We all know that the magazine cover photographs are heavily retouched and manipulated. However, if done right, such retouching can really enhance the visual appeal of any given photograph. The photography purists and people who are too concerned with the “natural” unaltered look of the models may have serious objections and issues with this practice, but for the better or worse it is here to stay. I personally view this as yet another form of artistic endeavor. When done with the proper amount of care and attention photo retouching can produce remarkable results that stand out in their own right.

These days there are numerous stand-alone programs and plugins that will take almost all guesswork out of retouching portrait photographs. Some of these programs are really sophisticated and with just a few clicks can really transform an ordinary photograph into a glamour shot. Nonetheless, you don’t have too much of control over the nuances of retouching, and the final product more often than not feels rather artificial.

“Real Retouching” is a remarkable instructional resource that will take you step-by-step through the process of creating really professionally looking glamour photographs. This is really not meant to be an introductory book on the subject of image editing, and you should have a fair amount of Photoshop know-how and experience in order to truly benefit from this book. Carrie Beene reveals many useful tricks and techniques that really help with advanced retouching. The book is very pedagogical and easy to follow. It contains many beautiful photographs, diagrams, and screen shots. It also comes with a DVD, which contains all of the examples used in the book. The topics covered include “The Powder Products,” “The Tube Products,” “Composing the Lifestyle,” “The Makeups,” and several others.

Overall, this is a great resource for anyone interested in taking retouching to the next level, especially in the context of fashion photography.