Basic portrait retouching vs. creative photo editing: what is included?
Learn which portrait corrections fit Basic, when recoloring or liquify needs an upgrade, and how to approve your editing scope before payment.
Improve the photograph you have
Portrait Polish covers natural exposure, white balance, temporary blemishes, uneven skin tone, unwanted shine, eye redness, teeth and fabric corrections when suitable. Each photograph receives an individual plan; a full-strength setting is not automatically the right setting. Small isolated distraction removal on a simple background and a straightforward crop may be included after assessment.
Correction or transformation?
Correcting a blue color cast is a technical correction. Making a blue dress red changes an object and belongs in a creative brief. Corrective dodge and burn evens small tonal irregularities; artistic light sculpting creates a deliberate new presentation. These boundaries describe the result you buy, not which software performs it.
When a portrait needs studio review
Face or body reshaping, liquify, replacing a sky or background, extending the scene, complex object removal and combining images need an individual quote after studio review, including requests submitted under Cinematic. The listed service price does not automatically include reconstruction. Exact color matching and layered frequency separation require a custom quote. Removing a small speck is different from rebuilding an arm hidden behind an object. A higher-priced service still needs a feasibility check.
Choose the finish before paying
An assessment identifies requests beyond the selected service and explains the alternative. You can review that service and its price or replace your instructions with a Basic-only brief. No automatic upgrade, hidden surcharge or provider substitution changes your accepted scope. Automated painterly finishing is distinct from a portrait painted by a human artist.
Approve an actual result
Fix and Create are separate: conventional correction comes first, then only the accepted creative finish or localized cleanup that requires an image editor. Generation is skipped when the corrected photograph already satisfies the natural-finish brief. A separate technical and visual check compares the actual output with the source and brief. The original, corrected base and finished look remain available for comparison during the file-retention period. Recorded completed operations explain what changed. Automatic checks can miss defects, so inspect the proof before approving your downloadable file. Services remain assessment-only until their production and delivery routes are verified.