How Much Retouching Is Too Much for Headshots?

You’ve seen them. Those headshots where someone looks so polished that their skin resembles porcelain, their teeth glow and are the brightest thing in the image, and every line or texture has been smoothed into oblivion. You look at the photo and think, “Is that even a real person?”

With AI-generated headshots flooding the market in 2025, there’s been a massive backlash brewing. People can spot fake a mile away now, and they don’t trust it. The pendulum is swinging hard toward authenticity, and if your headshot retouching crosses into “too much” territory, it can actually hurt you professionally.

So where’s the line? How do you look polished without looking plastic? That’s what we’re going to talk about.

The Authenticity Movement (What’s Changed in 2025)

Here’s what’s happening: audiences are rejecting perfection. Whether it’s social media, professional networks, or casting directors reviewing headshots, people want to see real.

The over-filtered, over-edited aesthetic that dominated Instagram a few years ago? It’s become a red flag. When someone sees a headshot that looks too perfect, they assume it’s AI-generated, heavily manipulated, or that you’re hiding something. None of those assumptions help you.

This is especially true for professionals who need to build trust quickly ie. executives, consultants, attorneys, and also, you know, actors who need casting directors to recognize them when they walk in the room. Your headshot shapes how people perceive you before they meet you, and if it looks fake, you’ve already damaged that relationship.

Authenticity builds trust. And trust is what gets you hired (or cast, or promoted).

What Gets Retouched (and What Doesn’t)

Here’s the framework I use, and it’s simple: temporary gets retouched, permanent stays.

If something is temporary—a breakout, a stray hair, redness from the cold, a wrinkled collar—we’ll clean it up. You didn’t wake up wanting that blemish on your chin, and you wouldn’t have it in a week. That’s fair game for natural retouching.

But if something is permanent—your skin texture, laugh lines, the shape of your nose, a scar you’ve had for years—that stays. Those things are you. Erasing them means you won’t look like yourself, and that’s where headshot retouching goes from helpful to harmful.

What typically gets retouched:

• Temporary blemishes or breakouts
• Flyaway hairs or clothing lint
• Under-eye circles (if they’re from a rough night, not a permanent feature)
• Color correction for skin tone and lighting consistency
• Minor distractions in the background

What stays:

• Skin texture and pores
• Permanent wrinkles and expression lines
• Moles, freckles, scars (unless you specifically ask otherwise)
• The natural shape of your features
• Character lines that make you recognizable

This is professional photo retouching done right. Enhancement, not erasure.

The “You on Your Best Day” Philosophy

I tell every client the same thing: a great headshot shows you on your best day, not someone else’s face.

You know that version of yourself when you got enough sleep, your skin is clear, your hair cooperates, and the lighting is just right? That’s what we’re aiming for. Not a version of you that requires a filter, or an app, or some AI to generate.

Here’s the two-question test I use to check if retouching has gone too far:

1. Would someone who knows you recognize this photo immediately?
2. If you walked into a meeting after someone saw this headshot, would they think, “Yep, that’s them”?

If the answer to either question is no, the retouching has crossed the line. You need to be recognizable, or the photo isn’t doing its job.

Common Over-Retouching Mistakes

Let’s talk about what over-edited headshots actually look like, because once you see these patterns, you can’t unsee them.

Porcelain skin with no texture. This is the most common mistake. Someone smooths the skin so aggressively that pores disappear entirely, and the person looks like a mannequin. Real skin has texture. If yours doesn’t, it’s been over-retouched.

Glowing teeth and eyes. Yes, we can brighten teeth slightly, But when teeth look like they’re emitting light, it’s gone too far. You start to enter uncanny valley territory.

Complete wrinkle erasure. If you’re 50 and your headshot makes you look 20, that’s a problem. Laugh lines, crow’s feet, and forehead lines (typically) tell the story of your experience. Removing them entirely makes you look less like a seasoned professional and more like someone who doesn’t want to own their age.

The Instagram filter effect. Soft focus, skin blurring, and that “airbrushed” look might work for social media (maybe), but it has no place in professional headshots. It immediately signals “not trustworthy” to anyone viewing your LinkedIn profile or company bio.

Why Over-Retouching Backfires

Here’s the brutal truth: when your headshot doesn’t match reality, people notice. And they judge you for it.

The in-person disconnect. You send your headshot ahead of a meeting or interview, or they look you up online. They see a flawless, heavily retouched image. Then you walk in looking like an actual human being with pores and texture and maybe some lines around your eyes. The disconnect creates doubt. “Why did they feel the need to edit so much?” “I didn’t even recognize them”

Professional credibility damage. Executives, consultants, attorneys, and other senior professionals need to project authority and trustworthiness. Over-edited headshots do the opposite—they make you look insecure or out of touch. For instance, in the finance and healthcare industries, where authenticity and straightforwardness are valued, an overly polished headshot can actually hurt your reputation.

Industry-specific consequences. For actors, over-retouching is a career killer. Casting directors need to know exactly what you look like because they’re imagining you in a role. If your headshot shows someone who doesn’t exist, you won’t get called in (or worse, you’ll get called in and immediately dismissed because you don’t match your photo). Models face similar issues. Corporate professionals aren’t exempt either—if your headshot doesn’t match your video calls, people start to wonder. Learn more about why you should use a specialist photographer for your headshots.

The Photographer’s Approach

Here’s something most people don’t realize: the need for heavy retouching could also mean something went wrong during the shoot.

Good lighting, the right lens, and proper direction (typically) mean you need less retouching, not more. If I’m lighting you well and helping you find natural, flattering expressions, your skin texture looks great in-camera. Your features are balanced. The image already looks polished.

At that point, retouching is about subtle enhancement—cleaning up distractions, ensuring color consistency, and making sure nothing pulls focus from you. It’s not about reconstruction.

Here’s what proper, natural retouching looks like—enhanced but still authentic, with skin texture preserved:

My approach is transparent. We can talk about your specific retouching needs during the session (or before). If you have specific concerns—something like, “I’m recovering from a breakout” or “I didn’t sleep well last night”—we’ll address those thoughtfully.

I also believe in giving you the tools to advocate for yourself. If you’re working with any photographer, you should feel comfortable saying, “I want to look polished, but I don’t want to look fake.” That’s not a difficult request—it’s the standard we should all be working toward.

What You Can Request

If you’re getting professional headshots taken (or if you’ve already had them taken and are reviewing retouching), here’s how to communicate what you want.

Use the temporary vs. permanent framework. You can say something like, “Please remove temporary distractions like blemishes and flyaways, but keep my skin texture and natural features.” That gives clear direction without having to list every detail.

Be specific about concerns. If you’re worried about a particular feature—maybe you hate your under-eye circles, or you want to make sure a recent scar gets softened—mention it. Good photographers will work with you on those things while keeping the overall result natural.

Ask to see examples. Before the shoot, ask your photographer to show you examples of their retouching style. Do people still look like themselves? Does skin still have texture? If their portfolio shows a lot of over-edited headshots, that’s valuable information and worth a conversation.

Trust your gut. If you look at your retouched headshot and think, “I don’t look like me,” speak up. A professional photographer (typically) wants you to be happy and authentic. Those two things shouldn’t conflict.

The Future: Authentic Is the New Perfect

Here’s where we’re headed in 2025 and beyond: the professionals who embrace authenticity are going to win.

As AI-generated headshots become more common—and more obviously fake—the value of real, professionally shot, naturally retouched images is skyrocketing. People want to know you’re a real person. They want to see the lines that come from smiling, the texture that comes from living, the features that make you recognizable.

Your so-called “imperfections” are actually what make you memorable. They’re what make you trustworthy. They’re what make you you.

The days of trying to look like a stock photo model are over (for most professionals—actors and models is a different story, but even there, authenticity is gaining ground). Now, the goal is to look like the best version of yourself, not like someone else entirely.

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I help Philadelphia professionals and actors get headshots that look polished and authentic—no porcelain skin, no uncanny valley weirdness, just you on your best day. If you’ve been burned by over-edited photos before, or if you’re worried about looking fake, let’s talk. We’ll make sure your headshot actually looks like you.