How to retouch a portrait photo and keep it natural

What natural retouching means

Good portrait retouching removes what is temporary and keeps what is permanent. Spots, small red marks, uneven patches of tone, slight shine and a bit of under-eye darkness can be softened. Freckles, moles, scars, smile lines, the shape of your face, nose, eyes and lips belong to you and should stay.

The other half is texture. Real skin has pores and fine variation, and that texture is what makes a face read as a photograph. Once it is smoothed away the eye notices immediately, even if it cannot say why. A good retouch is one that nobody can point to.

Start with a portrait that needs less fixing

• Light matters more than retouching. Soft window light from the front or slightly to the side hides texture problems that a ceiling light or flash exaggerates; see how to fix flat or dull lighting.
• Use the main camera at a little distance, not a close selfie with a wide lens, which enlarges the nose and the centre of the face.
• Turn off beauty filters and portrait smoothing when you take the photo, so the retouch starts from real detail.
• Make sure the face is sharp. Retouching cannot repair a blurry photo; fix that first with Photo deblur.
• Choose a photo with one clear, front-facing face. Group shots and side profiles give less predictable results.

Step by step: retouch a portrait with AI

1. Upload the portrait

   Open Portrait retouch and upload a JPG, PNG or WebP of at least 128 px a side. Larger photos are scaled to at most 1600 px before upload.

2. Check the price and run it

   After signing in you see the exact credit price before the run. It usually takes 10 to 40 seconds.

3. Compare before and after

   Drag the slider and look at the eyes, teeth, hair edges and any freckles or moles. The face should look like the same person on a good day.

4. Zoom in on the skin

   At full size, the skin should still show some texture. If it looks waxy, use the original or a lighter edit instead.

5. Save or start again

   Failed generations aren't charged — held credits come back automatically. Your result is kept for 24 hours to download. If the result is not right, try a better-lit source photo rather than retouching the retouched version.

Keep it natural: what to leave alone

• Freckles, moles, beauty marks and scars are part of your face. If they disappear, the photo stops looking like you.
• Smile lines and laugh lines show expression. Removing them makes a smile look frozen.
• Keep some under-eye shadow; removing it entirely makes the face look flat.
• Do not combine several smoothing steps. One gentle retouch looks better than a filter on top of a retouch.
• For a work profile, pair a light retouch with good light or a new background; see how to make a LinkedIn headshot from a selfie.

Limitations and where not to retouch

The tool aims to keep your face and features the same and only clean up skin, but it is generated, so results vary from photo to photo and small details can change. Always compare before you save.

• The result is about 1 megapixel, in the standard shape closest to your photo, so the edges may be slightly trimmed or extended.
• Do not retouch passport, visa or ID photos; authorities require an unedited face. See our passport photo guide.
• Avoid retouching photos used as evidence or in news, and say so if a retouched photo is used in advertising where rules require it.
• Only upload your own photos, or photos of other people with their consent.

Frequently asked questions