The Most Common Amateur Portrait Retouching Mistakes

Here’s a 6-minute video in which photographer and retoucher Nino Batista looks at some of the most common retouching mistakes that amateur photographers tend to make. Eliminate these from your post-processing workflow to take your photos to the next level.

Here’s a quick rundown of what Batista highlights in the video:

Mistake #1: Over Saturating Color: All the color boosting, all the time, everywhere.

Mistake #2: Over Sharpening: Blurry shots cannot become sharp, so don’t try.

Mistake #3: Haloing: Filters gone crazy, sloppy masking, and other sadness.

Mistake #4: Red fingers, hands, feet, and ears: These pesky humans!

Mistake #5: Glowing Eyes: Don’t make your subject into a campy extraterrestrial.

Mistake #6: Fake Camera Blur (Bokeh): Difficult to do correctly, usually not worth it.

Mistake #7: Black or White Vignettes: A tiny bit of one, and none of the other.

Mistake #8: Not Zooming in to check details: No really, this is a common mistake.

Mistake #9: Blurred Skin: The infamous amateur retouching mistake.

Watch the video above for a full explanation of what these mistakes are and how to avoid them.

(via Nino Batista via Fstoppers)