We wanted to publish a few key terms that we use all the time in our retouching studio when talking to our clients. It’s a shorthand that helps us immensely when narrowing in on a client’s vision for the final images. If you’re new to photography and retouching, some of these terms might be unfamiliar. Try them out on your next project.

No matter what terms you use, clear markups make all the difference. Use verybusy.io every time to leave precise feedback, and get the results you envisioned.

Essential Retouching Terms

Color Grade

The Color Grade refers to the look and feel of an image. It’s achieved through adjustments in hue, saturation, luminance, and contrast (see below). It goes beyond simple color correction and is often used to establish a mood, unify a series of images, or align with a brand’s visual identity. Color is notoriously difficult to talk about, and this term and the following will help, but good references of what you’re looking for can go a long way.

Hue

Hue refers to the color itself—whether it’s red, blue, green, or any shade in between. It’s the base color value in an image. When adjusting hue, you’re shifting the overall tone of the image or a specific element. For example, if a model’s lipstick looks too orange, you might ask the retoucher to tweak the hue to a cooler tone or add blue/cyan.

Saturation

Saturation refers to the intensity or vividness of a color in an image. High saturation means the color is rich and intense, while low saturation results in more muted, subdued colors. As an art director, you may adjust saturation to make certain elements pop or tone them down. For instance: “Can you reduce the saturation of the pinks? They look too neon.”

Luminance

Luminance is about brightness but in a more refined way—it adjusts the perceived brightness of colors without altering their saturation. For example, if skin tones look too dark, you could ask for a luminance adjustment to lighten them without changing the overall color balance.

Contrast

Contrast refers to the difference between the light and dark areas of an image. Higher contrast makes an image feel more dramatic and punchy by emphasizing highlights and deepening shadows, while lower contrast creates a softer, more muted look. Contrast adjustments can also affect color separation, helping elements stand out or blend together. In commercial work, it’s often fine-tuned to ensure product details remain visible and skin tones look natural. A request might sound like, “Can we dial back the contrast a bit? The shadows are looking too harsh.”

Sharpening (with limitations)

Sharpening enhances the clarity of edges and details, making the image look crisper. Retouchers have different tools in their toolkit for sharpening, and they know to use each one very carefully. Too much sharpening can create halos, noise, or an unnatural look. A request might be: “Can you sharpen the eyes and hair a bit more, but avoid sharpening the skin?”

Dodge and Burn (Contour)

Dodge and burn are techniques used to lighten (dodge) or darken (burn) parts of an image. This is key for adding depth, defining features, or refining shadows. If you want to enhance facial structure in a portrait, you might ask: “Can you burn in the jawline a little for more definition?”

Clipping (Whites and Blacks)

Clipping happens when details are lost in extreme highlights or shadows—pure white or pure black with no detail left. If a product shot has blown-out highlights, you can say: “Can you pull back the highlights a little to avoid clipping the whites?”

Plate

A plate is an extra shot or shots taken on set to facilitate post-production. For instance, you might pan or move the camera to get additional plates of the background for extensions. You might also shoot plates where the exposure is lighter or darker so they can be composited into the final image. 

Liquify

Liquify refers to both the tool in Photoshop that allows you to manipulate an image and the technique used to make those adjustments. It offers control over specific areas, giving you the ability to push, pull, or warp pixels for more precise edits. A request might be, “Can you liquify that edge to minimize that bump and make it more round?”

Gradient

A gradient is a smooth transition between two or more colors or tones in an image. It’s commonly used to create depth, blend backgrounds, or add subtle color shifts, and can be adjusted to control the direction, range, and intensity of the transition.

Exposure

Exposure controls the overall brightness of an image by adjusting the amount of light captured. Increasing exposure brightens the entire image, while decreasing it darkens it. If a shot feels too dark, you might say: “Can you bring up the exposure a stop to get more detail in the shadows?”

Brightness

Brightness affects the perceived lightness of an image, often targeting midtones more selectively than exposure. It can help fine-tune an image without dramatically shifting highlights and shadows. If a face looks too dim, you might request: “Can you slightly increase the brightness to lift the skin tone without affecting the contrast too much?”

Color Matching

Color matching ensures that colors remain consistent across an image or between multiple images. This is key for product photography, where accurate color representation is crucial. If skin tones look inconsistent, you might say: “Can you color match the hands to the face so they look more cohesive?”

Masking

Masking is a non-destructive way to selectively apply or hide edits by using a layer mask. It allows for precise refinements without permanently altering the image. If an adjustment is affecting too much of the image, you might request: “Can you mask out the background so the color change only applies to the subject?”

Clipping path 

A clipping path is a precise vector-based outline used to isolate an object from its background, often for product cutouts or composites. It ensures clean edges and flexibility in post-production. If a product needs to be placed on a new background, you might say: “Can you create a clipping path around the shoe for a clean cutout?”

Tone density

Tone density refers to the depth and richness of tones in an image, affecting how light or dark areas appear while maintaining detail. It’s often adjusted to enhance contrast without losing subtle variations. If an image looks too flat, you might say: “Can you increase the tone density in the shadows to give it more depth?”

Definition 

Definition refers to the clarity and sharpness of details in an image. It can relate to edges, textures, or contrast that make elements stand out. Increasing definition can enhance detail, while reducing it can create a softer, more diffused look. If a subject appears too soft, you might say: “Can you add more definition to the hair to make it pop?”

Recovery

Recovery refers to restoring lost details in highlights or shadows, often used when an image has overexposed or underexposed areas. If a bright area has no visible texture, you might ask: “Can you recover some detail in the highlights so it doesn’t look blown out?”

Open Up

Opening up means brightening or reducing contrast in an area to reveal more detail. This is often used for shadows that appear too deep. If a subject’s face looks too dark, you might say: “Can you open up the shadows a bit to bring out more detail?”

Neutralize

Neutralizing involves correcting unwanted color casts or inconsistencies to create a balanced, true-to-life look. If skin appears too red, you might request: “Can you neutralize the redness in the skin for a more natural tone?”

Focus Bracket

A focus bracket is a series of images captured when the camera's aperture setting can't achieve focus from front to back on the subject in a single shot. To shoot a focus bracket, start by selecting your desired focal point and then adjust the focus slightly for each shot, moving either closer or further from the subject with each frame. Make sure to maintain consistent exposure and framing across all images to ensure a smooth focus transition in post-production.

Moiré

Moiré is a distortion that appears as wavy, unwanted patterns, often seen in fabrics or fine textures due to digital sensor interference. To address moiré, the retoucher might use blurring or pattern correction techniques. If you see strange rippling in clothing, you can say: “There’s moiré in the fabric—can you smooth it out?”

Image Banding

Banding occurs when gradients (such as skies or soft shadows) show abrupt color steps instead of smooth transitions. This often happens in compressed images and/or limited color spaces. If you notice it, you can say: “There’s some banding in the background—can you smooth the gradient?”

Chromatic Aberration

A color fringing effect that happens around high-contrast edges, often appearing as red, green, or blue tints. This can occur in lens distortion and should be corrected in post. If you notice it, you can ask: “Can you remove the chromatic aberration on the edges of the subject?”

Color Contamination

When reflected light from surrounding objects tints a subject in unwanted ways (e.g., a green shirt reflecting onto a model’s skin). If this happens, you can say: “There’s some green color contamination on the skin—can we neutralize it?”

Why These Terms Matter

As an art director, knowing these essential and advanced retouching terms helps streamline communication with your retouching team, ensuring that everyone is on the same page. The more specific your feedback, the faster and more accurately your team can execute your vision. It not only saves time but also ensures that your final images reflect the quality and detail you envisioned.

And of course, verybusy.io is where the rubber meets the road for all of this terminology. With comments and markups directly on your assets, you can be confident that every edit is executed precisely and nothing gets overlooked.

Happy directing!