Overview

Retouching is one of the most essential and powerful skills in photo editing—and in this course, taught by Ally, the creator of Affinity Revolution, you’ll master it from start to finish using Affinity Photo. Whether you want to remove distractions, enhance facial features, or guide a viewer’s eye through light and shadow, this course will give you the skills to transform any image with confidence. Designed for photographers, digital artists, and hobbyists who already have a basic understanding of Affinity Photo, this course will take your editing workflow to a professional level. Taught by Affinity Revolution, you'll follow a structured, hands-on approach to mastering advanced retouching tools and techniques. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to: * Remove blemishes, flyaway hairs, and background distractions using tools like the Clone Brush and Frequency Separation. * Use Dodging & Burning to control lighting and draw attention to key areas of your image. * Apply your retouching skills in real-world projects that simulate professional editing scenarios. To get the most out of this course, you should be comfortable navigating Affinity Photo and using basic editing tools. If you’re ready to take your photo editing to the next level—join us in the class! Instructor bio: Ally, the creator of Affinity Revolution, has been teaching people how to use the Affinity creative suite since 2016. Through her easy-to-follow tutorials on Affinity Photo, Designer, and Publisher, she focuses on delivering maximum value in minimal time—making complex tools feel simple and approachable. Ally knows that learning Affinity can feel overwhelming at first, but with her step-by-step guidance, you’ll quickly gain confidence and master the skills to bring your creative projects to life.

Syllabus

Getting Started & Retouching Foundations

Begin your journey into professional retouching with Affinity Revolution as your guide. This module introduces the class structure, walks you through essential setup steps, and explores foundational tools like the Inpainting, Clone, and Paint Brushes. You’ll practice applying these tools in beginner to advanced projects to build confidence and practical skills from the start.

Frequency Separation & Color Adjustments

Dig deeper into high-end retouching techniques with frequency separation, HSL adjustments, and selective coloring. You’ll also learn how to set up Dodge & Burn layers for controlled tonal enhancements, all while keeping your edits non-destructive and flexible.

Skin, Contour & Ethics of Retouching

This module focuses on refining the subject’s features with careful skin smoothing and contouring. You’ll also explore the powerful Liquify Persona and tools, and learn how to make changes that enhance realism—while maintaining ethical awareness in how people are represented.

Eye Retouching Workflow

In this focused module, you’ll enhance one of the most expressive parts of any portrait—the eyes. Affinity Revolution walks you through an efficient, repeatable process for blemish removal, color enhancement, and sharpening to bring out natural vibrancy and clarity.

Lips, Highlights & Hair Retouching

Learn how to refine lips and hair for a finished, professional look. You’ll enhance lip shape and color, create subtle highlight accents, and master advanced hair retouching—including adding strands and cleaning up flyaways to complete your portraits.

Full Retouch Project 1

In your first full portrait project, you’ll apply everything you’ve learned so far in a real-world scenario. From planning your edits to fine-tuning eyes, lips, and skin, this module helps you develop a consistent workflow that results in professional-quality imagery.

Full Retouch Project 2

Build on your experience with a new, more complex full retouch project. This time you’ll tackle challenges like lighting issues and tricky backgrounds, while refining your Liquify, sharpening, and correction skills to maintain natural, high-quality results.

Full Retouch Project 3 & Wrap-Up

Wrap up the course with a final comprehensive retouching project that brings all your skills together. From Liquify to Frequency Separation and final sharpening, you’ll create a polished image while reinforcing the tools and workflows mastered throughout the course.