I love retouching all kinds of people, leaving them with perfect skin and features, yet perfectly real. I utilize a number of different techniques depending on the scope of a project. My favorite method by far is a pixel by pixel approach known as "dodge and burn". This helps me render skin and hair that is without flaw, yet believably so. It is a time intensive process, but is by far the most widely agreed upon method used in most high end fashion magazines like Marie Claire, and Vogue. There are many different attitudes regarding the perception of beauty, but it's importance to the fashion industry can not be understated. When we open a magazine it is thick with lush and vibrant images which attempt to identify with us on a number of levels. Whether these campaigns speak to the fashion savvy or the health conscious, every one of them shows us an image of a beautiful and confident person in some form or another and that person needs to look flawless.
The goal of any retoucher when altering an image is make adjustments to whatever extent the client requires and to get out without leaving a single trace. We may balance the symmetry of a body or even reshape a face, but none of these changes can look unnatural. It is important to me on every image that I stay true to each individual and to do them justice.
