Thanks to today’s sophisticated image-editing software, the old school tools used for retouching photos have been shelved. Better methods of smoothing wrinkles, brightening dark circles under eyes and eradicating pimples are available today to anyone with a computer and the results can be so remarkable, a photo you may have once been afraid to show anyone can now become the beautiful portrait that you had hoped it would be.

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Retouching photos has always been considered the craft of professional artisans who in the past have painstakingly worked with some relatively unsophisticated tools to restore a cherished family photo or remove blemishes from your daughter’s high school graduation portrait. However, with today’s software you not only have the ability to retouch photos yourself, you don’t have to worry about ruining an irreplaceable original.  Even if you have never retouched a photo before, particularly with digital retouching, you can’t make a mistake that can’t be undone; with a little practice and some knowledge of your software, any photo is fair game with no risk of harm or loss.  

The moment you begin familiarizing yourself with the software and techniques, you will find a whole new world of possibilities in retouching photos. Remove an ex-girlfriend or obnoxious cousin from that otherwise favorite family photo.  Surprise a friend with a portrait in which you have eradicated the fine lines around her eyes,  or fixed a photographic disaster (smudged lipstick, messy hair, rosacea breakout) that has ruined an otherwise terrific picture.

Retouching photos can also offer license to have some fun . Enhance a bust line, decrease a waistline, remove varicose veins and even drop a new head of hair on your subject.  Add or remove a tattoo, hide or enhance a wedding ring. Pictures that once might have been relegated to the bottom of a shoebox in your closet can now have new life thanks to the miracle of retouching.