value of your photography.

Perceived value refers to the benefits a customer believes they will receive from your photography. The higher the perceived value, the greater the customer satisfaction. Additionally, a higher perceived value allows you to charge higher prices. Since a strong perceived value benefits both you and the customer, it’s essential to focus on enhancing it.

While price will reflect tangible factors like your time and costs, value is subjective. It’s emotional and varies from customer to customer. Value to the customer depends on:
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Understanding Photography Pricing

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Price is set by you, the photographer, but value is perceived by the customer:

Perceived value = Expected benefit(s) – Perceived cost

where Perceived cost = monetary cost + the effort needed to make the purchase.

If Expected benefits = Perceived cost, then value is zero. The customer probably won’t buy.
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How To Write Full IPTC

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(A very long post about a simple topic.)

Much to my surprise, one of the most popular posts on this blog is a 2018 article about how to write a photo caption. As a follow-up to that article, this post will explain how to fill out the other IPTC data fields found in most photo software.

IPTC refers to the International Press Telecommunications Council, a consortium of major news agencies formed in 1965. The consortium established, and maintains, universal technical standards for the exchange of news data. This means that some of the IPTC fields will apply only to news photographers and perhaps stock agency photographers. But there are several fields that every photographer should be using.
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Observations from Photo Retouching

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Lately I’ve been doing a lot of photo retouching, working with images shot by other photographers. Some of these photographers clearly know their craft because the images sent to me are extremely well done. The retouching required is usually adding or removing specific objects as requested by the final client.

On the other hand, some photographers are, uh, not as skilled. A significant portion of my retouching work involves fixing their mistakes and trying to compensate for their lack of expertise. But even after retouching, the final image may still be subpar due to issues like weak portrait poses, poor lighting, bad composition, or other problems that retouching can’t fix.

Retouching Family Portraits

Recently I worked on two sets of outdoor portraits, from two different families, shot by two different photographers.
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Why You Should Retouch Family Portraits

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Here are eight reasons why you should consider retouching for your family photos:

1. Enhance Image Quality

Professional retouching can correct issues such as poor lighting, shadows, or dull colours, and bring out the true beauty of your photo. This will help the image look vibrant and sharp, especially when printed.

2. Eliminate Imperfections

Everyone has minor imperfections, whether it’s blemishes, stray hairs, or other distractions. Retouching can smooth skin, remove small imperfections, and refine details to ensure that everyone looks their best.
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Why Your Business Headshot Needs Retouching

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Here are a few reasons why you should have your business headshot or other professional portrait retouched:

Correct lighting, colour and contrast:   Retouching can correct uneven lighting, minimize unwanted shadows, and adjust the colour balance, contrast and saturation. This will create a more visually appealing portrait that will draw more attention.

Enhance colour:   This is more than correcting the colour. Colour correction means whites are white, greys are neutral grey, and blacks are black. Colour balance, also called colour grading, is adjusting the hue of each colour. Should your skin be a warm tone or a cooler tone? A warm tone suggests friendliness but a cool tone implies authority and strength. What shade of blue works best for your blue shirt: navy blue, cobalt blue, a warm blue, a cold blue? Colour affects our emotion which then affects our perception.
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