A good headshot helps people trust you before they meet you, whether it is on LinkedIn, a company website, a speaker bio or a dating profile. Portrait retouching gives you a polished, professional result without looking airbrushed.
We even out skin tone, soften temporary blemishes and shine, tidy flyaway hairs, brighten eyes subtly, fix white balance and clean up the background. For team photos we make sure everyone matches in colour, crop and background so the page looks like one set.
We keep you looking like you. Freckles, moles, laughter lines and other permanent features stay unless you ask us to change them.
What our portrait & headshot retouching service includes
- Natural skin retouching (blemishes, shine, redness)
- Flyaway hair clean-up
- Eye and teeth brightening, kept subtle
- Background clean-up, replacement or blur
- Colour and white balance correction
- Consistent crops for team pages
- Glasses glare reduction where possible
- Light, natural and high-end levels
Before and after
Drag the slider to compare an unedited photo with the finished result. These are real photos edited by hand, not mock-ups.
Before After Who it is for
LinkedIn and personal branding
Professional, friendly headshots that make a strong first impression.
Company team pages
Matching backgrounds, tones and crops for a whole team.
Photographers
Outsource retouching for headshot sessions and keep your style consistent.
Actors and models
Clean, natural headshots that agencies accept.
Speakers and authors
Polished photos for books, events and press.
How we make sure it looks right
We use a light touch: frequency separation and dodge-and-burn at low strength, never a heavy blur. Skin keeps its texture, which is what makes a headshot look real at large sizes.
Glare on glasses, stray hairs across the face and shadows under the eyes are handled carefully. When something would need guesswork, such as an eye fully hidden by glare, we tell you rather than invent detail.
How it works
- Upload portraits. Send the photos and tell us where they will be used.
- Pick a level. Natural, polished or high-end; we quote first.
- Retouch. Skin, hair, eyes, colour and background in layers.
- Match the set. Team photos are compared side by side.
- Deliver. Full resolution plus square crops for profiles if needed.
Turnaround and file formats
Delivery time depends on the number of images and how complex they are, so we confirm a firm deadline with every quote rather than promising a one-size-fits-all number. Rush delivery is available for many jobs; just ask when you send your files.
We accept JPG, PNG, TIFF, PSD, HEIC, WebP and most camera RAW formats (CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG). You choose the output: high-quality JPG, transparent PNG, layered PSD, TIFF or WebP, in sRGB for web or another colour profile for print. We keep your file names and folder structure so the edited files drop straight back into your workflow.
Preparing your files
- Send the largest, sharpest version you have. We can always size down, but we cannot add detail that is not there.
- Tell us where the images will be used (Amazon, your own store, print, social) so we export the right size.
- Include one finished example or a reference image if you have a particular style in mind.
- Share large batches by Google Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer or a similar link.
Why hand editing still matters
Automatic tools are fast, and for some jobs they are good enough. The trouble is that they make the same small mistakes again and again: soft edges where there should be crisp ones, missing gaps, colour fringes, and details that quietly disappear. On a thumbnail you might not notice. On a zoomed product page, a printed catalogue or a large banner, customers do. Our portrait & headshot retouching work is done by trained editors who look at every edge and every surface, and who can make judgement calls a tool cannot, such as what belongs to the product and what is just a reflection or a speck of dust.
Our quality checklist
- Every image is checked at 100% zoom, not just as a thumbnail.
- Edges are reviewed on contrasting backgrounds to catch halos and stray pixels.
- Colour is compared with the original so the product stays true to life.
- Sizing, margins and naming follow the brief for the whole batch.
- A second editor signs off each file before delivery.
Large and recurring orders
If you have a big catalogue or a regular flow of new products, we set up a short style guide with you on the first order covering background, margins, shadows, file size and naming. Every later batch follows it, whichever editor works on it, so your images stay consistent month after month. Regular clients also get volume pricing and a predictable delivery schedule agreed in advance, which makes it easier to plan product launches and seasonal drops.
Pricing
Every image is different, so we price portrait & headshot retouching by complexity and volume. Send a few samples and we will reply with a clear per-image quote before you commit to anything. See our pricing page for how quotes work.
Frequently asked questions
Will I still look like myself?
Yes. We remove temporary things and keep your features.
Can you change my background to plain grey or white?
Yes, or any colour or a soft office blur.
Can you fix glasses glare?
Often yes. Very heavy glare covering the eye may not be fully recoverable.
Do you retouch group and team photos?
Yes, and we keep everyone consistent.
Can you make me look slimmer?
Only on request, and we keep it subtle and realistic.
Can I try the service before paying?
Yes. Send a few images through our free trial and judge the quality yourself, with no card needed.
Are my images kept private?
Yes. Your files are used only to complete your order and are not shared or used in our portfolio without your written permission.
Try our portrait & headshot retouching service free
Send us a few images and we will edit them at no cost, so you can see the quality before placing an order.
Related services: Photo Retouching Service, Image Masking Service, Colour Correction Service.
