What details should I watch for when I retouch people?

Retouching people

Please note that the items below are suggestions to consider when making digital edits. Not all photos of people will require all or any of these edits, while others may require you to use all the weapons in your arsenal. However, when making edits, ensure that the edits made are consistent throughout the submission. If you remove a birthmark from one photo, you should remove the birthmark from all the photos.

Overall skin (including forehead, nose, cheeks, chin, and jaw)
 • Smooth the acne scars, pockmarks, age spots, remove moles or major wrinkles
 • Even out the color, conceal and blend blemishes or uneven makeup
 • Remove any unwanted shininess or hotspots
 • Remove stretch marks

Hair
 • Eliminate any fly-aways
 • Fill in gaps
 • Fix color on roots

Finger and Toe Nails
 • Clean-up dry skin and hang nails
 • Whiten finger nails and toe nails if they are excessively yellowed

Eyebrows
 • Check overall shape. Reshape if necessary
 • Corral any loose or wild hairs
 • Divide unibrow

Eyes
 • Brighten whites of eyes
 • Check for and remove mascara clumps
 • Check for crow's feet, and blend if needed
 • Soften dark under-eye circles
 • Remove unwanted or distracting catch lights
 • Remove photographer and equipment, if necessary

Nose
 • Even out or blend away unwanted shadows or reddness on sides of nose
 • Check nostrils for stray hairs

Lips
 • Check shape of lips. Define and reshape if necessary
 • Clean up bleeding lipstick
 • Clean up and even out highlights on lips

Teeth
 • Whiten teeth
 • Repair cracked or damaged teeth
 • Replace missing teeth, if required

Cheeks, chin, and jaw
 • Lessen deep smile lines or wrinkles
 • Smooth evenness of blush on apple of cheek

Body parts (legs, arms, and so on)
 • Smooth tone and texture
 • Improve contours of highlights and shadows
 • Remove any unwanted hairs from legs, ankles, and bikini zones

Always remember, a little good retouching is much better than a lot of poor retouching.