Retouching newborn photography is not only a technical skill, but also about preserving natural beauty. My approach to photography editing is to keep it as simple as possible. I am not "perfecting" babies. I am refining the photograph so it feels gentle: true skin, soft light and tidy details. This is an example of newborn retouching from start to finish. It is intended to preserve the natural cuteness of baby, while still providing a genuine and warm overall look.
- Camera Raw process gives me a calm, low-contrast base that's easy to retouch. First, I set a clean white balance so skin reads neutral, without green or magenta cast. I lift exposure slightly and lower contrast, because newborn skin likes soft midtones. I put down highlights to keep the headband and pearls from clipping. I also add some noise reduction and sharpening.
- Global tones. Before I zoom into details, I shape the overall feel: use gentle S-curve or, just raise blacks a hair for velvety shadows. I nudge warmth toward creamy peach. Babies look best with subtle warmth. Then I add very light vignette to keep attention on the face.
- Skin cleanup: the careful part. I zoom to 100% to remove temporary distractions like tiny flakes, lint, and milk spots around the lips and chin. I soften the pale mark on the forehead, but leave a whisper of it. I clean the inner corners of the closed eyes and any faint yellow sleep. I use a small Healing brush/Clone at low flow (10 - 20%) and switch to a very light frequency-separation or Dodge and Burn for shape if texture needs rescuing. Texture always stays.
- Even out color gently. Newborns often have pockets of redness or cool patches. Targeted Hue/Saturation on Reds to reduce blotchy hot spots. If lips go too cool, a tiny selective warmth brings life back. I keep the hands and ears consistent with the face. I always compare side by side to avoid drifting into plastic.
- Blanket and background. I heal away lint and distracting elements. I do soft surface blur on just the background to separate baby from texture heavy knit. I extend background for print cropping, keeping grain and tone consistent. I also remove stray threads and dust on the petals.
- Final contrast, sharpening, and crop. I add a bit of midtone contrast and sharpen only for the target size. Cheeks remain soft; lashes, lips, and headband carry the crispness. I crop with breathing room around the face and flower, aligning the eye line on a gentle third.
Before and after, so what changed? Skin looks calmer and more even, but pores and fine texture are intact. Milk spots, lint, and minor flakes are gone. The flower and pearls are tidied and lightly brightened. The blanket reads softer and cleaner, guiding attention to the face. Overall tone is warm and airy without losing form.
Newborn retouching is all about restraint. The best you can hear from the parents, "It looks exactly how I remember that day." If that's what you're looking for in your session editing, I'm more than happy to help. Whether you are a photographer looking to outsource your edits, or a parent wanting a portrait that you can use as an heirloom.