Important skills for a retoucher. Interview with an experienced retoucher. Standards and trends in modern retouching

Photo retouching has long since moved beyond professional sphere into ordinary life. Celebrities sue when there is too much of it, and Instagram users, on the contrary, do not hesitate to correct their figure and smooth out their skin in selfies.

Tatyana Yurochkina, a Russian woman who has been living and working as a photo retoucher in New York for 5 years, shared her point of view on the future of retouching and explained how the Russian approach to professional photo editing differs from the American one.

Tatyana Yurochkina (TanyaFox) worked in New York for a long time in post-production for MTV, GOT MILK? studio, made the last historical cover of the famous wrestling magazine WWE, catalogs for NIKE and AVON, participated in the creation of covers for TV series and Broadway posters, musicians like DEAD MOUSE, who are photographed by photographer Scott Schafer. She also photographed works by Dali, Monet, Malevich, Roy Lichtenstein, Alex Cats, and Robert Longo for sale at auctions.

Tell us about yourself: where are you from, how did you become a photographer and then a retoucher, why did you move to the USA?

I am from Miass, Chelyabinsk region. She was born there and lived there for 22 years. I started taking photographs when I found my father’s old Zenit, pictures from which were exhibited in both New York and Miass. The photos are perhaps interesting because they contain a lot of light leaks, which made them very atmospheric. By the way, a funny story is that not long ago my dad started taking photographs with my old DSLR.

The wind of change carried me to the states (read: exchange program). Over the past 5 years, she has lived in New York and San Francisco. At the moment, I am 100% freelance. I spent the last six months in Chelyabinsk, working with Nightparty - great guys! Now I'm back in New York again.

How did you learn retouching? Courses, the Internet, trial and error?

Retouching is an integral part of photography, so I studied at the same time. The most effective way The training turned out to be practice - the so-called internships. When you go to gain experience from photographers, artists, retouchers, you adopt it by working on projects next to those who receive a salary for it :)

Both filming and retouching are equivalent for me in terms of “likes”. Both have their own thrill, I can’t keep one for myself. Situations are different, sometimes I send my photographs for retouching. Recently I have become interested in video post-production.

They say that in Russia the “jack of all trades” approach is common, while in the USA there are more narrow specialists, is this true?

So. AND narrow specialization- This is good. I will say more, in the USA even retouchers are different. Firstly, it depends on what they are working on (for example, these are those who do only beauty, only CGI, only product, etc.). And secondly, there are levels: junior, mid-level and senior, depending on the proficiency of the instruments.

Photos by Scott Schaffer, photo retouching by Tatyana Yurochkina.

How does the approach to work differ in the USA and in Russia?

This question echoes the previous one. In the states, being a retoucher, I had the opportunity to attend filming, I think it was a very useful experience. Collaboration during the production process affects the efficiency of post-production, as they say, team-work.

The main person who communicates with clients is the manager or senior retoucher, who is responsible for the final product of the entire team. I can’t note anything special about the communication style; the client is always right, period. There are regulations. For example, the processing price includes several rounds of correction, usually two. That is, the client can ask to correct something by sending his comments to the retoucher. The longest adjustments I remember were with the WWE wrestling magazine, the last cover of which I worked on, it took about 10 laps.

WWE wrestling magazine cover, photo retouching by Tatyana Yurochkina.

There is an opinion that everything in Russia is 5-10 years behind the West. This is true? How is this expressed in the photo industry, and what do you see as the reasons for this lag?

I wouldn't say that. Everything you need is available now. You can order any equipment on the Internet, view a bunch of material, even study, Western and Russian professionals constantly give master classes, people fly abroad themselves. I’m even inclined to think that in Russia there are more talented and creative guys who are not inferior to Western ones; distinctive, meaningful and authentic. It’s just that, unfortunately, a lot depends on finances...

How many guys from Russia, namely photographers and photo retouchers, went to live in the USA? Is it really possible to find a job in this field?

Among my Russian friends there are photographers and retouchers working in the states. Everything is complicated, but quite real. You will have to work and study a lot, and also create an impressive portfolio.

Photo and retouching by Tatyana Yurochkina.

Yes, there is such a trend, but we can’t do without post-production yet. The camera records megabytes of raw information, which in capable hands will turn into beautiful picture. There probably needs to be some kind of global change in filming techniques so that there is no need for post-production.

What is the future of retouching? In what direction will it develop?

I think processes will become more and more automated, which will make work easier. New smart plugins, or techniques, will be created to speed up the processing process.

What style of retouching is popular now in the USA? But in Russia? Is there a difference in attitude to the picture?

I can’t compare; I didn’t work in this area in Russia. I can’t name styles as such, maybe trends? In general, the picture should be pixel-perfect (ideal down to every pixel). And there is some kind of, let’s call it, experimentation - when an object can be randomly cut out and positioned in the frame (look, Celine advertising), glitch effects are also popular.

Glitch effects

Were there any cases when the customer was dissatisfied with the result? What were you doing?

Again, the customer is always right. And if something didn’t suit us, we discussed it and corrected it, everything is extremely simple. I don’t remember anyone being completely dissatisfied, maybe only when I was just starting, but that’s in the past.

How long does it take to retouch one photo?

Depends on the client's requirements and the price he is willing to pay. The simplest processing can take a minute, for example, when a photo undergoes general correction in Lightroom. And there are also complex composites that you work on for 8-10 hours, say, large posters and posters. On average, a good portrait takes 1.5-2 hours.

How do you work with layers in Photoshop? Is there a method or is it all spontaneous every time?

There is a methodology, and it is based on the most effective work, of course. So that you can easily return, transfer the image to another file or print. There is also its own organization of material on the hard drive. I tell about this to those I teach :)

Please name your tools: software (+ favorite plugins), equipment. Maybe there is a favorite gadget that you can’t, let alone work or live without?

Everything is very standard, Lightroom or Capture One, Photoshop, I use Bridge, sometimes I have to look into Illustrator and InDesign.

I rarely bother installing plugins. I use noise removal from Nik, for example. And often I create actions myself that speed up monotonous work. I love different brushes for effects and textures, sometimes I create them. It’s hard to live without a graphics tablet :)

Before and after photo retouching.

Are you retouching photos on Instagram? And your friends don’t ask: “Tanya, adjust my waist in the photo, please?”

On Instagram I make adjustments to photos taken with my phone. And what was taken from the computer is already ready.

You are asking for too many secrets in this interview :) Talia, and not only do I correct her often. The main thing is to do it unnoticed and as natural as possible. So that a person can look at the photo, recognize himself and say: how great I turned out!

You always need to grow and develop. The plans and process include studying video post-production.

The week of my self-proclaimed weekend has come to an end. Do you think I was resting? Yeah, of course. A freelancer's vacation is a change in direction of activity, but the activity itself stops only in a dream, and that is not a fact.

Instead of lying on my belly on the couch and watching something highly intellectual on the TNT channel, I watched lessons on YouTube, remembering with the warmest words my beloved school because instead of English we had French, which no one (even the teacher) needed. I also read articles about retouching, a book about color and tested different ideas. In short, the holiday was just superb.

However, this post is not about how great I am.

I watch lessons from people like Natalia Taffarel, Krunoslav Stifter, Garth Williams, and I think: “Damn, how do you get such pictures, you don’t do anything special?” I look at all the little details of the work, I don’t see anything that I didn’t know, couldn’t do and didn’t do. Then I switched my attention from the retouching to just the picture and realized what was the matter, it was in it, in the picture.

It’s not for nothing that they say that the level of foreign commercial photography is higher. He is not just taller, he is incommensurably taller. And it’s not about cool photographers, awesome lighting, first-class makeup, top models and a Phase One camera with an 80-megapixel digital rear camera. These are all very pleasant little things, but nothing more.

The fact is that there is coherent teamwork, a concept that is little familiar to Russian photography, and more often than not, not familiar at all. I'll start from a little distance.
What do I see in 80% of beauty and fashion photographs that are sent for retouching? Something like this: the photographer came up with some kind of image in general terms, called a more or less suitable model (okay, if not random), told her to take something red from her clothes, something to her taste and some jewelry. I called a makeup artist I knew and the creative process began. The photographer somehow, in general terms, explains to the makeup artist what his gloomy genius wants. The makeup artist understands this somehow in his own way and in general terms, and does something reminiscent of what the photographer needed. He is satisfied, sends the model to get dressed, hangs up his favorite gray background, and tinkers with the light or camera. Meanwhile, the makeup artist goes about his business, he has done his job. Then the model, with the expression on her face “When will this end, I’ve had enough of everything, I want to go home,” poses vigorously for 2-3 hours, changing her wardrobe a couple of times along the way.
The photographer, overwhelmed by a creative impulse, commands and frantically presses the button.

"Hooray! This is a masterpiece, now I’ll rest, select photos, give them to the retoucher and rest on my laurels of glory!” - thinks the happy photographer.

And then a dozen pictures with the words: “I took super-cool photos here, make them like in Vogue, I believe in you and quickly, if possible, I really want to see them” fall into the hands of a retoucher. And this is where the fun begins.

It’s really fun to look at a photo with a shabby make-up, clothes, accessories, emotion, background and crooked light that doesn’t match in any way, claiming to be a masterpiece. What a masterpiece this is, if only they could make at least something digestible!
How did this happen? And it turned out this way because there was no teamwork.

And now I’ll reveal the terrible secret of cool photos.

The photographer came up with an idea. He took a piece of paper and a pencil and began to sketch and write down his idea: the model’s pose, light, color, background, make-up, hairstyle, facial features, emotion. I made 5-10 sketches, realized that it was complete garbage and drew it differently, much better. Having received a clear idea of ​​the future image in this simple way, he contacts a suitable model, makeup artist, stylist, hairdresser and, suddenly, a retoucher too. The whole friendly company discusses the idea, polishes it to perfection, and in the process everyone clearly understands what exactly is required of them.

When everything is ready, filming begins. During which, the stylist, makeup artist and hairdresser do not go about their daily business, but monitor the filming process, straightening any stray hair, crumbling makeup, a dress inflated with a bubble, etc. The photographer attaches the camera to the computer, takes a test shot and, looking at photo in normal size using Lightroom or C1, he understands that it would be nice to reduce the exposure by half a stop, adjust the light a little and additionally highlight the hair, otherwise it is somehow dark and flat.
One image is shot for a long time and persistently until the exact frame that is needed is obtained.

This cherished perfect shot gets to the retoucher, and what does the retoucher see? He sees first-class material in which the color of the background, make-up, clothing and accessories is in color harmony or close to it, the picture is voluminous and beautiful right away, because the light was carefully set precisely for this pose of the model. In this case, the black and white drawing does not need to be edited, it just needs to be emphasized and the photo will ultimately look as natural as possible. The task of final color correction or color grading comes down to bringing the already defined color harmony to perfection, and not racking your brains over what can be done here.

With this approach to work, a retoucher does not correct a bunch of mistakes that have been going on since the pre-production stage, but only does his job - he brings the picture to the ideal, working with what can only be done in a graphics editor.

This is how masterpieces are made. Detailed plan, careful preparation and a clear understanding of their tasks by all participants in the process. And when this team has worked together for at least 5 years, learns to feel each other, then they can create something spontaneously and get work no worse than with a plan, or even better.

That's why we have practically no good photographers and retouchers, where will they come from with this approach to business? First, they shoot anything, and then, believing in the magic of Photoshop, they send it to a retoucher, who, trying to somehow save it, receives a picture with corrected chiaroscuro (which is almost always visible) and an inharmonious color. As a result, everyone’s portfolio leaves much to be desired.
And when all this is repeated for years, it becomes a habit that is difficult to get rid of, and why and it’s also normal, right?

This is the main problem.
Everyone seems to be working on the same product, but everyone is on their own wavelength and the result is who knows what. Photography is the same as cinema, only on a smaller scale. The photographer, most often, acts not only as a cameraman, but also as a director, i.e. a person who has a vision final product, capable of conveying this vision to all participants in the process and clearly organizing the process itself. If the director fails to cope, then even if everyone else is the best specialist in the world in their fields, the result will still leave much to be desired.

In fairness, I note that anyone can be a director, even a person who is not directly involved in the work process, for example, a customer. Therefore, it is not always the photographer’s fault. The director is to blame.

What a director should know.

He must know a lot. How to work with light and what can be achieved with it. Features of applying makeup and its capabilities (very, very large, it’s worth noting). Posing and emotions. Technical features carrying out complex filming (when the picture consists of several frames). How post-processing occurs, what are its capabilities and limitations. Theory of color and composition.

Now about everything in a little more detail.
1) Light. Soft, hard, impulsive, constant. Light filters, various attachments, etc. For different tasks, you need different light and 3 softboxes are not a panacea.
2) Make. Need I say that professional makeup can change a person beyond recognition? This is a powerful image creation tool.
3) Posing. This is a matter of nonverbal communication. Posture, gestures and facial expressions convey much more information than speech. This is perceived on a subconscious level, so you need to understand what you are trying to say by requiring a certain pose and emotion from the model.
4) Features of complex filming. The director must know how high-quality, expensive advertising images are made. And they are not done in one shot. All key elements are shot separately and assembled into a picture in post-production. You need to know how to remove them so that the retoucher does not break his head and hands during the assembly process and does not charge an exorbitant amount for the work.
5) Post-production. Many things are much easier to do in advance, for example, ironing clothes (!!!). Is it difficult to take an iron from home and put your clothes in order while makeup is being applied? You need to spend 10-15 minutes. In Photoshop, this will take 2 hours and the result will be far from ideal.
The black and white pattern must be fully formed during the shooting. Only this way and no other way. Adjusting it so that it is not noticeable is a very difficult task and the task is more for the artist than for the retoucher. Minor edits, such as making the cheekbone smoother, straightening the nose, emphasizing the chest, etc. - please. But when there are almost no natural volumes in a photo due to curved light, this is not a problem that needs to be solved at the processing stage.
Hair. Hair retouching is still a challenge, especially when its condition bears little resemblance to the hairstyle. The comb was invented a long time ago, comb the model, 2 minutes will save an hour of post-processing.
Look at the background, it’s easier to take a stool and remove it from the frame than to paint it over with a stamp on 50 frames of the catalogue.
6) Color theory and composition. The location of objects in the frame is one of the most important factors his attractiveness. A correctly constructed composition concentrates the viewer’s attention on key elements photography in a way that nothing else can. Color is also an element of composition that is often forgotten when building it. Proper use of color harmonies and contrast rules makes the image holistic, harmonious and pleasant to perceive. The viewer will unconsciously focus his attention on it only because it is harmonious. The basis for harmony must be built in advance, and not left until last, relying on the retoucher’s competence in this matter. By the way, there are very, very few good colorists, and coloring in photography, in my opinion, is more difficult than in cinema and painting. In cinema, very simple combinations are used, because complex ones are not suitable for a dynamic picture because they distract attention and tire the viewer, but in painting the artist is free to do whatever he wants and give objects any colors. In photography, we have a frozen reality, and if we paint it in 2 colors or give the objects some unreal colors, then in the first case it will look gray and boring, and in the second it will look wild.

I can write about all this 5 times more, but few people will read this opus. Therefore, dear photography directors, since you are taking on this difficult task and striving for a perfect picture, please at least try to understand all these issues and organize the whole process well. Ask other participants in the process how they think the picture could be made better, constantly review your own work, sorting out all the smallest errors and shortcomings, ask for criticism from those who are head and shoulders better than you. Otherwise there will be no progress.

Mistakes are a teacher. Recognize them, be aware of them and remember them so as not to do them in the future.

​Today I want to introduce you to an unusually interesting person who has lifted the veil of his success, loves his job and completely devotes himself to it.

Meet the photographer and retoucher Sergey Shmakov!

Hello, Sergey. Thank you for responding and agreeing to an interview for users of our site.

Hello)

Sergey, tell us a little about yourself and your work.

Now I am 25 years old and for 9 years I have been doing retouching, like other retouchers I combine processing with filming, there was a period when I did not leave the studio, I shot mainly large detailed portraits with a lot of retouching, the last few years I have become interested in filming cars. Almost everything I do on a commercial basis was, in one way or another, originally creative work or something I did just for fun, without the goal of making money. I just did what I liked, after some time I developed to a decent level and realized that it was quite possible to make a living doing what I loved. In addition to retouching and filming, I run my own YouTube channel and also teach individually via Skype. I love to travel and visit new places.

Everyone has their own path to the world of Photoshop. What was it like for you? Why did you decide to do retouching?

My journey began with dabbling in paint; due to the limited functionality, I almost immediately installed Photoshop, then CS2, it was 2006 and I was in 9th grade. Before graduating from school, I repeated the rare lessons that I could find; back then the Internet was not so fast, and I had to search for high-quality content. In the wake of my interest in photo processing, I entered the faculty graphic design to a local university. At first it was interesting to draw cubes and vases, but I didn’t see any prospects for myself in this. My sweet dreams are that I will be taught photoshop, retouching, technical design, collaging, matte painting, etc. disappeared in the first month. Then I asked myself what I liked to do most and began my journey in retouching and photo processing through self-study.

What difficulties did you face at the beginning of your journey? How did you deal with them?

In my first years at the institute, I already decided that retouching was for me, but my rapid development was hampered by the wild lack of time spent on studying. Fortunately, by the third year I learned to “only go to the right classes,” and this allowed me not only to devote more time to Photoshop, but also to start taking photographs myself. Growth was also hampered by the lack of funds to buy equipment; it took me several years to upgrade my computer for comfortable work and get the treasured DSLR, after some time I was able to afford to buy a tablet. Then I photographed and processed photos almost every day, watched tutorials, learned Photoshop on my own and developed faster than ever before.

Are there types of retouching? How is retouching different from artistic processing?

I would say there are specializations of retouchers, some are knowledgeable in object retouching, some in portrait retouching, some skillfully create collages, some work great with hair, etc.) Classic retouching from artistic processing, in my opinion , differs in that it is not visible, artistic treatment but this is something fictitious, sometimes even deliberately pretentious, and almost always has nothing to do with reality.

How to competently approach the retouching of a selected photo? Is there a universal algorithm of actions?

Almost any retouching process can be displayed in step-by-step algorithm, but finding and selecting it can take years, so beginners often process it in a chaotic manner, spending a lot of time on it. I personally have developed a universal algorithm for retouching skin and a number of other areas, which allows me to do retouching several times faster and at the same time with high quality. I have repeatedly described how my algorithm works on my YouTube channel.

In your opinion, what is the key to a decent retouching result? Why?

The key to a decent result, in my opinion, is following the principle of positive change. If you spent 5 hours on a photograph and in the process, in addition to improvements, you made some mistakes, for example, distorted light and shade, went overboard with plastic, or blurred the skin too much, then you can always say that the “before” was better, even if the picture for the most part became better than the original . And if you cleared a couple of pimples and did a neat, pleasant color correction in 10 minutes, without doing any serious retouching at all, then objectively your shot has become better and the result can be considered worthy. It's the same as blowing the dust off an old bicycle and pumping up the tires, it seems like a small thing, but it gets better. In the first case, you can paint the bike, replace bad brakes on it, polish it until it shines, but at the same time break the steering wheel, the same goes for retouching.

What is the difference between a bad source and a good one? What photo retouching would you not recommend? Why? What role do makeup, hairstyle, lighting play?

A bad source code is most often made without thoughtful step-by-step work. There is no solid idea, the model does not fit, weak makeup, there is no clear work with hair, clothes, lighting, posing, composition, etc. I would not recommend working with such frankly weak sources, but the problem is that there is an overwhelming majority of them on the network. It is unlikely that a novice retoucher will be able to gain access to truly professional sources in the first years. Photographers who create high-quality material almost never post their sources; they either process them themselves or give them to truly experienced retouchers, and even then infrequently. By the time a retoucher begins to experience a shortage of sources, he already knows almost everything about how to create them himself. All that remains is to buy a camera, select a worthy team and start creating. In most cases, taking photographs yourself is almost the only right way, so you can make a huge leap forward and improve in all stages of creating a picture. Learn to understand models and types, posing, creating a complete image, begin to distinguish good makeup from weak, understand how light draws a shape and how this can be used in retouching, quickly create a portfolio and begin to interest completely new clients. I walked this path at one time and I can say with confidence that it works.

How broad a range of knowledge should a retoucher have? (types of faces, anatomy, texture, etc.)

The spectrum is smaller than that of artists, of course, but also quite large. The list of required knowledge could take a long time, but I would recommend starting with books on makeup and classical drawing; it’s also usually difficult to do without experience in studio shooting and lighting practice, even if you are not going to take photographs in the near future, drop into the studio for a couple of hours and understand how light draws the shape will be extremely useful.

On average, how long does it take you to retouch one photo? What can you do to speed up your work in Photoshop?

Mostly from 30 minutes to 3 hours. My approach to speeding up:

• Abandon the pixel-based, hours-long Dodge and Burn, and replace it with a combination of techniques, as described in the “Retouching Course” videos in 10 parts.
• Use a step-by-step retouching algorithm, and also record it as much as possible in actions, I have implemented this through the RETOUCH PANEL PRO panel, but you can record actions yourself.
• Buying a tablet will take some getting used to at first, but soon the increased comfort and speed of operation will seriously please you.
• Learn basic keyboard shortcuts for zooming in and out of the canvas, for changing the size and hardness of the brush, and for basic manipulations with layers.
• Upgrade your computer, i5-i7 hardware, 16-64gb of RAM, two SSD drives, one with the system, the other with files and Photoshop cache, an inexpensive video card (for Photoshop this is not as important as in games).
• practice global Dodge and Burn skills.

There is an opinion that the tablet is for artists. Does a retoucher need a tablet?

In my opinion, it is definitely needed. If the question arises about comfortable and fast work, then you should take a closer look at buying a tablet.

In your opinion, is it possible to develop and improve with the “for the money” approach? Why?

A bias towards both money and exclusively creativity is rarely productive, in this issue I am for balance, but in each specific case the ratio may differ. Much depends on talent; if you have it, then you can try to sell more actively; if you don’t have talent, then you should postpone the race for profit and first upgrade yourself.

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What advice would you give to our users who are just starting to try their hand at retouching? How to develop a taste for high-quality retouching, how to improve your level of work in Photoshop?

It is advisable to choose a direction of retouching that you would like and at the same time could bring you money in the future. Continue to absorb information like a sponge, the better the sources, the better, there are a lot of lessons and articles on the Internet, if there is an opportunity for perfectly individual training from an experienced retoucher via Skype, I don’t mean just me, there are a lot of those who teach one on one and at very reasonable prices, it is advisable that they give you homework and then sort out your mistakes. Save money on group master classes and invest it in equipment for comfortable work - a fast computer and tablet. Develop yourself online, I would focus on social media. networks, VKontakte, Instagram, Facebook. Oddly enough, starting to take photographs can be a leap forward for you, as well as a creative outlet that helps during difficult stages of loss of motivation. And of course, love your job and devote yourself completely to it, sooner or later it will bear fruit. Good luck and success in your creativity!)

Tell us a little about yourself.

It's always so difficult to talk about yourself. I live in Barcelona and do photo retouching. And I really love my husband, the city in which I live, and my job. That's how lucky I am!

How did you become a retoucher?

The path was long enough. At the age of 18 I moved from small town to Moscow with her future husband. We bought a small Panasonic point and shoot camera. And, of course, they started filming everything around, all the leaves, flowers and mushrooms, landscapes, and it came to me. When they posted a photo of me on the Internet, one of the popular Moscow photographers noticed me and invited me to shoot. So I became a free model and entered the world of photography.

For about five years I worked as a model, and learned to retouch my photographs and other models, because due to the volume of work, some photographers deliver finished photos very slowly, and patience is not my strongest quality.

After some time, I decided to shoot myself, and, of course, retouched my work. And after a few years I came to the conclusion that retouching is for me! That this is what captivates and inspires me, in which I can realize myself. And I began to study and retouch a lot, and I still continue to study and retouch.

A couple of years ago you moved from Russia to Spain. How do you evaluate this decision now?

Very positive! And I even regret that we didn’t decide earlier.

Besides the climate and language, what distinguishes your life in Spain from life in Russia?

This will probably sound funny, but that's it! There is a completely different life here, a different attitude. Of course, this has its own problems, but where are they not?!

What really surprised you in Spain (in people, shops, institutions)?

Most of all I was pleasantly surprised by the people; they are very friendly to everyone around them. In Spain you feel incredible support from everywhere. People accept you for who you are and try to understand and help.

When we first arrived, we knew almost no Spanish at all, and we needed to find a good school, some language courses, but finances were very tight, so there was no talk of a commercial school. And I accidentally saw an announcement on Facebook that there would soon be enrollment in a conditionally free school (this is when you only pay for textbooks and materials).

On the day of the interview, to determine my language level, a sweet elderly lady talked to me and my husband, and I was so nervous that I mumbled something in response without understanding what was happening.

In general, she smiled and gave us a piece of paper with the letter O written on it, or it was a zero, and sent it to the secretaries. Very nice young ladies - secretaries, smile, but the one who talks with us seems to look so sympathetically and says something. From the general stream of words, my frightened nervous organism snatches the word lo siento (I’m sorry), and that’s it - I immediately thought that they were explaining to us that we were stupid, that we didn’t know anything, that they wouldn’t take us to courses, etc., and I burst into tears so bitterly .

And so I sit and cry, and I understand that I am already an adult aunt, and somehow it turned out stupid, and I should calm down, but I can’t, I just sob even louder and more bitterly. And the young ladies so carefully calm me down, ask what happened, my husband also tries to calm me down. And I just apologize, say that I don’t know what’s going on, and continue to cry, and I’m terribly ashamed, but this makes me want to cry even more.

So one of the girls took a small box of chocolates out of the drawer, handed it to me and said: “Hold it and please don’t cry.” Then my crying turned into nervous laughter, of course, and by some miracle I calmed down, and it turned out that we had been accepted into a Spanish course, just a very basic one. The funny thing is that when we returned home and I calmed down, I remembered and understood every word and every question that I was asked at the interview. So self-control is strength.

It’s impossible not to reciprocate these people, because it’s very captivating when complete strangers support you like that!

What impact does living in Spain have on you?

Difficult question... Strong influence! I hope someday to become as open, tolerant and, most importantly, to learn not to stress. And it seems to me that when you live in the midst of such beauty, when parrots fly around, and turtles live in ponds and rivers, all year round something is blooming, and the sea, palm trees and other beauty, this should certainly have a positive effect on your attitude and condition in general!

You collaborate with Russian and foreign photographers. Are there differences between customers from different countries?

Undoubtedly. Foreign customers understand the value of a retoucher’s work much better, are willing to pay for it, and are calm and adequate about prepayment work.

Your customers express clear technical requirements for retouching or do they trust your taste? How do you feel more comfortable working?

I have both the first and second among my customers. It’s difficult to say which is more comfortable, it depends on the specific customer. With some you can work normally only with a clear task, and with some it’s the other way around.

It’s most comfortable for the customer to express his wishes right away, if any, and generally trust my taste.

How would you characterize the concept of “quality retouching”?

I think that quality retouching means something different for each person. I do what the customer wants. For me personally, these are pure colors, natural skin, ideally so that the retouching is not obvious, so that the photo is fresh and natural.

What conditions are important for interesting/high-quality photography? Does this require inspiration?

An interesting photograph is not always of high quality, and a high-quality photograph is not always interesting. I like to work with inspiration, it’s easier and more comfortable for me, most often this is what happens, but I can work even in a bad mood.

Is it important to love retouching or can high-quality retouching only be done using good technique?

Loving retouching does not mean retouching well. I have always loved retouching, it has always been interesting to me, but I can’t look at my first retouching. You can be a good retoucher only on the basis of good technique, but then it will be best to work with a very precise specification. For me, the love for retouching, inspiration, and technical base are important.

What do you like about your profession and what, on the contrary, frustrates you?

I like almost everything: the process itself, different models, working with color, that is, the creative component, meeting and communicating with new people, new versions of programs, etc. I don’t like inappropriate people, just like everywhere else, in my work I also encounter them from time to time..

In your opinion, is the division of professions into “photographer” and “retoucher” justified or not?

I believe that everyone should mind their own business!

Which contemporary photographers suit your aesthetic taste?

This is a very difficult question. Because I'm a person of mood. Sometimes I like things that are unexpected even for me). We recently visited the Joan Miró Museum, and I am very far from abstract art, and I unexpectedly really liked two of his works. Among contemporary photographers I am interested in Alasdair McLellan, Annie Leibovitz, Patrick Demarchelier, Willy Vanderperre, Peter Lindbergh, and from Russian ones Dmitry Chapala, Andrey Kezzin, Anka Zhuravleva!

Let's dream. How do you see your future?

The future... I used to make so many dreams and plans, but it turns out that almost nothing happens according to my plan)). So I prefer to think about the present! Live, love, be able to see and feel beauty, goodness and joy around you. And also to have more rest) That’s what I really dream about.

Surprise our readers interesting fact about you or history.

I don’t even know how I can surprise you! May be personal experience– changing your life, work, place of residence is not at all as scary as it seems before all these events begin. The main thing is to take the first step, and then everything happens on its own). Miracles happen to those who meet them halfway! Don't be afraid to take action!

– Lina, how long have you been doing retouching?

– In general, this is the fourth year. But for me personally, I evaluate the last 2.5 years most seriously.

– Is this your main type of employment, or just additional income?

- This is the main job. In recent years, quite a lot has gathered regular customers, that’s why the flow of work is constant and the workload, as a rule, is maximum.

– How did it happen that retouching became one of the ways you earn money?

– It all started with a simple interest in post-processing. At first I simply mastered the program at random, then I started studying all kinds of video tutorials, manuals, and materials. And when I realized that there was a great desire and due diligence, I started making money from it. And in comparison with the current situation, it is worth noting that at the time I started working in the field of processing, the market for retouchers was very small.

– Who are your main clients?
– Definitely photographers, of the total number they are approximately 75%, and makeup artists – about 15%.

– Where do orders come from?

Orders come from everywhere: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. I also have experience working with the West.

– What are the most common retouching tasks you face?

– Smooth skin, clean background, be sure to work with plastic, especially if it’s a full-length photo, add ‘glossy’ to the photos. In a word, make it ‘beautiful’.

– What do clients or agencies usually ask you to do?

– Surprisingly, recently only 15-20% of customers indicate more or less detailed technical specifications ( technical task). As a rule, attention is focused on such details as eliminating certain objects from the background, clothing, and hair. Everything else is 'standard'. The rest simply submit photos for retouching and rely only on my vision (perhaps trusting the work from the portfolio).

– What are the funniest requests for retouching quality?

“I remember once they asked me to open my eyes in a photo where a person had closed them. If there was a similar photo with open eyes, no problem, I would make a collage. But there was no analogue and the person was convinced that there was a button in Photoshop that would open your eyes. Some people periodically ask questions like ‘do you do Photoshop?’, ‘do you work in Photoshop?’, ‘what is the name of the Photoshop program in which you take photos?’, ‘what kind of filter did you use to get this skin?’.

– Have you worked as a photographer yourself? How important is it to understand during shooting how the image will be processed later?

- Did not work. But, since my husband is doing this, I had to hold the camera in my hands. In my opinion, it is not necessary to understand how the image will be processed later. The main thing is to give your best during shooting and pay attention when working with light, the horizon, details that fit into the frame, even running makeup and a model’s hairstyle that has moved out of place, so that as little effort as possible is applied during post-processing. It’s clear that Photoshop can do anything, but people who take and process their photos probably wouldn’t want to sit on one frame for hours.

– A very interesting question for my readers: how much difference is there in the number of pixels for convenient photo processing? Is there a significant difference in the processing of 10, 18, 24, 36 MP images? More pixels - more work?

– That’s exactly how I would put it: more pixels – more work. This is especially noticeable in large portraits.

– Do you look at the data on how this or that image was taken? If so, which cameras or brands do you most often receive photos for processing from?

– 85 percent are Canon owners. Even now I looked at my last 5 orders. All photos were taken on Canons of different models.

– Is there a significant difference in color processing with Nikon cameras, Canon, Sony, Pentax? What about skintone brands? Which cameras do you like the picture from the most?

– In my memory, I never had to work with Sony and Pentax. The main flow of orders is from Canon; photos taken on Nikon are less common. In both cases there are both bad and nice photos, and in general with skintone similar situation. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t really matter which brand you hold in your hands. I think it's a good make-up correct work with light, color temperature and shooting in raw will help you get the right color.

– Is it difficult to create the right skin tone using Photoshop? Should a photographer worry about color during shooting if the photo will be processed in the future? Is it always possible to make a good skintone?

– Not always, especially if it’s not RAW. The photographer should worry, as I noted above - it is better to do the maximum before the post-processing process. I have a specially created action for creating a standard skin tone, so I wouldn’t say that there are any global difficulties.

– Is it easier for you to start processing from a raw RAW file or from some JPEG?

– Of course, it’s easier to work with the RAW format! Raw material – more possibilities.

– Don’t you think that sometimes your treatment kills the skin?

- I know it! Because I don’t practice Hi-End processing. And when working with frequency decomposition, one way or another, the texture of the skin is repeatedly copied and replaced and the volume is partially killed, which then has to be strengthened or added separately.

– What can you say about the fact that the entire Internet is filled with plastic skin with unnatural smoothing. Is this a tribute to fashion or a drawback for photographers/retouchers?

- In my opinion, both! Woe to the retouchers - of course separate topic, but they are on their way to gaining experience. Taste and views on processing change very often, so their shortcomings are not as terrible as fashion trends. In the West, for example, natural processing is the most expensive.

– What is more difficult to retouch? What takes the most time?

– It is difficult to retouch large portraits with porous skin. It’s difficult to work with hair and draw eyelashes, especially if you don’t have a tablet at hand. As a rule, a lot of time is wasted when working with color, especially if you don’t know exactly what you want to achieve from a picture and you start experimenting.

– Tell me, what is artistic processing? How is it different from retouching?

– Artistic retouching is also retouching. The only difference is that in art, in addition to standard work, all kinds of light and color effects, texture overlays are used, you can experiment with toning, add some additional details, partially or completely replace the background or individual parts of the photo, in general - from the simplest collages to drawings!

– How long does it take on average to process one photograph?

– It all depends on the tasks assigned. From 30 minutes to several hours.

– What tools do you most often use for processing (Photoshop, Lightroom, plugins). Are there any secret techniques?

– Photoshop. Lightroom is extremely rare. I try not to use plugins, especially when working with color. Sometimes I use a plugin to add backlight (although this can easily be done manually) or bokeh. I value manual processing more. There are no secret techniques - except that I write most of the frequently used functions into actions, which greatly saves processing time.

– Do you provide retouching training? How long does it take to become a good retoucher?

– I provide training, so far only in portrait retouching. My lesson is designed for 2 hours, during which time I have time to tell and show the techniques of frequency decomposition, dodge and burn, how to work with volume and other details. To obtain the basics and understand the theory, this is quite enough, and everything else is a matter of subsequent practice by the student. To become a good retoucher, you need a lot of diligence, patience and attention, and when your hand is full, the processing time will be much less.

– Readers are interested in how not to overdo it with retouching?

- Everything is simple here. Rest during the process, periodically step away from the computer. And if possible, then look at the photo with a “fresh” look another day. Be sure to look at the work “before and after”. If there is too much retouching, it will be obvious in comparison.

– There are situations when the hand simply does not fit in the photo. Retouching, which takes an average of 20 minutes, takes an hour or more. And when the workload is heavy and it’s simply impossible to accurately calculate delivery deadlines, it’s a nightmare. Almost all customers expect to receive finished material in short term. Some people even think that I work at any time of the day and I never have days off.

Sometimes there are clients who voice technical specifications only after delivery of the finished material. In such cases, I always ask myself the question: why weren’t all these details outlined before the work began?
There are quite a lot of people who don’t understand the difference between bad and good quality photo and its influence on the processing result. And it’s very difficult to explain to them that the pictures in my portfolio are from good cameras, made by professionals and that you cannot get the same result in a photo from an iPhone.

The most difficult thing is when you see the processing in your own specific way, in which you are used to working, and the customer drew something different in his head, of course, did not give out the technical specifications and was surprised that he received a different result. There are no complications, and, probably, each customer has his own retoucher. The main thing is to love what you do.