Photo retouching has gone through various eras and transformed with technological advancements. From the artisanal era of argentic to the integration of 3D and artificial intelligence, it has continually pushed the boundaries between capturing reality and artistic creation. This evolution unfolds in three main stages: the argentic legacy, the digital revolution, and the arrival of techniques like 3D and AI.

The Argentic Legacy: The Birth of Artisan Retouching

The Emergence of Early Techniques

In the 19th century, with the invention of photography, photographers strove to master the image beyond just capturing it. On negatives or directly on prints, they could scratch, paint, or mask to soften certain shadows or correct unwanted elements. Pioneers like Gustave Le Gray and Oscar Rejlander developed photomontages by layering multiple negatives to create a new, unprecedented scene.

The Importance of Manual Work

These methods were rooted in artisanal know-how:

  • Scratching the film to remove an unwanted detail.
  • Hand-coloring to enhance black-and-white prints.
  • Selective masking to adjust density during darkroom printing.

Even the slightest misstep could render the image unusable. Argentic retouching, demanding and laborious, already aimed at enhancing the image and influencing its perception.

Varied Applications

Whether in political propaganda or glamour photography for magazines, argentic retouching has deeply influenced visual culture. Often subtle, it allowed for altering reality or idealizing portraits, laying the groundwork for future debates on the authenticity of images.

The Digital Era: A Major Turning Point for Retouching

The advent of software and its widespread adoption

With the release of Photoshop in 1990 and the rise of personal computers, retouching entered a new dimension, the digital one. Operations that were once complex (such as layering and photomontages) became accessible to a broader audience, both professionals and amateurs. Digital technology paved the way for speed and precision that were impossible to achieve in the argentic field.

Advanced Features

  • Selective retouching of colors and tones in the image.
  • Layer masks to manipulate different parts of the shot without altering the original.
  • Techniques like frequency separation for very precise skin retouching.
  • HDR (High Dynamic Range) to extend the range of contrasts.

This revolution led to a massive production of retouched images, normalizing the use of effects and montages that were once rare.

The Emergence of Ethical Questions

The ease of digital manipulation sparked significant debates:

  • Authenticity of photos: What remains “real” when every pixel can be altered?
  • Beauty standards and commercial use: Excessive retouching, particularly in fashion, has sparked criticism and controversy, leading to reflection on the social impact of images.

Despite these concerns, the digital era has solidified retouching as an integral part of the photographic process, unleashing unprecedented creativity while raising skepticism about the authenticity of images.

3D and AI: Towards New Horizons in Retouching

The Integration of 3D in Retouching

In recent years, 3D has made its way into retouching software. Creatives can:

  • Merge 3D objects and photos to create hybrid scenes that would be impossible to achieve in a studio.
  • Adjust the perspective and shadows of a virtual object to blend it seamlessly into a real environment.

This approach is highly favored in advertising, where a 3D product can be inserted into a photographic backdrop, often bypassing the need for an expensive photoshoot. The result blurs the line even further between photography and pure digital creation.

The Rise of Artificial Intelligence

AI in retouching has taken things to a new level by automating or simplifying complex tasks:

  • Smart Selection: Algorithms more effectively identify the edges of objects or people.
  • Automatic Colorization: Neural networks reconstruct missing hues in black-and-white images.
  • Advanced Restoration: Automatic correction of defects, removal of digital noise, and upscaling of low-resolution images.

At the same time, the rise of deepfakes and the ease of creating ultra-realistic visuals present new ethical challenges: is photo retouching still used to enhance or to manipulate perception?

New Creative Perspectives

AI and 3D offer retouchers increasingly powerful tools. They can:

  • Work alongside algorithms that suggest retouches or automate corrections.
  • Experiment with new artistic styles, allowing AI to generate variants of an image.
  • Facilitate advertising production by significantly reducing shooting or post-production costs.

However, the adoption of these technologies calls for a redefinition of the concept of “authentic” images and raises questions about the role of the retoucher as a human in the face of machines.

Conclusion

From argentic craftsmanship to automation by AI, the history of photo retouching reflects a continuous quest to shape images according to artistic, advertising, or narrative intentions. Each era has brought its share of innovations, expanding the realm of possibilities and raising new ethical questions. As 3D and artificial intelligence continue to push the boundaries of realism and creativity, photo retouching remains a hybrid art, at the crossroads of technique and expression. Far from completing its evolution, it continues to inspire photographers and graphic designers, while redefining our relationship with truth and the representation of the world.