Outsourcing Skin Processing?

Is anyone outsourcing their skin processing? My photoshop skills are not the best and don't end up having the time to process skin properly. I've been considering finding somewhere to outsource it. What are your suggestions?

Why don't you register with Retouch Pro. There are loads of great retouchers (and lots of beginners as well!) who would be happy to retouch your images either in exchange for rights to use the image in their portfolio, or for payment.

http://www.retouchpro.​com/

What level of processing do you really need? Modern software does it so quickly and well that if you just need basic smoothing it's a waste of time (if not money) to outsource it. I've got three levels of Photoshop actions set up for Imaginomic Portraiture that are just a click of a button away, and I can apply them to batches of images.

Outsource things that can't be done by software with the click of a button.

Just skin smoothing, dodge/burning, and stray hair removal. I have difficulty with the texture. Really looking for a glamour retouch. I have looked at some software but for the few times a year I need it it's not really worth the money. I'll find some examples of what i'm looking for.

Of course everyone has a different take on retouching and many are very happy with Portraiture or Portrait Professional. It really depends upon the standard you are trying to achieve, software such as Portraiture is probably fine for a lot of studio portraits and, as time is money, they are very quick so worh considering.

If you are looking to get something published they are, IMO, useless. No professional retoucher would consider using such software.

The fact that you say you want dodging and burning plus stray hair removal suggests that you are looking for a higher end retouch which can take hours if done properly. Also, you mention "difficulty with texture". I am not sure what you mean by this but if you mean you want the skin to look smooth but still retain skin texture then you are probably right, using a professional retoucher is an option to be seriously considered.

If you want to see what real high end retouching looks like have a look here

http://www.digitalphot​oshopretouching.com …ffarel-retouching-gallery

(Natalia Taffarel is one of my favourite retouchers)

My question is going to be again: What level of retouching do you need? Are you selling your work, and if so, to whom and for what purpose?

The real distinction in publication is that the publication process itself can tear apart heavy digital post-processing efforts if you don't know how to post-process for publication. Problems that are totally invisible to the eye--and perfectly acceptable for an image that will displayed on a monitor or printed and displayed on a wall--will fall apart when published on magazine glossy. The retoucher has to know how to work the image to withstand the process.

The software tools, used judiciously, are fine for a product that's going to be hung on a wall.

Download a test copy or Portrait Professional and play with it. The results can be moderated from heavy or very light and it takes virtually no skill to use...

http://www.portraitpro​fessional.com …IuG9KT2pawCFUca​QgodimmTDQ

I have a tutorial showing my skin retouching process:

Skin Retouching Tutorial
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=HwtuG107ack&h​d=1

cameronrad wrote in post #13416412
I have a tutorial showing my skin retouching process:

Skin Retouching Tutorial
http://www.youtube.com​/watch?v=HwtuG107ack&h​d=1

Thanks camaron