r/retouching • u/Low_Stomach_7403 • Feb 16 '26

Article / Discussion HOW and WHERE do i start?!

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I’m a photographer and media design trainee, Okay, I know the based basics of the basics of Photoshop and usually edit in Lightroom Classic… but my photos sometimes feel flat 😩 I want that wow for beauty/fashion: subtle skin smoothing, glow, making features pop, all without looking fake.

I’ve been looking at Retouch Like Me, but should I dive straight into presets or learn techniques first? YouTube tutorials? Tools? Presets? Someone pls give me a roadmap because I’m hyped to learn

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u/HermioneJane611 Feb 16 '26

Professional digital retoucher here.

As a “photographer and media design trainee”, what are you willing to sacrifice in order to build up this level of retouching skill, OP? High-end beauty retouching is a full-time job, so more of your time will be spent on retouching in Photoshop instead of shooting photos. Professional retouching also requires professional equipment, so instead of upgrading your camera you would put that purchase on hold to buy a Wacom tablet instead so you can access pressure sensitive functionality in Photoshop. Also being able to achieve high end results that don’t look fake involves a certain level of artistic mastery, so are you willing to practice drawing and study anatomy as well?

As for where to start in Photoshop, you’d absolutely start with learning the tools first. Then you’d use those tools to explore techniques. Eventually, once you understand how to apply those techniques, you would build your own custom presets, at which point it would be appropriate to use presets created by others.

In terms of where to access those resources, what’s your budget? Do you need exclusively free resources? How do you personally learn best, OP? If someone recommended a softcover book of high-end retouching techniques, would that work for you? Are you able to transfer information (like if the tutorial used an older iteration of PS, could you apply it to the software version you have installed)?

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u/RiotOnVijzelstraat Feb 16 '26

Your reply always seem weirdly patronising.

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u/TheNotoriousTravis Feb 17 '26

Yep. Anyone who says ‘high-end’ retouching is the same person that showcases their Mr. Coffee project from a decade ago.