Retouch4Me Review

Website: https://retouch4.me/

The folks at Retouch4Me reached out and asked if I would be willing to give their Ai photo retouching suite a test drive. Since I am always happy to try new software, and even happier to let you all know about my experiences, I enthusiastically said yes. My longtime readers know that I always give objective reviews of the software I test, approaching the review process from a results-oriented aspect as well as ease of use.  Does this Ai plugin suite live up to the hype of delivering pro level results with just a few clicks? Let’s talk about it.

What it does

Using Ai technology, Retouch4Me plugins are designed to speed up and simplify the retouching process. The plugins will smooth skin using frequency separation, heal blemishes, add portrait volume, enhance eyes, balance skin tone, whiten teeth, and even smooth fabric and heal imperfections in your backdrop. Retouch4Me aims to be an all-in-one solution for portrait editing. I found using this Ai plugin suite to be like a magic wand for your portraits.

Retouch4Me software can be used as a standalone product working with Lightroom, Capture One and Photoshop as an external editor, or they can be accessed via a panel that can be installed directly from the Adobe Creative Cloud desktop app. This is how I chose to use the app because some plugins are well known for crashing when they are placed in the panel of Photoshop.

In the cloud

Retouch4Me offers cloud and on device-based editing. Be aware that choosing to use the cloud option does send your photo to the Retouch4Me servers. This is common practice, just like with generative fill in Photoshop. I know some readers are sensitive to their images being sent to  the cloud, which is why I mention it. You can alleviate this by selecting the on-device option in the suite’s panel.

Installation

The Retouch4Me panel is available in the Adobe Creative cloud apps section, it can be loaded right from there and will be available after restarting Photoshop. Alternatively, you can download the suite from their website and install manually. After installation, the panel will ask for permission to access your Retouch4Me account, which brings up a browser, and requires an account login. The whole process was painless and took just a couple of minutes.  

My testing environment

I set up a few portrait sessions to give the plugins a thorough run-through. To start with, I opted for golden hour natural light outdoor portraits in overcast conditions. For the torture test, I set up a session midday with skrimmed sunlight on the model. Last, I set up studio lights in classic beauty clamshell style and a low key two light run-and-gun portrait setup. For those interested, I used Profoto D2 and B10X strobes, and calibrated capture color with a color checker passport and edit color with a Datacolor SpyderPro. Images were captured with a Canon 5DmkIV. I worked in the latest versions of Photoshop and Lightroom.  

Using the plugins

The plugins run like Photoshop actions. I started with the base layer and just opened the Retouch4Me panel, toggled all the modules on and clicked the retouch button. The program worked for 30 or 40 seconds, and this was the result – each retouch was placed on its own layer which can be adjusted with opacity, fill or blending style.

I was happy with the customizable results, so many plugins just output a single new layer that has all the changes combined. With Retouch4Me adding each edit on its own individual layer, users can tune the result. I appreciate this approach because one of the biggest problems with one-click editing solutions is that your photos begin to look like everyone else’s that are using that suite of plugins.  

Retouch Results

Raw Image

Edit with Retouch4Me

Outdoor overcast

In this portrait of my son Jarren, Retouch4Me’s dodge and burn layer is the real star. Even though the lighting was overcast, there were still quite a few dark spots on his skin. I ended up tuning the opacity of the smoothing and skin tone layers, as well as the eye whitening layer to bring some of the skin detail and texture back and reduce the overly-bright whites of the eyes.

Raw Image

Edited with Retouch4Me

Outdoor Midday

The harshest conditions for a portrait session. We used a skrim to soften the light of the harsh midday sun, and while Retouch4Me did a good job of evening the skin tone quite a bit, this image of me was left with dark eyes – due to the position of the sun. Retouch4Me did leave the portrait a bit flat overall but blemishes and dodging and burning layers looked great. I call this environment the torture test for a reason.

Raw image using Clamshell lighting

Edited using Retouch4Me

Studio Clamshell

Overall, this is where Retouch4Me really shined. With the even light of the clamshell setup, the plugin gave a result that needed only small amounts of tuning to reclaim some of the lost skin texture.

Other Portraits

Editing results

The dodge and burn layers created by Retouch4Me are a huge time saver, their Ai does a great job creating the layer very similar to what I would on a normal portrait edit. The blemish removal tool did a great job of preserving skin texture rather than just delivering a layer with a heavy handed blur like other retouching plugin suites. The blemish removal layer is easily editable in the event that the program removes a birthmark that the client wants to keep. The blemish removal tool, just like all the other tools in the suite has a slider to adjust the sensitivity, which I also appreciate.

Environment is key

Just like with anything in photography, the more steps you take to get your images right in camera, the less time will be needed for editing. This is true for Retouch4Me as well. Rough outdoor conditions are going to require much more post processing time regardless of the editing route you choose. If you shoot headshots, fashion or other portraiture work this will be an invaluable tool to reduce edit time per image while still ending up with professional results.

I did like that the plugin suite worked well regardless of the background color. Other retouching programs and plugin suites don’t do well unless the lighting conditions are just right – Retouch4Me worked very well regardless of the background being light, dark or colored.

The Negatives

I was a bit disappointed with the fabric and background retouching of Retouch4Me. In my testing, the suite did not handle bokeh backgrounds well, often removing many of the bokeh artifacts that we all know and love. I ended up turning that layer off completely in my testing. Additionally, wrinkles in fabric such as shirts were not effectively removed. I don’t consider this a big detriment, since Photoshops remove tool worked well on any background or fabric areas that Retouch4Me stumbled on. This is first and foremost a portrait retoucher, and fabric and backgrounds are forgiving and very easy to fix.

This is where I would normally put in the speech about plugin suites in general. When you use a plugin suite that many other photographers are using, then your work tends to look very similar to theirs, especially if you use the stock presets in the suite. However, I can’t say anything bad about Retouch4Me in this respect because it delivers individual layers for each edit which are easily editable allowing you to customize your final images to your individual style

Who is it for?

Retouch4Me is a great option for pro photographers looking to save time on their portrait edit sessions, as well as those new photographers looking to get pro results without learning all the nuances of high end retouching. If you are looking to learn more about portrait editing, this is a great resource because it delivers all the usual edits with one click – and you can tune from there.  

For the portrait sessions I did using Retouch4Me, I found the suite to be a big time saver, creating the dodge and burn and blemish removal layers quickly and consistently.   

You can do it

The results received when using Retouch4Me can be reproduced with Photoshop, but it requires time. When it comes to editing images from a portrait session, the longer you spend with each image cuts into your bottom line for that session. I always said that if there was a way to automate the retouching process, and still have the resulting images look professional I would be in with both feet.  

Pros who are looking to save time on the smaller detail work, like dodge and burn layers. Retouch4Me does a great job with the building of the edit layers. The initial results are a bit heavy handed for my taste, but the layers of the edits are easily adjustable. My workflow with Retouch4Me is like other plugin suites, I find myself turning everything up to full blast then backing it off to my taste. This is typically how I work in Lightroom and other suites like Luminar Neo.

What does it cost

So, the program is great, but what does it cost? There is an initial investment for the plugin suite, then each edit costs a credit. This is similar to many other editing suites. Below are the current pricing models, which vary depending on the use case you need. If you want a set number of edits per month, there is a plan for that and if you are just looking to retouch a portrait here and there you can buy smaller numbers of credits without having to take the monthly subscription plunge.

Retouch4Me are offering a discount to my readers. Just follow the link below to get a minimum of 20% off their software.

https://retouch4.me/products/retouch-plugins?promocode=TedTahquechi

Conclusion

I went in with my doubts, especially with a subscription model. I’m one of those people that subscribe to the Adobe photo package, and I also have a yearly subscription to a couple other plugin suites, so I am not scared of subscribing to software that I use. However, I usually shy away from a credit system when it comes to editing programs. I appreciate that you can either buy a set number of edits per month or can do the pay as you go method. If you are a working pro looking to save some time, then the monthly program might make sense, whereas doing occasional portraits might make more sense on a per-image cost model.

When it comes down to it, I am always considering what my time is worth. If I can offload some of the easier tasks to a plugin suite to let me do other things, then I see that as a worthwhile spend. When it comes to this plugin suite, the results are the same whether you spend the time to create the layers or have Retouch4Me create the layers. This program doesn’t reduce the flexibility of an edit in any way, so why not save some time?

Final Thoughts

Retouch4Me is revolutionizing the world of photo retouching with its suite of AI-powered tools designed to simplify and enhance the portrait editing process. Unlike many AI retouching solutions that can leave images looking overly processed, Retouch4Me’s plugins focus on flexibility, allowing the user to tune the results. Whether you’re a professional photographer or an enthusiast, Retouch4Me offers a range of specialized tools that integrate seamlessly with popular editing software like Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom, and Capture One, making it easier than ever to achieve professional-grade results with minimal effort.