How To Become A Digital Retoucher: What It Is and Career Path

What is a digital retoucher and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Editing digital files, or photographic retouching, lets the photographer show their project in the best light possible way. Rather than being disturbed by imperfections or inconsistencies in their work, the spectator should concentrate on the message most wanted by the artist. Whatever the subject matter may be, outstanding presentational consistency is obtained through the work of photo retouching.

Digital retouchers collaborate with artists to format and improve digital images. They can work for photographers of all styles, including portrait, advertising, news, and fine arts photographers. The combination of a creative eye and professional training in photo editing is essential to excel in the industry.

Digital retouchers need to have an eye for art and composition when contributing to what's usually attractive in a photographic image. Nearly all digital retouchers complete college-level coursework in photography. There are opportunities for prospective digital retouchers to study at both the community college and university levels. Aspiring digital retouchers may opt to pursue a specialized course of study culminating in a program certificate, examples of which include the Certificate of Photography or a Photographic Artist Certificate.

ScoreDigital RetoucherUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,547

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

5.1

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.56%

Asian 13.49%

Black or African American 7.09%

Hispanic or Latino 15.08%

Unknown 4.82%

White 58.96%

Gender

female 36.80%

male 63.20%

Age - 40

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 40

Stress Level

6.0

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.3

Complexity Level is basic

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

7.3

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a digital retoucher

Explore digital retoucher education requirements

Most common digital retoucher degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Associate

20.2 %

High School Diploma

6.0 %

Start to develop specific digital retoucher skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photoshop	35.43%
Retouch	12.55%
Photography Services	10.00%
Digital Images	8.54%
RGB	8.44%

Complete relevant digital retoucher training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New digital retouchers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a digital retoucher based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real digital retoucher resumes.

Research digital retoucher duties and responsibilities

Manage and organize photography and video productions and key personnel.
Edit and color correct food and drink compositions for magazine and web editorials including artistic desserts and exotic main courses.
Develop automate process for digitizing slides for museum archive using Photoshop.
Image retouching, color correcting, photo manipulation and silhouetting using Photoshop

Prepare your digital retoucher resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your digital retoucher resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a digital retoucher resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Digital Retoucher Resume templates

Build a professional Digital Retoucher resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Digital Retoucher resume.

Apply for digital retoucher jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a digital retoucher job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do digital retouchers rate their job?