Retouching Academy My Library

Master "Dodge and Burn" Technique

The cornerstone of professional retouching.

This course is a hands-on guide to the professional hair retouching skill that is often neglected by retouchers. 

Even with an experienced hairstylist on set, the responsibility for flawless hair in the final images typically falls on the retoucher.

While hair retouching is often seen as a tedious task, a skilled retoucher can make a serious difference in the final image by delivering more polished hair retouching results.

Created by Julia Kuzmenko McKim and Michael Woloszynowicz, professional beauty and fashion photographers, retouchers, and educators. Every lesson distills decades of combined industry experience into the refined retouching methods we use in commercial work.

 

Who is this course for?

Photographers and retouchers who are already familiar with Adobe Photoshop and basic retouching, and want to be able to handle hair retouching at a professional level, so they don't have to turn down paid beauty, fashion, or portrait projects that require hair retouching work.

This skill is especially valuable for freelance retouchers aiming to work with commercial clients such as beauty, wellness, and lifestyle brands.

Across 26 lessons, you will work through a variety of tactics and methods that will help you take the struggle out of hair retouching, save you time, and ensure you always have the best approach for any challenging situations when dealing with hair in beauty, fashion, and portrait photography.

 

🌟 Check out our students' Testimonials!

 

Once internalized through deliberate practice, these skills open a range of paths:

  • offering retouching services to commercial clients;
  • in-house retouching roles;
  • or remote freelance retouching work from anywhere in the world.

Bonus: Downloadable practice images are included.

 

▶︎ This course is included in the All-in-One Beauty Retouch bundle: 4 courses, over 21 hours of video lessons, individual courses at $569, bundle price - $287.

 

 

📲 Continue learning anywhere via the Kajabi app on mobile devices.

By purchasing our products, you agree to our Terms & Conditions.

Master Dodge & Burn

  1. Introduction & Downloads

    5 lessons
    1. Welcome to the Course
    2. Introduction
    3. Additional Materials & Downloads
    4. [Download] ▶︎ Brand Work Guide & Vocabulary
    5. Legal Notice

  2. Lesson I: Concept, Types & Setup

    9 lessons

    1. Part 1: The Underlying Theory Behind D&B

      1. 1.1 Introduction to D&B
      2. 1.2 The Elements of an Image
      3. 1.3 The Two Main Types of Dodge & Burn
      4. 1.4 D&B vs. Other Retouching Techniques

    2. Part 2: D&B Types Within Your Workflow

      1. 2.1 D&B Types Within Your Workflow
      2. 2.2 Corrective D&B: The Curves Method
      3. 2.3 Contouring: Setup & Approach
      4. 2.4 Corrective D&B: The 50% Gray Layer Method
      5. 2.5 Where Dodge & Burn fits in Your Workflow Best

  3. Lesson II: Corrective (Local or Macro) Dodge & Burn

    4 lessons
    1. 2.1 Corrective D&B: Setup & Workflow
    2. 2.2 Corrective D&B: The Process
    3. 2.3 Practical Example: Dodging & Burning Fabrics
    4. Assignment #1: Fabrics Practice File

  4. Lesson III: Global D&B or Contouring

    5 lessons
    1. 3.1 Contouring: Strategy & Practical Implementation
    2. 3.2 Contouring: The Process
    3. 3.3 Contouring: The Process, Continued
    4. 3.4 Contouring: The Process, Continued
    5. Assignment #2: Dodging & Burning - Sphere Practice

  5. Lesson IV: Color Correction & Final Touches

    5 lessons
    1. 4.1 Identifying & Correcting Color Issues
    2. 4.2 Correcting Color Shifts with Hue/Sat Adjustment Layer
    3. 4.3 Correcting Color Shifts with Selective Color Adjustment Layer
    4. 4.4 Fixing "Peach Fuzz" and Color Corrections
    5. 4.5 Final Summary: Overview & Strategy

  6. What's Next?

    4 lessons
    1. Code Of Ethics & Professional Practice
    2. Professional Development
    3. ♥️ Please Share Your Thoughts!
    4. ▶︎ Make 25-30% commission as an RA Affiliate

What you will find inside:

Theory & Practice

Over 3 hours of video lessons.

We’ve distilled the most impactful information so that you can learn and apply your new retouching skills as efficiently as possible.

Practice Files

Beauty images, shot by the authors.

Each module includes practice beauty and other images, as well as bonus materials to help you quickly internalize what you are learning.

Real-World Pro Approach

Our custom Actions & Brushes.

A professional workflow perfected through a decade of commercial work by Julia Kuzmenko McKim and Michael Woloszynowicz.

Here's what our students are saying:

Ethan

Freelance Retoucher

“I bought all the courses from Retouching Academy, and they never disappointed me! I learned so much and improved my retouching skills from these courses over the last 2 years, and now I have my own clients, and I also work with some well-known brands such as ELLE, Gucci, LV, L'Officiel, etc. "

Valentina Duran

Freelance Retoucher

“Thanks to RA courses and RA panels, I was able to take my retouching skills to a new level and understand how to make it a business that prospers. I learned new approaches to the techniques that I already knew, and my workflow became much faster and leaner."

Margarita Ptitsyna

Freelance Retoucher

“Retouching Academy courses are really the best! They teach you the professional way of retouching: how to make your pictures look perfect, but still natural; how to speed up your workflow and how to organize your PSD files so you will always be able to make any corrections at any stage of your retouching process."

More Testimonials