Professional Headshot Retouching Services
Professional headshot retouching and portrait editing, natural by default, from $2.00 an image. We clean skin while keeping its texture, fix glare and flyaways, and leave the face alone — within 24 hours. Pixel Retouching has retouched headshots since 2014, from ISO-certified studios in Singapore and Dhaka.
After editBefore
Hover to see before
3 headshots retouched free. No credit card, no sign-up.
Trusted by Studios, Agencies & Corporate Teams
Portrait studios, recruiters and corporate communications teams send us session takes and get consistent, hire-ready headshots back the next working day.
What Is Headshot Retouching?
Corrective portrait work with a deliberately short reach: blemishes, glare, stray hair and lighting fixed, while bone structure, expression and skin texture are left as photographed. Pixel Retouching provides headshot retouching finished by hand in Adobe Photoshop, with a named retoucher responsible for every batch.
It still has to be you
A headshot is used to recognise someone at a meeting or an interview. Reshaping a face makes the photograph useless for the one thing it exists to do.
Texture is not a flaw
Pores and fine lines are what make skin read as skin. Removing them produces the plastic look that immediately signals a heavily edited image.
Temporary versus permanent
A spot from last week comes out. A freckle, a scar or a laugh line stays, unless you tell us otherwise. That line is the whole craft.
Consistent across a team
Twenty people shot over three days should look like one set. The same treatment and lighting balance is applied across the whole roster.
How Our Headshot Retouching Works
Four steps from raw frames to listing-ready files, with no account setup in between.
Send the take
RAW, JPEG, TIFF or PSD by upload link, Dropbox, Google Drive, WeTransfer or straight to your FTP.
Manual retouching
A named retoucher works each frame by hand, to the level you asked for and no further.
Quality control
A second editor checks skin, colour and consistency across the whole set before delivery.
Delivery
Files return within 24 hours in your required sizes. Revisions are unlimited.
Our Headshot Retouching Services
Every operation that goes into a finished headshot, kept deliberately restrained. Drag any slider to see the real file, before and after.
Skin Retouching & Blemish Removal
Spots, redness and uneven tone corrected using frequency separation, so colour is evened without smoothing away the pores underneath. Temporary marks go; permanent features stay.
- Blemishes and redness removed
- Skin texture and pores kept
- Tone evened, not flattened
- Freckles and scars kept by default
Eyes, Teeth & Expression
Eyes brightened and catchlights cleaned, teeth whitened to a believable shade, and tired shadows lifted — all far enough to help and no further.
- Eyes brightened naturally
- Catchlights cleaned up
- Teeth whitened believably
- Under-eye shadows lifted
Hair & Flyaway Cleanup
Stray hairs tidied against the background, gaps filled and frizz calmed, without carving a hard artificial edge around the head.
- Flyaways tidied, not shaved
- Gaps and thin spots filled
- Natural hairline preserved
- Frizz calmed against the backdrop
Glasses Glare & Reflections
Reflections removed from lenses so the eyes are visible, and frame shadows across the face evened out. One of the most common reasons a headshot has to be reshot.
- Lens reflections removed
- Eyes made visible through glass
- Frame shadows evened
- Prescription distortion reduced
Clothing & Wardrobe Cleanup
Creases, lint, stray threads and collar problems corrected, because a sharp face above a crumpled collar still reads as an unprofessional photograph.
- Creases and lint removed
- Collars and lapels straightened
- Stray threads cleared
- Fabric texture retained
Background Cleanup & Replacement
Backdrop seams, shadows and blemishes cleaned, or the background replaced entirely with a colour or gradient that matches your brand or company standard.
- Backdrop seams and marks cleaned
- Replaced with brand colours
- Consistent across a whole team
- Cut-outs with natural hair edges
Types of Headshots We Retouch
Different uses call for different levels of finish. These are the ones we handle daily.
Corporate & executive
Restrained finishing for annual reports and company sites.
LinkedIn & personal brand
Approachable, natural and clearly recognisable.
Actor & model headshots
Casting-standard work with no reshaping whatsoever.
Legal & finance
Conservative retouching for professional directories.
Medical & healthcare
Clean, trustworthy portraits for practice listings.
Academic & faculty
Whole departments matched to one standard.
Real estate agents
High-volume agency rosters with consistent branding.
Team & group rosters
Large sets normalised across multiple session days.
Speaker & press kits
Print-resolution masters alongside the web set.
Graduation portraits
Volume work turned around inside a season.
Studio client work
White-label finishing under your own studio name.
ID & badge photos
Standardised crops and backgrounds at scale.
Who Uses Our Headshot Retouching
From a single portrait to a company roster shot over a week.
Portrait photographers
White-label retouching delivered under your studio name.
Corporate communications
Whole teams finished to one house standard.
Executives & professionals
A single portrait finished properly, no minimum order.
Actors & performers
Casting-safe retouching with nothing reshaped.
Recruitment agencies
Candidate and consultant portraits at volume.
Real estate agencies
Agent rosters matched across offices.
Marketing agencies
Client team pages produced to a deadline.
Schools & universities
Faculty and graduation volume in one pass.
Why Restraint Is the Whole Point
The failure mode of headshot retouching is not doing too little. It is doing too much.
Over-retouching reads as dishonest
A face with no pores and no lines looks edited, and a viewer who notices the editing starts wondering what else is being presented selectively.
You have to be recognisable
The photograph is used so someone can find you in a lobby or trust you before a call. Reshaping the face defeats the only purpose it has.
Consistency is what makes a team page work
A leadership page fails when one portrait is heavily retouched and the next is not. Uniform treatment matters more than the level chosen.
Small fixes carry most of the value
Glare on glasses, a stray hair across the face, a crumpled collar — these are what make a headshot unusable, and all of them are quick to fix.
Our Headshot Retouching Workflow
The same four stages run on a three-image trial and a four-thousand-image catalogue.
-
01
Correction
Exposure, white balance and skin tone brought to a neutral base.
-
02
Retouching
Skin, eyes, hair, glasses and wardrobe worked by hand.
-
03
Quality control
Second editor checks consistency across the whole set.
-
04
Delivery
Exported to your sizes and crops by link or FTP within 24 hours.
Before & After Gallery
Real client files. Drag any slider to compare the original with the retouch.
Headshot Retouching Pricing, per Image
Starting rates for standard complexity. Send a sample and we confirm the exact price before any work begins.
Blemishes, skin tone, light eye and teeth work.
Adds hair cleanup, glasses glare and wardrobe tidying.
Backdrop cleaned or replaced with a brand colour or gradient.
Full frequency-separation work for print and campaign use.
Whole company rosters matched to one standard. Priced per set.
Ten images or more. Send a sample and we quote the whole batch upfront.
Bulk orders of 10+ images qualify for discounted pricing, and 100+ for up to 50% off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will I still look like myself?
Yes, and that is the standard we work to. Temporary things — spots, redness, stray hairs, a crumpled collar — are removed. Permanent features like freckles, scars, moles and laugh lines stay unless you specifically ask otherwise.
Do you reshape faces?
Not by default, and we would advise against it on a headshot. Liquify and facial reshaping are available on request for campaign or beauty work, but for professional headshots they undermine the recognisability the photograph exists for.
Can you remove glare from glasses?
Yes, and it is one of the most common requests. Lens reflections are removed so the eyes are visible, and frame shadows across the face are evened out. It is far cheaper than reshooting the session.
Can you retouch a whole company team?
Yes. Team rosters are our most common bulk order. The same treatment, background and lighting balance is applied to everyone, including people photographed on different days, so the team page looks like one shoot.
Can you replace the background?
Yes. Backgrounds can be cleaned, replaced with a solid brand colour or gradient, or cut out entirely with natural hair edges. For teams, one background is applied consistently across the whole roster.
How much retouching should I ask for?
For corporate, LinkedIn and professional directory use, the basic level is usually right. Actor and casting headshots should stay minimal. Print, campaign and press work is where the high-end level earns its cost.
Do you edit RAW files?
Yes, from any camera, and we prefer it. Working from RAW means skin tone, white balance and highlight recovery all happen with the full file intact rather than on a compressed export.
What is your turnaround time?
Standard turnaround is 24 hours for most orders, and 24–48 hours for high-end or large roster work. Rush and same-day editing is available for urgent deadlines.
Is the service white label for photographers?
Yes. Files come back unbranded, your client never sees us, and we do not use your images in our portfolio without written permission. We will sign your NDA on request.
What sizes and crops do you deliver?
Whatever you need — square for LinkedIn, portrait for print, wide for a website banner, plus any specific pixel dimensions your directory or HR system requires. Tell us once and every delivery follows it.
Is there a minimum order?
No. You can send a single headshot, or start with the free trial of three. There is no minimum quantity and no sign-up required.
What if the retouching is too heavy or too light?
Revisions are unlimited. Retouching level is a judgement call, so tell us to pull it back or push it further and we adjust until it is right.
Related Photo Editing Services
Headshot work sits alongside the portrait and enhancement services photographers most often outsource together.
Start Your Free Headshot Retouching Trial
Send three headshots and see the level of finish before you commit to anything. No credit card, no sign-up, no obligation.