Portrait retouching can often be a very time consuming process. It requires a lot of skill, patience, and is often very intimidating to beginners. But what if there was a way to simplify the process by automating a lot of the control? Portrait Professional 8 is looking to do just that.

When you launch the software, select the photo you want to re-touch. Start by locating the features of the subject. Once the software has a general idea of where the features are located, you are able to fine-tune the selections to make sure they accurately highlight your subject's features.

Selection Process:

Once you’ve selected the features of the subject, you can work on the enhancement section. There are about seven different categories of sliders to choose from that correspond to different areas of the head. The software picks its default adjustment, but you can reset everything to zero and make your own adjustments. What's really nice are the few presets that make all the slider adjustments for you to create a specific look. If you're working with large batches of images, you can also save your own slider settings and apply them to other images.

Portrait Professional 8 Pre-Loaded Example Photo

The skin and hair brushes allow you to select the areas that the respective tools affect, while the touch-up brush allows you to fine-tune blemishes.

Conclusion:

Portrait Professional is a remarkable piece of software that allows inexperienced users to get professional results easily and quickly. I was skeptical at first, but I was stunned as to how easy it is to get great looking results. I think people who specialize in portraiture should consider adding this to their work flow because the amount of time saved is incredible.

The one thing I was a little disappointed with was the lack of integration with other programs. The software works fast and of course it is a standalone product, but I was a little disappointed that it didn't at least offer a feature to export or open the photo in Photoshop (or whatever photo editing program you might use) once you have completed editing. Even though Portrait Professional does cut down the amount of time you will have to spend in Photoshop, some people will still have a need to bring the files in for other effects like edge darkening, sharpening or filter effects.

Portrait Professional 8 is available directly from the manufacturer on their website. It is fully compatible on both Mac and PC and comes in two different versions: standard and studio. The Standard ($79.95) works with 8-bit JPEG and TIFF files while the Professional Version ($119.95) also supports RAW and 16-bit TIFF files.

To see examples of how this product works and to read the article in its entirety go to www.photographysavvy.com. This review was excerpted from www.photographysavvy.com.

Thomas Pitera is a freelance commercial photographer based in Orlando, Florida. Pitera is also a full-time photographic equipment sales consultant, and his involvement in sales puts him in a unique position to gain access to the latest and greatest photographic equipment.

His interest in photography and his ability to learn about the newest equipment led Pitera to create Photography Savvy, a blog that allows him to share his in-depth knowledge of the digital photography industry with fellow photographers.

He covers the latest photo industry news, gear reviews, opinions and photography techniques on his website, Photography Savvy. For more information, visit his blog at www.photographysavvy.com.