I was asked the other day why I thought photo retouching is so popular.

For decades, models and celebrities have been driving the airbrush trend. All the advertising or magazine photos we see these days have been digitally enhanced.

But now it seems 75% of us retouch our pics before putting them online.

According to the Kodak’s Photo Futures Report, 75% digitally enhance our photographs. This compares with just 46% of Germans, 40% of Italians, 38% of Spaniards and a mere 28% of the French.

And British men it seems are twice as likely as women to airbrush their shots!

A Kodak spokesman said: “Over the last two years, we’ve seen a real leap in the number of people digitally enhancing their images.”

On second thoughts, it makes sense in a world where so much of our networking and business is done online that we want to make a good first impression still.

Photo retouching allows you to create a photo where you look your best.

Have a look at Photolate’s retouching packages to find the right retouch for you!

Airbrushing it seems is not only for the girls.

Men too like a little help from the digital darkroom if George Clooney’s latest blockbuster posters are anything to go by.

As rightly noticed by the Daily Mail,” the 46-year-old actor appears to have been given a careful polish in new promotional images for his upcoming film Leatherheads”.

Great work and pretty natural huh?

“In the pages of Vogue and Instyle, leading boys and breakthrough girls appear as if they might have had liver conditions or a critical vitamin deficiency judging by their skin tones”, wrote Tyler Brule for the Monocle in March.

As an enthusiast of digital photography, I found his comments about nobody being immune from the pasty skin syndrome of digital cameras quite interesting.

It seems that digital just doesn’t cut it like film does when striving for a healthy facial glow of the photographer’s model.

Tyler coins this time “between 2005 and 2010 as the ‘pasty period’ in the dash to do things faster ad cheaper”. “Take a really good look at yourself in your latest party pictures shot on your digi, and you might not be so keen to ditch the 35mm film camera”.

OK, that’s fine for professional photographers and “high profile (read: high-maintenance) stars” to use and be shot exclusively on film, but what about us party goers and our nice digital cameras that fit in our handbags?

I think that’s where photo retouching comes into its own.

Photo retouching is not only about beauty enhancements, but also about completing a digital process and fixing camera inadequacy.

Photolate’s party glam retouching package does just that. Our retouch experts carefully evaluate and retouch your skin tone to make your skin come alive.

If you are like me on a night out, taking photos with a glass of wine in one hand and camera in the other, the final photos are a far cry from ‘picture perfect’!

That’s why I thought up the Party Glam Package - we’ve made an effort with our appearance, now let’s make an effort with our photos to also look healthy.

Anyone else spent holidays wrestling with their bikini top to avoid strap marks? It’s either that, go topless or live with the suntan marks.

I say live and let live! Holidays should be relaxed and enjoyed. However, if you do have a photo that you wish wasn’t spoilt by sunburn, upload it and let Photolate do its magic. Here’s a photo we recently retouched to remove strapmarks.

This retouch was the natural package with a bespoke add-on treatment costing just £5.50.

It’s just like using an airbrush tanning kit isn’t it?

“I like a certain amount of retouching, like anybody” was Liz Hurley’s quote last week as she launched her latest Mango swimwear range.

Confessing that she now relies on “nice photographers” and retouching for swimwear shoots, she said she didn’t mind being made to look a “bit thinner and a bit younger” through the use of digital enhancement.

Like anybody, Photolate’s photo retouching can now also give you this look.

Been interviewed by The Sunday Times, Liz said, “We all like to get rid of spots and shadows under our eyes. I’ve always been quite particular – I don’t like my face to be retouched.

Often, people will want to correct one’s face, and with me, they always want to change my nose and I’m like, ‘No, no, no, I can’t look like that. I don’t mind if you want to make me a bit thinner and a bit younger, but you can’t give me a different jaw or eyebrows.

But the vanity retouching – well, who wouldn’t?”

Yes Liz, we think that’s what Photolate’s natural retouch package is all about.

Interestingly, as her roadshow moved onto Munich, we don’t see her posing in a bikini with the rest of the girls.

Could it be that she wasn’t prepared to pose in a two-piece without any digital help?

…your photo retouching specialists!

Photolate is a photo retouching service for everyday photos.

As experts in airbrush techniques we aim to open the door of photo editing to everyone who has ever wondered how celebrities and models achieve THAT look! It’s also a service for photographers whose cameras (or possibly photographic skill) have let them down.

Who hasn’t got a photo spoilt by red eye and shine caused by camera flash?

Or if you’re like me, I’m often caught off guard when having my picture taken and not always looking my best. Photolate can rescue these photos and aims to give you image confidence.

So welcome to Photolate!

As the founder of the company and the voice behind this blog I’m keen to hear what you think about photo retouching and the service we are providing.

Here’s a retouch I made earlier of myself!

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This page aims to help you understand more about blogging and allow you to keep up to date with the latest Photolate news.

Firstly, what is a blog?

Blogs or weblogs are just another name for a webpage which is frequently updated. Using RSS feeds (Really Simple Syndication) together with an RSS reader you can subscribe to various blogs on various topics. This means you have all your favourite and latest news delivered to one place.

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We are interested to hear what you think about photo retouching and what services we can add to help make you feel fabulous about your image. Feel free to air your opinions as honest feedback is crucial, although please respect the views of others.

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