Photography News 112 - Newsletter

First test PRICE: FROM £99

RETOUCH4.ME Retouch4me software A mugshot of PN’s editorial director gets the full treatment from this impressive piece of software, which has a wide selection of AI-driven effects that should go down well with fans of portraiture

specific areas within a portrait. With all three, I subjected the software to a very stern test – my very own editor’s letter mugshot. The software is evidently in its earlier stages of development, so photographers expecting Adobe levels of sophistication will probably be a little disappointed. It’s easy opened, however, but if you want to use the Photoshop plug-ins, you first have to grant Full Disk Access, then quit and re-open Photoshop for each new one you add. It’s no major drama though, and, once installed, the plug-ins are easily accessed via the Filter menu. enough to get the individual applications downloaded and Open your file in Photoshop, then go to Filter>Retouch4me and choose the desired plug-in. Retouch4me then does an initial scan, after which you can fine-tune the result. The process reminded me of scanning a print on a flatbed scanner; take a look at the original result, then tweak. The level of control varies from plug-in to plug-in. On White Teeth, for example, you can vary both whiteness and brightness before applying the effect and then using Save As to avoid overwriting the original file. One of the key benefits of Retouch4me is its AI functionality, and one thing the software certainly does show is that the programming

TESTED BY ROGER PAYNE

ANY PIECE OF software that makes editing life easier has to be taken seriously and if you’re a fan of portraiture, you should sit up and take notice of Retouch4me. This suite of stand-alone applications, that also double as Photoshop plug-ins, offer you AI-driven solutions to take all of the hassle out of image editing, primarily for portraits made in a studio environment. A total of 12 options are available, covering a decent variety of effects, and you can pick the ones that best suit your workflow needs. For the purposes of this test, I tried the White Teeth option (which is pretty self-explanatory), the Heal option to tidy up skin blemishes and the Dodge & Burn option to lighten and darken “THE EFFECTS NEVER LOOK OVER THE TOP, AND IT'S EASY TO SEE WHICH AREAS OF AN IMAGE HAVE BEEN WORKED ON”

THE EDITOR'S VIEW While processing times were occasionally lengthy, the software offers a one-touch solution to many issues faced by those taking portrait shots – and the end result is pretty good

displays impressive levels of intelligence. The effects never look over the top, and it’s very easy to see which areas of an image have been worked on by selecting the Mask option. Again, on White Teeth, the AI managed to accurately pick out my tea-stained gnashers before then delivering a convincing improvement.

I ran the plug-ins using my 2017 Apple Macbook Pro laptop and, admittedly, processing times were occasionally lengthy. I also found that the plug-ins behaved erratically. Sometimes they worked perfectly, but on other occasions the application would crash. I put this down to a lack of computer power

rather than an inherent fault in the software. I tried the application on subjects other than a portrait on a plain background, but it became clear it’s designed with a clear use in mind. If you create a lot of portraits and are after a one touch solution to many familiar issues, this software is certainly worthy of consideration.

Before White Teeth

Before Dodge & Burn

Verdict Use-specific, but seriously effective at curing common problems in studio-based portrait images, including smoothing skin, getting rid of bags around the eyes and tidying up dirty backgrounds. A suite of LUTs are available for video use, too. Well worth investigating. PROS Effective solutions to common portrait shooting problems, easy to use once downloaded, powerful AI engine CONS Basic interface, need plenty of processing power, really only suitable for portraits created in a studio or on a plain background outdoors

After White Teeth

After Dodge & Burn

46 Photography News | Issue 112

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