LET'S TALK RETOUCHING!

Recently we met with Gerry Kingsley to have a conversation on retouching, education, branding, and some other topics. If you have missed his introduction and the first part of our conversation, please, check out Let’s Talk Retouching Part #1.

We are going to continue our discussion with Gerry today. Our main topics are: business models, branding, different fields of retouching, client expectations,…



There are different fields of retouching: Editorial, Corporate, Advertising, CGI + 2D, …

Many of them require different skill sets and with different clients come different expectations. The challenge is to stick out and to also manage your workflows, your skills suitable for your client’s needs. This is important to be valued by your clients and to work efficiently and professionally, but also to make enough money to stay in business.

A hard lesson to learn is not to take any job. Of course, we all want to make money! But what often happens is, when you are trying to cover a lot of different styles and fields within the industry, you often end up “mediocre” or better, not specialized. It is impossible to specialize in everything.

Specializing and refining the craft you enjoying will pay off in the long run and clients will eventually come to you for your specialization. The expert will always be more valued than a generalist.

However, be patient. Building a business takes time, don’t expect to reach the top in no time. It will take dedication, refinement of your skills and constant education to eventually become a profitable business.

As we mentioned before, it pays off to become an expert in the field you love working in. But how will you accomplish this goal?

One of the best tips to grow your business is to invest time into making connections with possible clients. You have to see this as an investment, even though it is hard. It might come in the form of working for free or for exposure, however, you have to see it as building reports with people who might eventually hire you for a job. If you get your foot in the door and people like your work and how you communicate, they will come back to working with you again.

That does not necessarily mean you have to work for free, always. I am not trying to say yet. You should never undervalue or undercut yourself. But working for someone can also be as valuable as spending money on advertising. Instead of money, you invest your time and skills.

With different fields of photography and retouching the client expectations are different and so should your approach to working on such images.

More

Hello, fellow retouchers!

We are introducing a new format here on Edgeworld Retouch. LET’S TALK ABOUT RETOUCHING! is meant to be a podcast / video series in which we talk about all things retouching and post-production. Some will be interviews with other industry professionals, others will be me talking about questions I get asked often.

And by the way, I am Daniel your host on this show. Let me tell you a bit about myself, how I came to retouching and how this podcast came to be.

Let me start by saying: I am a professional retoucher. My main focus has become beauty images, portraits and advertising with cosmetics, hair, and all sorts of people related ads. This became as I am super drawn to faces and I simply love doing skin retouching.

But let me start way back, what was going on in my life and how I ended up with retouching.

I still remember, when I was a child I found everything technical interesting and tried to secretly take it apart without my parent’s knowledge of it. Later I built my first computer from other people’s broken computers. This was before Windows 95 still.

Fast forward a few years, while I was still in high school I started playing guitar in bands. I had the wish to learn to play the guitar since I was a little kid but my parents did not really support me so later in life I have sat down to learn it on my own, without taking classes. The music thing satisfied my desire for using gear and stuff but also was a creative outlet and a way to express myself.

By that time I also discovered Photoshop for the first time. I think it was CS2. One reason was, I was always eager to learn about all sorts of programs and what to do with them. The main driver, however, was the band. We needed show fliers, in the beginning, then a logo, later it was shirts designs and all that neat stuff. We had no money or anyone supporting it with that, so one of us was to take care of that or things were not happening. And that person was somehow always me.

I remember spending hours and hours, night after night trying to figure out how that worked and to eventually come up with something we could use. Today it makes me still laugh but at the time it was good enough for what it was. To give you a reference, I was just learning how to use layers and what pixel graphics are vs vector graphics. That stage or skill level I should keep for quite some time without making progress. My focus really was on that music thing I had going on and so I did what got the job done.

Later, when I had finished school it seemed logical to go more into the field of IT with all the experience I already had without formal education on it.

What I had studied was part IT and part electronics. It involved electronics hardware, computers, network and phone installations, audio electronics, data modulation and transmission, optical systems, printing, …

After the educational phase, I got stuck in the printing sector and was working hardware service, implementation and customer service in the B2B world. You can imagine, having to repair large format printers, copy machines, scanners of the biggest brands like Canon, Konica Minolta, Xerox, Kyocera,.. brings a lot of knowledge about the printing process. As many clients were graphic design firms or agencies I had insights on what their expectations are in terms of printing quality, the processes they are using, color management workflows, and calibration and profile creation.

Like with a lot of things in life, knowledge can accumulate and be used later in life for different purposes. But let’s get to that in a bit.

At some point, my creative outlet was gone. After band breakups and me finall

In our final part of the interview with Gerry Kingsley, we are kicking with a discussion on education on retouching, following up with some valuable information about reinvesting into yourself and your business, how to set realistic goals and to keep motivated while not trying to take shortcuts on your way to success.

If you have missed his introduction and the first part of our conversation, please, check out Let’s Talk Retouching Part #1 and Part #2.

Gerry and I talk about how retouching has become a trade without education systems catching up on this. There seems to be no official school, college or university offering to graduate for working in the retouching industry. Most of the time it is included in graphic design or photography courses. Usually,  this is so far from what you will have to do or know in the real world that I would not count it as retouching education. Most likely you will learn how to use Photoshop tools in a rudimentary way.

You Cannot Go Study Retouching

When analyzing student’s workflows it often becomes obvious for them to not be set up properly to work efficiently in a professional environment. Often these folks have learned by following YouTube tutorials and by following photography blogs. However, the expectations in the commercial world often need you to work much differently. How you have structured your workflow can make a difference between earning money on a job or having to spend extra hours paid out of your pocket just so you can meet the deadlines.

Gerry states, “people want everything now. They do not want to invest the time to learn a trade”. Many seem to approach photography and retouching from the view of a hobbyist which is ok if you are doing it as a hobby. Many grow out of a hobby and want to enter the business world but are still applying the same rules as they have done before.

We agree on there is much more to running ANY business than to get a few products and tutorials to help you get started. In order for you to become good in your craft or trade, you have to understand the basics. You have to know all the concepts and make experiences for you to refine your skills and to also grow your marketing and business skills at the same time.

Building a business takes up to 3 years

Because there is no formal education, you have to figure out ways to get and to stay educated over time. It takes time away from running your business and you should definitely make plans about how much time and business this might cost you aside from the payments you might make for educational materials, classes, workshops,…

Even as professionals we still keep learning but we aspire to become the best. Gerry Kingsley mentioned even he as a university professor keeps learning almost every day. His students might come up with questions he might have never asked himself before. The younger generation often can bring a lot of fresh views to the table, and their voices should be heard.

The goal here is to acknowledge that none of us is perfect and we never will be, yet we keep educating and

Recently we met with Gerry Kingsley to have a conversation on retouching, education, branding, and some other topics. If you have missed his introduction and the first part of our conversation, please, check out Let’s Talk Retouching Part #1.

We are going to continue our discussion with Gerry today. Our main topics are: business models, branding, different fields of retouching, client expectations,…



There are different fields of retouching: Editorial, Corporate, Advertising, CGI + 2D,  …

Many of them require different skill sets and with different clients come different expectations. The challenge is to stick out and to also manage your workflows, your skills suitable to your client’s needs. This is important to be valued by your clients and to work efficiently and professionally, but also to make enough money to stay in business.

A hard lesson to learn is not to take any job. Of course, we all want to make money! But what often happens is, when you are trying to cover a lot of different styles and fields within the industry, you often end up “mediocre” or better, not specialized. It is impossible to specialize in everything.

Specializing and refining the craft you enjoying will pay off in the long run and clients will eventually come to you for your specialization. The expert will always be more valued than a generalist.

However, be patient. Building a business takes time, don’t expect to reach the top in no time. It will take dedication, refinement of your skills and constant education to eventually become a profitable business.

As we mentioned before, it pays off to become an expert in the field you love working in. But how will you accomplish this goal?

One of the best tips to grow your business is to invest time into making connections with possible clients. You have to see this as an investment, even though it is hard. It might come in the form of working for free or for exposure, however, you have to see it as building reports with people who might eventually hire you for a job. If you get your foot into the door and people like your work and how you communicate, they will come back to working with you again.

That does not necessarily mean you have to work for free, always. I am not trying to say yet. You should never undervalue or undercut yourself. But working for someone can also be as valuable as spending money on advertising. Instead of money, you invest your time and skills.

With different fields of photography and retouching the client expectations are different and so should your approach to working on such images.

Mor

Recently we met with Gerry Kingsley to have a conversation on retouching, education, branding, and some other topics. If you have missed his introduction and the first part of our conversation, please, check out Let’s Talk Retouching Part #1.

We are going to continue our discussion with Gerry today. Our main topics are: business models, branding, different fields of retouching, client expectations,…



There are different fields of retouching: Editorial, Corporate, Advertising, CGI + 2D, …

Many of them require different skill sets and with different clients come different expectations. The challenge is to stick out and to also manage your workflows, your skills suitable for your client’s needs. This is important to be valued by your clients and to work efficiently and professionally, but also to make enough money to stay in business.

A hard lesson to learn is not to take any job. Of course, we all want to make money! But what often happens is, when you are trying to cover a lot of different styles and fields within the industry, you often end up “mediocre” or better, not specialized. It is impossible to specialize in everything.

Specializing and refining the craft you enjoying will pay off in the long run and clients will eventually come to you for your specialization. The expert will always be more valued than a generalist.

However, be patient. Building a business takes time, don’t expect to reach the top in no time. It will take dedication, refinement of your skills and constant education to eventually become a profitable business.

As we mentioned before, it pays off to become an expert in the field you love working in. But how will you accomplish this goal?

One of the best tips to grow your business is to invest time into making connections with possible clients. You have to see this as an investment, even though it is hard. It might come in the form of working for free or for exposure, however, you have to see it as building reports with people who might eventually hire you for a job. If you get your foot in the door and people like your work and how you communicate, they will come back to working with you again.

That does not necessarily mean you have to work for free, always. I am not trying to say yet. You should never undervalue or undercut yourself. But working for someone can also be as valuable as spending money on advertising. Instead of money, you invest your time and skills.

With different fields of photography and retouching the client expectations are different and so should your approach to working on such images.

More

Gerry Kingsley is a Canadian commercial and contemporary portrait photographer. His clients range from artists, authors, politicians, actors, models, and other public figures.

His style can best be described as in editorial portraiture with a cinematic look. Gerry prefers to tell a story with one and every image he takes

Gerry co-runs Studio Nine Eight in Sudbury, does write for Retouching Academy and teaches photography at Thorneloe University.

His portfolio perfectly demonstrates his editorial style and cinematic look: please, have a look at Gerry’s work!

The first topic I have been discussing with Gerry was if a retoucher needs his or her own style in order to get work or to be taken seriously in the industry.

Gerry is convinced it is a two-part thing. For once it surely is advantageous to have a style. However, some photographers might not have their own style and therefore demand a retoucher’s creative input to create a visual style for the job.  When it comes to hiring a retoucher he thinks it definitely helps to stand out from competitors but he would also want to know if a retoucher can take his work to another level, add creative input, and still work cohesively within the style he has himself.

In my personal opinion, we need to be flexible with our style to satisfy our client’s needs. This often means to not apply our own style and taste but to work with them and to also adjust to their style and taste.

We can both agree your skills and craft has to be top level to keep up with the industry. Just being a one trick pony might get you a food into the door but won’t help you for very long.

You Have To Be Good For Yourself!

We both could agree on just being a retoucher is not good enough. You need to understand photography, lighting and the creative process of advertising.

Your portfolio represents your passion. It is your asset and demonstrates the type of work you want to get booked for and therefore should be cohesive and demonstrate your skills and creativity.

Working commercially means to work as a team. However, as a retoucher, you are not always super involved. It will help you a lot to understand the processes going on in the commercial world, struggles on set, and your client’s needs in terms of key factors to sell their ideas and products.

You also have to be willing to invest in making a connection with the other team members even if they are not the paying client. It will benefit the overall outcome. The information you can gain from other team members can be extremely important throughout the process.

Gerry Kingsley is a Canadian commercial and contemporary portrait photographer. His clients range from artists, authors, politicians, actors, models, and other public figures.

His style can best be described as in editorial portraiture with a cinematic look. Gerry prefers to tell a story with one and every image he takes

Gerry co-runs Studio Nine Eight in Sudbury, does write for Retouching Academy and teaches photography at Thorneloe University.

His portfolio perfectly demonstrates his editorial style and cinematic look: please, have a look at Gerry’s work!

The first topic I have been discussing with Gerry was if a retoucher needs his or her own style in order to get work or to be taken seriously in the industry.

Gerry is convinced it is a two-part thing. For once it surely is advantageous to have a style. However, some photographers might not have their own style and therefore demand a retoucher’s creative input to create a visual style for the job. When it comes to hiring a retoucher he thinks it definitely helps to stand out from competitors but he would also want to know if a retoucher can take his work to another level, add creative input, and still work cohesively within the style he has himself.

In my personal opinion, we need to be flexible with our style to satisfy our client’s needs. This often means to not apply our own style and taste but to work with them and to also adjust to their style and taste.

We can both agree your skills and craft has to be top level to keep up with the industry. Just being a one trick pony might get you a food into the door but won’t help you for very long.

You Have To Be Good For Yourself!

We both could agree on just being a retoucher is not good enough. You need to understand photography, lighting and the creative process of advertising.

Your portfolio represents your passion. It is your asset and demonstrates the type of work you want to get booked for and therefore should be cohesive and demonstrate your skills and creativity.

Working commercially means to work as a team. However, as a retoucher, you are not always super involved. It will help you a lot to understand the processes going on in the commercial world, struggles on set, and your client’s needs in terms of key factors to sell their ideas and products.

You also have to be willing to invest in making a connection with the other team members even if they are not the paying client. It will benefit the overall outcome. The information you can gain from other team members can be extremely important throughout the process.