To retouch or not to?

[ClassicBeth]

I'm looking for some opinions about skin retouching on portraits. I know that softening skin and removing blemishes like pimples would probably be universally approved, but I what about distinguishing permanant blemishes, like large moles?
I have a whole set of wedding pictures where the bride has just such a blemish on her forehead. It's not the "beauty mark" type. After retouching hundreds of shots of this bride my husband walked by and commented that maybe I shouldn't be removing the mole. It's a feature of her face. And since these pictures are her own wedding pictures, not for some magazine cover, they should be more real. (Oh to be so good as to have a picture on a magazine cover... but I digress )
In a training video Scott Kelby said something like, "Retouch to make the person look the way you see them in real life." And he was talking about removing big blemishes. What do you think? Should I go back and delete all the spot removals so the mole reappears?? Another option would be to lower the opacity so it's still there but less distracting. The bride has seen most of the images all retouched. It seems like an uncomfortable subject to bring up with a bride (or anyone sitting for a portrait) because you are drawing attention to a negative feature of their face, which seems like something a photographer should never do. ("Would you like me to put your mole back in your pictures?" Hah.) Our job is to make them look good. So how good do we make them look?

[ClassicBeth]

Oops, here's a retry to get the photos up:

[kgb224]

I would also like to know everybody's thought on this topic.Both pictures is to my liking.

[gazsus]

In your example the blemish appears to be a permanent feature, as such I would leave it as it is. Lowering the opacity is a valid option if the client agrees. I would always remove any temporary blemish, like a zit, unless directed not to by the client.

[OsmosisStudios]

Originally Posted by gazsus

In your example the blemish appears to be a permanent feature, as such I would leave it as it is. Lowering the opacity is a valid option if the client agrees. I would always remove any temporary blemish, like a zit, unless directed not to by the client.

Same here.

[naeno]

Originally Posted by gazsus

In your example the blemish appears to be a permanent feature, as such I would leave it as it is. Lowering the opacity is a valid option if the client agrees. I would always remove any temporary blemish, like a zit, unless directed not to by the client.

Ditto. It's a part of who she is. I would leave it unless specifically asked to remove it.

[ClassicBeth]

Thanks for the advice. I think I will go back and lower the opacity so the change isn't as noticable, but the feature is there. I started cloning it out on the reception pictures where the flash made it look overly prominent, then I got stuck because I figured it would be inconsistent if I didn't take it out of every single picture. I should have thought this through more before creating so much extra work for myself! Oh well.

[Nicole]

I would suggest a tactful way for figuring out whether or not to remove something in the future would be to ask if there's anything specific she wants retouched in her photos. Just because it's permanently there doesn't mean that she wouldn't be happier without it. In any case, asking in the broad sense doesn't have the same sort of drawing attention to it, and she's probably familiar with a feature that she may like/dislike/not care about in her photos.

[buelahjean]

Hey Beth,
I too have spent countless hours retouching photos to perfection. I shot my first wedding last year. It was a Muslim Nikkah Ceremony, which is the event that happens on the 4th day of the 5 day wedding ritual. I was doing a favor for one of my husband's employees. His neice was getting married at his home. My husband volunteered my services and said it could be a wedding present to them. Fine by me! I am so passionate about photography and love each opportunity to do what I love. But, he also told me there was another photographer. I basically would be the "second camera" at the ceremony, and it turns out, I was the only photographer there! Luckily, when I found out I was going to get to shoot this Nikkah Ceremony, I got online and researched everything I could about the ceremony. I checked out other photosites for ideas too.Thank goodness I did, cause it sure helped me to follow along with the ceremony and know what came next. By the way, the Nikkah ceremony is nothing like an American wedding. I learned a great deal about the Muslim culture and found the whole experience to be quite fascinating! So, I began editing...........for 2 months. I just started doing photography professionally, last year. I just got Photoshop last year too. I learned so much thru that 2 months. Alot of valuable stuff. I am thankful for that. They were so patient too. They were in no big hurry to get prints, so it worked out. I showed them all the photos and then began my long editing/learning session. They LOVED all of their photos. The bride said, "Oh, My, is that really ME?! You made me look so beautiful!" I'm Happy with that!

check out my photostream at: www.flickr.com/photos/thebestdaysofyourlife

[Mad Ged]

I have thought about this quite a bit over the last few years. I have a personal rule that I will change things that could have been changed in the real world, such as taking the oily shine off faces, removing pimples and bloodshot eyes because these things could be done with makeup or eye-drops.

Also I tone down dark circles under eyes and lightly soften wrinkles because these could look less obvious under different lighting conditions so it is possible that the person could look the way they do in the retouched photos.

Where I draw the line is changing physical features and permanent flaws, which this mole on the bride's face is an example of. The only exception is when people ask me to deliberately Photoshop them for fun and we both know exactly what is being done.

It is an interesting topic which is going to crop up more often as the technology becomes available to more people.