Social Photos — Retouching for the Best Response
I’m a professional headshot photographer in Dallas and here’s our example photo. This is a real photo, not a selfie, but we designed it to look like a selfie. For the non-retouching aspect, has a couple things going for it: first, it is a naturally attractive person. Second we intentially used some great lighting — this is smooth lighting form a large studio softbox or window light with some diffusion on it. This gives your profile photos a great start — no hard shadows and lighting that already minimizes skin imperfections.
From that starting point, I want the reader to see how subtle it can be from no retouching to too much photo processing. How it is easy to overdo the image processing. It takes a professional eye and real skill to improve your photo, but not overdo it in this AI age.
So, ironically as we aim for a key aspect of an effective photo — authenticity. We are actually making it fake, fake using a pose AS IF holding a mobile phone for a selfie, and using a professional camera, and a lens that has zoomed in to 35mm instead of the 24mm lens length of a mobile phone. This slightly longer lens has less distoration than a mobile phone lens, and slightly uses the small zoomed in effective over a phone selfis to make you unconsciously feel closer to the person (visually closer to encourage you to want to be emotionally closer). This slightly aspect means it will still very much pass on an onlien pose as a “selfie”.
The left photo without retouching is self-explanatory; our startng point.
The middle photo has many retouches but all in slight ways — slightly darker line where the hair parts, slightly smoother skin, slightly less stray hairs… and so forth. This agin is the key — not overdone, just slightly done. That it still work to do this in a professional and convincing way. This is what will get the MOST and the STRONGEST responses these days in an online photo (Facebook, Pinterest, TicTock, Instagram, and the other main social media places).
What we want to avoid, myself as a Dallas headshot photographer, is the right photo. The right photo is overdone. The right photo is too much. The right photo makes the person look less authentiy, too perfect. The right photo will generate some distrust in this age of AI. It looks too smooth, too perfect, plastic. And thus many people will actually trust you less — will lable it as an AI photo.
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And understandably so. AI image generation has all been trained on professional portraits and celebrity headshots where everything is perfected to the max. Thus an overly perfect photo, is now suspect of not being real. And coming across as inauthentic is the LAST thing we want in your online photos and social portrait.
Since AI photos have been trying to achiteve this “heavy retouching” look from a literal professional portrait of a few years ago, it is now to the point where anyting “too perfect” looking is assumed to be or suspected to be an AI image.
The highly retouched look used to be the goal of professional portrait photographer and their clients, before the AI aped this look to an even heavier retouched look, calling “cover girl” smoothed skin into question. As a result, sadly, we are now in a medium-to-low trust relationship with online photos, but beause of rampant deceptions and abuses, here we are.
Conclusion: reality has flaws
You want minimal retouching. You are hiring a photographer to maximize your authenticity — just you looking good on a good day. But not some “covergirl” overly plastic image. In a world where (a) most photos have retouching, and (b) AI is actively trying to copy the “professional photo” look from portrait photographer, too much retouching looks “filtered” and thus less authentic — even to the point where cynics will accuse your profile photo or online dating photos to be AI and not the real you.
You thus want to leave some? many? most? imperfections in your headshot these days. Your profile photos have to walk that tightrope balance between looking good and too much retouching.
So I hope this none / light / heavy retouching example is effective as a guide to what a TRULY professional portrait/headshot will deliver to you these days for online profile photos.
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In Dallas, TX, enjoy top performing results that help people like yourself and want to contact you at www.HeadShotPros.com or call the studio at 877–858–0071 for pricing/available on your custom photoshoot. We bring the pose, the lighting, and the careful amount of retouching in for consciously guide the viewer into a strong and positive response.
