14 Pro Tips for Fashion Photo Editing

The fashion industry is filled with beauty. Now commercial fashion photo editing is not merely adding a couple of filters and playing around with the images’ contrast but re-imagining how photos are taken and subsequently edited. Join in as we discuss 14 invaluable tips to edit pictures for fashion photography-Articlewine. 

1. Choose Proper Angles  

The angles you choose to shoot at will greatly affect your output’s quality. With the magic of photo editing, you can adjust perspectives, straighten images and even play with the subject’s proportions for additional impact.  By choosing the right angle, you can also easily eliminate unwanted aspects of the background or the foreground to enhance the appeal of your fashion image. Some processes that you can incorporate into your fashion photo editing project are-

• Perspective alignment 
• Image straightening 
• Intelligent cropping 

2. Keep the Model’s Skin Natural  

One of the faux-pas of photo retouching is overt work on the model’s skin. Removing every blemish isn’t necessary as it is an imperfection that defines individuality. Gone are the days when cake-like makeup was plastered either onto the model’s face before the shoot or later on its digital equivalent In post-processing. The trick is to keep the model’s skin looking as natural as possible while using its imperfections as markers of authenticity. 

Some tools that can be used to enhance the model’s skin tone and skin texture are- 

• Airbrush tool 
• Paintbrush (set on low opacity and skin color selected) 
• Healing brush 
• Clone tool 

Pro-tip: Make sure that you retain lines and features of the model’s face like freckles, smile lines, and dimples. Don’t go for an overly airbrushed look that drains the image’s believability.  

3. Right Skin Tone  

This is a big one. The skin tone in your fashion images is a sure-fire marker that a pro can use to judge the capability of your photo editing partner. Skin tone editing can be the make or break of your fashion image, and therefore it should be undertaken with the utmost precision and due diligence. We suggest adjusting the model’s skin tone in alignment with the most prominent color of the background. You should choose a background that compliments your model’s skin tone on the photography side of things. Creating channel masks combined with intuitive healing tool usage can help enhance skin tones. Some tools that can be used are 

• Channel Masking 
• Airbrush tool 
• Clone stamp 
• Healing brush 
• Lighting adjustments 

4. Frequency Separation  

With the frequency separation method, you can create high-frequency and low-frequency layers and then work on the tones and pallets of each Layer. Frequency separation is most often used for fashioned photography aimed at print media. 

With smart layer manipulation, the frequency separation technique can offer you an output that matches all industry standards without making the image look over-edited.  

5. Try Out Free Fashion Presets  

A little bit of surfing and subsequent hunting over the internet can offer some amazing fashion presets. The web is full of fashion frequency for Lightroom, given that it is the software of choice when it comes to fashion photo editing. 

Some Fashion photo editing presets for Lightroom are

• Orange and teal 
• Cinematic 
• Matte 
• Pastel 
• Balck and white

6. Acquire Photo Retouching Services  

This tip is for photographers who focus solely on their craft while leaving post-processing to a pro. In most cases, this is the best option, given that all you have to do is click your photos and send your requirements to your photo editing partner, who will do the needful.  

However, it would help if you were very careful while selecting a photo editing partner as the market is inundated with sub-standard photo editing services that offer dismal outputs. Thankfully, you are reading this article, and you now know what to steer away from. An ideal photo editing partner can offer the following services-

• Magazine Photo Retouching 
• Advertising Photo Retouching 
• Model Photo Retouching 
• Catalog Fashion Retouching 
• Fashion Photo Manipulation 
• High-end Portrait Retouching

7. Minimize Noise  

Some fashion photoshoots are conducted in low lighting conditions. If the camera used by the photographer is even slightly less than par, the photos will have a certain amount of graininess in them, i.e., noise. Noise reduction is a must-have for model photography as its presence can adversely affect the appeal of your images. Some noise removal tools that you can use are- 

• Lightroom 
• Photoshop 
• Topaz Denoise A 
• Noiseware 
• Skylum Luminar 
• Define 
• Capture One 
• Noise Ninja 
• Neat image pro 
• DxO Optics Pro 11 elite 

8. Teeth Whitening  

Sadly not everyone has that perfect set of pearly whites. This makes teeth whitening an important part of fashion photo editing, given that a pretty smile is worth a million bucks. Like every other editing tip/technique mentioned here, teeth whitening should not be overdone. An industry best practice is matching the whites of the model’s eyes to the color of her teeth. Some tools that you can use for teeth whitening are- 

• Airbrush tool 
• Paintbrush (set on low opacity and white color selected) 
• Healing brush 
• Clone tool 
• Alpha Channel masking 

9. Amazing Lips  

Fashion photography leans heavily on the model’s physical aesthetics, and attractive lips are, of course, a must-have. Even the lightest makeup includes a little lip gloss, and when it comes to fashion photography, you can go as wild as you want when it comes to lip enhancement. 

Fashion photography editors can experiment with colors, textures, and even the shape of the model’s lips. Some commonly used lip retouching tips are lip Smoothening, tonal adjustments, and contrast adjustments. Tools commonly used for lip retouching are- 

• Channel Masking 
• Airbrush tool 
• Clone stamp 
• Healing brush 
• Lighting adjustments 

10. Eye Enhancement  

 Everyone knows that the eyes are windows to the soul. Eyes radiating brilliance will immediately capture the viewer’s attention, and therefore, eye retouching is an important part of fashion photo retouching. As mentioned earlier, the model’s eyes (the whites should match the model’s smile and vice versa. Eye retouching can include white enhancement, pupil color changes, and the addition of reflections and sparkles. 

Pro tip: Make your model’s eyes radiate brilliantly utilizing the following process in Photoshop-Articlewine.

• New Adjustment Layer > Exposure.  
• Paint pupils with dark and irises with white tones.  
• Set the mixing mode to ‘Lighten.’  
• Utilize the gamma slider for enhanced contrast 
•  Utilize the “Offset slider” for a superior impact.  

11. Use Digital Makeup  

While this technique combines all the tips mentioned in this article, applying a moderate amount of digital makeup can add significant appeal to your fashion photography images. Tools that you can use are- 

• Airbrush tool 
• Paintbrush (set on low opacity and white color selected) 
• Healing brush 
• Clone tool 
• Alpha Channel masking 

12. Work with Hair  

Great hair is a powerful biological marker, and in fashion photography editing, pros emphasize the importance of hair retouching. Adding volume, shades, and sparkle to the model’s hair in editing software can make your fashion photo look stunning. Hair retouching includes enhancing volume, length, texture, and contrast. You can also eliminate flyaway hair strands from your fashion photographs for a professional look. The most commonly used tools to retouch hair in fashion photography are-

• Airbrush tool 
• Paintbrush  
• Healing brush 
• Clone stamp tool 
• Alpha channel masking 
• Liquify tool 

13. Adjust the Flow of the Fabric 

The liquefy tool in photoshop is right up there when it comes to photo manipulation. With the liquefy tool, you can manipulate the flow of the fabric draped on your model and use it to manipulate the model’s physical attribute .eg. Waist slimming, lip volume, curve smoothening, and a lot more. The tool can be found in the filters dropdown in photoshop. You can also access it through the blending options tab available for each Layer. 

14. Remove Unwanted Backgrounds 

Most fashion photo editing software allows users to isolate their subject from the background and replace the BG or remove it completely. BG removal is one of the most common fashion photo retouching services that people opt for. You can remove the BG of your images with the following tools- 

• Clipping Path 
• Image cut out 
• Image masking 

And It’s a Wrap 

So there you have it, 14 Tips to instantly turn you from a newbie photographer into a fashion photography editing pro. If you feel you should delegate the grunt work, you can always choose a fashion photo editing services provider. 

A high-end ultra-polished look is a prerequisite of fashion photography, and with the tips mentioned above, you are well on your way to making it to the big leagues. Over time every photographer develops a unique style. When the techniques mentioned above boost your aesthetic sense, you can rest assured that fashion houses worldwide will be clamoring to have you. I trust that this article has proved informative and a fun read for you. Happy Snapping! 

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