Product Retouching

The early days of retouching

Believe it or not, retouching is nothing new.

The art of photography was still in its infancy when commercial studios began modifying their images. 

Studios and individuals found their own innovative ways of altering or retouching photos, from adding people who weren’t in the original image to eliminating physical flaws. 

Not surprisingly, demand for these services ballooned, particularly with the growth of colour photographs and leaps in technology.

Fast-forward to 1987 and the launch of Adobe Photoshop, a digital photography manipulation software tool that became the springboard for a multi-million-pound, global industry. 

We are proud to be part of this exciting and fast-moving sector, providing a range of services including product retouching. But what exactly is it? 

What is product retouching? 

The simplest definition of product retouching is the act of editing or altering images of an item after it has been photographed. 

Of course there’s a lot more to it than that, but before we go any further, there’s an important distinction to be made... 

Photo editing vs retouching

Editing an image is not the same as retouching. Editing focuses on manipulating the photograph, rather than changing the composition of the image itself. 

It can include alterations such as cropping the size and straightening the photo, as well as adjustments to the temperature, exposure, contrasts and white balance.

As we’re about to find out, photo retouching is a much more complex task, and one that can yield truly jaw-dropping results for a wide variety of brands. 

Basic/medium product retouching

This form of retouching can include colour correction, particularly for images handed over as raw files, to make them look as sharp, crisp and vivid as possible. 

The product image may also need a clean up at this stage, eliminating defects and imperfections such as specks of dust or scratches.

Advanced retouching product photography

Advanced retouching helps create stand-out images that bring a photographer’s artistic vision to life and encapsulate a brand’s identity in a product. As the name suggests, advanced retouching takes product photography to a whole new level. 

It is most often used for beauty campaigns, portraits and outdoor advertising images, and the degree of retouching will depend on the quality of the original image. The closer it is to what the brand requires, the less work will be needed. 

Likewise, the final destination of the image will also determine the levels of retouching. A product image among a carousel of several thumbnails won’t need the same levels of clarity as an out of home (OOH) advertising hoarding. 

Let’s examine the main retouching tools and how they are used to enhance a product image.

Colour management

The world of ecommerce can move incredibly quickly, but we know few things will stop a consumer in their scrolling tracks faster than a gorgeously vivid, eye-catching image. 

Getting the colour right on product photos is more important than ever, thanks to the number of brands involved in multi and omnichannel sales. 

That’s why our skilled retouching team are masters of colour management.

They will guarantee a luxury lipstick is exactly the same shade of scarlet whether a consumer is flicking through the pages of a catalogue or glossy magazine, browsing a website or social media, or whisking past an Underground advertising hoarding.  

Changing colours

It might sound strange to want to change the colours of a product after it has been photographed, but this is actually a smart use of resources. 

As well as allowing customers to see the various shades available for a sofa, shirt or shoes: all without compromising the high quality of the original image, it’s also a cost-saving measure for brands. 

Why spend the time and money photographing several examples that are the same apart from the colour, when you can just shoot one and expertly retouch it?  

Staying sharp

Brands using photography to market their products always want to see pin-sharp imagery. 

Even if the photographer uses light and shade or unusual camera angles to make the shots more engaging, the product at its core must always be visible and legible. 

Advanced product retouching is the ideal way to ensure all the details and texture are visible, while the contrast between dark and light is crisp. 

The ultimate goal is creating super-sharp, great quality brand imagery. 

Out of the shadows 

A lot of product photography is shot against a white background to make the item really pop. But sometimes the marketing brief calls for something a little more creative. 

While the photographer can use their camera skills and inventive lighting set-ups to capture unusual angles of a product, in the hands of a masterful retoucher, these images can hit a new high. 

Adding shadows and manipulating the light can make a product image more dramatic and realistic, grabbing a customer’s attention in seconds. 

Be less reflective

Despite everyone’s best efforts, there are some instances where unwanted reflected light is caught on a product. 

Sometimes it’s down to the location of the photo shoot. In other examples, it’s because the item itself is reflective, such as highly polished cars or glittering jewellery. 

Product retouching is the perfect way to eliminate these reflections, which can be distracting for viewers and spoil the overall image.  

The ghost mannequin 

This method is one of the niftiest ways to create photos of apparel without using models. It erases the human figure from a photo but their clothing still looks as if it’s being worn. 

Customers can get an idea of how it might look on them, as well as focus on extra details such as jacket linings which may not be visible when worn by a model. 

The ghost mannequin is not only a great cost-saving measure, the end results are often outstanding. 

A brand new background 

Colour management ensures the shade and tone of a product in a photograph is spot on, but what if the background doesn’t quite work? 

Many products are shot on a white background to focus the consumer’s attention. Product retouching, either using masking or clipping path techniques, can give it a whole new spin with a fresh background. 

In some cases, it can breathe new life into an image. In others, if an item is photographed on a box which is then blended into the background, for example, it can add a professional finishing touch.   

Cut and print!

Every photograph that undergoes product retouching needs to be cropped, resized and saved in specific file format, depending on whether it is to be published in a catalogue, magazine, on social media, or turned into a billboard.

It’s also at this stage that a retoucher will ensure the product image is straight and correctly aligned - even if the photographer has shot from dramatic angles!

Product retouching and ecommerce 

As we’ve already seen, for as long as there has been photography, there has been professional retouching. However, it kicked into an entirely new gear with the birth of the ecommerce sector in the mid-1990s. 

In the blink of a pixelated eye, brands encompassing global behemoths to solopreneurs launched websites. All of them needed vast numbers of quality photography to showcase their wares for consumers with plenty of money to spend. 

Ecommerce has since mushroomed into a global industry, and is expected to be worth £3.29 trillion ($4.11tn) in 2023, according to Statista. 

Even in the face of current headwinds, people will continue to spend online, with revenues predicted to grow at a rate of more than 11.5%, giving the ecommerce market a value of £5.09tn ($6.35tn) by 2027. 

There’s an awful lot of value in having the product images in your catalogue or on your website undergo professional retouching to ensure they ooze quality and catch your audience’s eye.

A skilled and delicate (re)touch   

Remember in 2012, when Cecilia Gimenez’ disastrous efforts to fix a damaged, 19th-century religious fresco went viral? 

It may have shocked and amused audiences, but it also revealed why brands are so focused on getting it right when they hand their campaign imagery over to retouching professionals. 

We’re proud to say our clients know they’re in great hands with our expert team. 

We have worked with premium fashion and lifestyle brands for decades but always offer free retouching sample tests for new clients, so they can see exactly what skills they’re getting.  

As well as providing professional retouching of your product photographs to make them look irresistible, or combining elements from a number of shots in post production, we can create brand new images to your exact requirements. 

Has the sample used in the original shoot changed? No problem. Was a new product recently added to your range? Consider the lot updated. 

We can create one or a series of images that reflect the most up-to-date version of your products, all colour-managed to absolute perfection. No more expensive reshoots!

The benefits of product retouching for your brand 

The devil, they say, is in the detail, and it’s absolutely true when it comes to your product images, especially when it comes to online distribution. 

Rich detail for visual appeal

Brands investing in omnichannel marketing know their photography not only has to catch the consumer’s eye, it’s got to serve up lots of rich, pixel-perfect detail. 

That means all their campaign and product imagery has to be of the very highest quality to maximise that visual appeal. Product retouching ensures that high bar is reached with every shot.  

Reinforce your brand identity

Retouching doesn’t just make your range of products look outstanding, it can also be a little more subtle in helping reinforce your brand identity. 

Repeated backgrounds in a palette of colours that echo your branding, custom borders and margins or a singular approach to lighting and shadow: these can all become synonymous with your product and brand, enabling audiences to immediately recognise it.

An offline shopping experience, online 

Online shopping has come a long way since its inception, with increasingly sophisticated software and technology such as AI all helping to enhance the customer experience so it can compete with the in-store service. 

Professional retouching techniques are part of that same toolbox. They enable extreme close-ups of products, so target audiences can see all the details of the item they are viewing. 

It might not be exactly the same as feeling the texture of a piece of fabric between your fingers, but it comes very close!

Technical compliance 

There is an online portal for almost every kind of quality shopping experience, which is great for both brands and consumers. But newcomers may not be aware that one marketplace definitely does not fit all. 

Many have their own technical requirements for images, including resolutions, background limitations and the formats of various files. 

Don’t worry. Our photography retouching team has the ability to take care of all these elements in post production. We’ve got your back. 

The House of Bruar 

It’s easy to talk about what we can do, but we’re also proud to demonstrate our skills and how our team’s knowledge and techniques can benefit your brand. 

Dubbed the ‘Harrods of the north’, The House of Bruar is a family owned department store located in Perthshire, Scotland. They have worked with us for more than a decade. 

The firm’s vast product range includes quality contemporary country clothing, and it mails out several catalogues to its customers, with the autumn publication alone reaching more than three million subscribers. 

Creative director and family member Tom Birkbeck explains its impact and importance in the digital age: “There is no better marketing tool as a driver to our website than the catalogue. We can literally see the sales spike when the catalogue delivers.”

Expert colour management 

The House of Bruar has four in-house, full-time photographers, alongside a creative specialist, who shoot all their own products, whether on location or in their own studio. 

Colour is critical to the brand, and when it comes to advanced professional retouching, they come to us for our expertise, dedicated, calibrated equipment, and production protocols. 

“They can take my InDesign files and, by working with a dedicated team of retouchers who understand the brand, I’m confident I’ll get the required result within pretty tight timeframes,” Tom says.

“I’ve never found a photographer yet who can capture the perfect shot, first time. Not through lack of skill or expertise, more the complexities of the product and shooting conditions at the time. 

“Ec2i manages to enhance our images without drama or fanfare, perfectly capturing the look of our natural fibres and heritage fabrics.” 

Advanced workflow solutions 

It goes without saying our product retouching ability isn’t the only service we offer. As we’ll see, it's part of a bigger package that not only guarantees the quality of a brand’s images, it also streamlines their processes, saving time and money. 

The White Company 

Since launching 25 years ago, The White Company has become a byword for offering impeccably stylish products across the whole home range, and into clothing and fragrance. 

Our skilled team already handled the colour retouching work for their catalogue production, which runs to many hundreds of pages per year, but the firm found the production methods they were using were wasteful and time-consuming. Could we help? 

We implemented our Renaissance production workflow solution, which enabled designs to be shared with all the teams via a flatplan of the whole publication, stored in one central area and collaborated on for pagination sign-off. 

“These flatplans have transformed the way we work”, says David Macleary, head of creative operations.  “Being able to share designs with multiple stakeholders for comment within set time frames online has, without doubt, helped us to be more efficient and more reactive to changing market requirements.”

Bravissimo

Specialist lingerie retailer Bravissimo produces six seasonal brochures for the UK market and six for the US. They first approached us in 2017, looking for help in restructuring their laborious manual working practices across both their catalogue and image production. 

We adapted our Renaissance Image Library to mirror Bravissimo’s needs, then integrated a production workflow within Renaissance media production management.

It allowed unlimited access to mark up imagery for correction, add metadata, apply statuses to log each step of the process, and automatically file the approved imagery into the correct folders.  

The Renaissance-enabled system has also been applied to catalogue and photography production, while an online portal gives Bravissimo total visibility of the entire production process, anytime and anywhere.

Choose us for your product retouching 

From photography and colour retouching, to design and seamless integrated workflow solutions, our content creation specialists will bring their many years of technical expertise in front of and behind the camera, and their passion for innovation, to the table. 

Many of our customers have been with us for decades because they know we will pull out all the stops to deliver a first-class product and a top quality service. 

Whatever you want to achieve with your brand vision, from print, online, an e-commerce platform, digital-out-of-home (DOOH) or video, come to us.

Contact us 

Want to chat about product retouching and colour management, or if you’re interested in learning more about how Renaissance can streamline your operations, get in touch! We’d love to chat. 

You can call us on  01702 541311 between 9am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday, email us at info@ec2i.biz, or fill in this contact form and we’ll get back to you straight away.