3 Reasons Digital Photo Retouching Is Important

The international lingerie brand, Aerie, adopted this as a theme for their campaign where they showcased unretouched photos of their models.

The campaign went viral and half the world started ranting against digital retouching.

However, have you ever thought why digital photo retouching is indeed a very important factor of photo based campaigns? Here are the reasons breaking the silence.

1. Retouching is telling a story:
When a photographer clicks a picture, it is a picture that captures the moment- created or natural. This capture might not tell a story- A story that gives a sense of happiness or foreboding on the other hand. For a picture to tell a story without words, there need to be some vibes, an environment created by the sense of color and appearance. A dark background to give a sense of darkness, yellow washed out to give hope and happiness, blue to offer serenity or sadness, and so on. Digital photo retouching adds story to a picture.

2. Cameras capture the details:
Imagine standing in front of a person. Will you see the hair follicles, that slight bulge in the tummy, the eye junk, eye veins, ingrown hair? No, right? You won’t see most of these things because our eyes are not designed that way. However, cameras these days are highly efficient in capturing the minutest of details. Retouching smoothens these issues and makes the pictures appear normal.

3. Campaigns should be artistic:
A campaign is supposed to be artistic and not bland photography. Photography is indeed a primary factor but ultimately, the output needs to be artistic to serve a purpose.

Conclusion:
Digital retouching does not deserve hatred. It is an important factor that needs consideration for successful digital or print campaigns.