Retouching vs. Post-Processing

Retouching is a broad term used to describe the practice of preparing images for printing, traditionally known as prepress. It encompasses color correction, blemish removal, the combining of images and just about anything else that can be done to manipulate photographs to the client’s satisfaction in a way that will meet press requirements.

However, the term “prepress” is quickly becoming obsolete, replaced by the term “premedia”, and likewise the term “retouching” is being replaced by the term “Post-Processing”.

Just like film images, all digital images require processing. Most of the time, this is performed by the camera as the image is saved to flash memory. However, processing can also be performed outside of the camera in a “lightroom”, the digital equivalent to the traditional darkroom. And even if the image has been processed by the camera, additional processing can be applied to further enhance it.

In the past, chromes, negatives and even prints would be manipulated with dyes and bleach and adjusted using filters to arrive at a final photographic print. This print would then be photographed with a process camera in order to create four-color separations for printing. Subsequent retouching could then be performed through dot etching. With the advent of the drum scanner, 32-bit digital scanning replaced the process camera, producing CMYK separations directly from film or prints that could be adjusted through computer software.

Until recently, all of these operations have existed in the “prepress” domain. With the advent of the digital camera, digital image manipulation has begun to break free from this paradigm.

With the post-processing capabilities afforded by the digital medium, one seems almost compelled to manipulate images digitally. As a result, many of the creative and lighting decisions that were traditionally made behind the camera are now deferred to the digital lightroom. This revellation has made post-processing a very real part of Photography in the digital age.

Post-processing can also be seen as the natural progression of printing. Much of the art behind traditional photography was performed in the darkroom during the printing process. Dodging and burning were used to extend the dynamic range of the image, and alternate papers, chemistry and filters used to control contrast and color. Today, these processes are all all handled in the lightroom.