Why Aperty is the Best for Flawless Skin Retouching

What I really would have loved back then was Aperty. This portrait-dedicated editing software does a huge amount of the heavy lifting for you, giving you that polished and editorial look with a single click. So if you are where I once was and want to achieve professional results without hours of manual work, Aperty might be exactly what you need. Let’s take a look at how it can transform your portrait photography.

Why Textures Matter

The great thing about Aperty is that while it can give your model flawless looking skin, its real strength lies in preserving those natural textures. This is the crucial step that prevents plastic-looking results and shows the difference between beginner and more experienced editing. We want to see some evidence of pores, natural lines and the subtle wrinkles that make a face look human. One of the biggest hurdles for beginners is knowing what to leave in the edit. Many think the aim is a smooth synthetic finish, but in reality that is the fastest way to make a portrait look overdone.

What to Fix and What to Keep Natural

So, what exactly should you look for in your model’s face when you begin the retouching process?

What to Remove
The best place to start is always with blemishes. Beginners naturally gravitate towards these first, as acne, pimples and other temporary skin issues are easy fixes that instantly give your model a cleaner look. Next, work on uneven skin tones. This is something I remember struggling with, as blotchy patches or lighting-related discolouration can be tricky to balance. Even tones are what give portraits that polished, professional feel. Then move on to shine and oily areas of the skin which are especially noticeable under strong lighting around the forehead and nose. These bright patches are distracting and rarely flattering, so dial them back as much as possible. Finally, brighten dark circles slightly to create a fresher look. Anyone with deep set eyes will naturally have darker shadows here, so focus on reducing the heaviness without making the area look unnatural or washed out.

What to Keep
We’ve touched on pores already, but it is worth stressing again that while smoothing will reduce their intensity, they must still remain visible. Keeping texture around the nose, cheeks and forehead is what keeps skin looking authentic. Everyone’s skin is different, so zoom in and judge how much smoothing is truly needed. Next, fine lines and wrinkles. This is an area many are unsure about, especially when starting out. These lines should always remain in the image. You can soften them slightly, but removing them completely can flatten the face and instantly give an overcooked look. Finally, I personally prefer to keep natural features such as freckles and moles. Some clients may request removal, but otherwise, I feel they are part of what makes someone unique and shouldn’t be treated as blemishes.

Aperty to the Rescue

All of this can feel overwhelming when you are starting out, especially when you are unsure of how to get the balance right. I would love to tell you to reduce pores by a certain percentage and give you some concrete numbers to make the process easier, but the truth is that every face is different and each one needs its own approach. This is exactly where Aperty steps in and gives you a helping hand.

It offers a wide range of portrait-focused tools designed to bring out the best in your work. You can achieve flattering, professional results that keep skin looking natural rather than synthetic, and as a beginner your edits will instantly look far more polished.

You will also save a huge amount of time. Everything I mentioned earlier takes far longer when done manually. Drawing paths, dealing with tricky hair selections, and isolating specific areas to edit can be tedious. If you are working through multiple shots or editing several people in one image, that is a lot of time spent at your desk instead of out shooting. And if you work with clients, cutting down your editing time means more availability for bookings, which is a big advantage.

Let’s take a look at why using Aperty beats manual processing and how you can use it to achieve the level of retouching your photos truly deserve.

Aperty’s Skin Retouching Tools

Skin Blemish Removal
Starting off with the most essential task in skin retouching, Aperty offers a powerful blemish removal tool that gives you the ability to separate blemishes from freckles. As mentioned before, I personally like to keep freckles, but sometimes a client may ask to have them removed, so it is great that Aperty lets you separate them from blemishes and gives them their own dedicated tool.

The best thing about the blemish removal tool is the details slider. This allows you to preserve natural textures in the skin as you smooth it, helping you avoid the plastic and overprocessed look. Use these tools together and you will get that professional finish much more easily.

Skin Wrinkles
The sliders work really well for tasks such as wrinkle removal because you can apply as much as needed and see in real time if you are pushing things too far. Aperty sets itself apart here by allowing you to target specific areas of the face. The forehead, eyes and smile lines can all be worked on independently. This is crucial for keeping the overall result natural, as some areas may need more attention than others. Applying wrinkle smoothing globally often does not look as convincing, so this targeted approach really helps.

Face Skin
I think this is the strongest set of retouching tools that Aperty offers. The Skin Smoothing tool lets you soften the skin while still retaining as much natural texture as you prefer thanks to the Details slider, helping us retain those pores for a more realistic look.

Then there is the Face Skin Colour Correction tool, which would have saved me a lot of time when I was starting out. It removes any red or uneven areas and levels everything out with a single click.

Next, we have the dark circles remover, which brightens that specific area under the eyes. You can apply it as gently or as strongly as needed to keep the look natural. Then there is Face Brighten, which helps draw attention to the face and correct any slight underexposure from shooting. Using both of these tools together gives a far more flattering result.

Finally, we have Shine Removal. This instantly tackles those harsh, distracting highlights that often appear on the forehead or nose, especially when you are working with studio lights. It detects the shiny areas automatically and lets you reduce them gradually for a polished look.

Make Up
The last skin-related set of tools I want to show you sits inside the Make Up section. It is not retouching in the traditional sense, but I wanted to include it because it can help level-up your portrait further. You can apply blush, contour, highlights, eyeliner and lipstick with impressive realism.

The tools are surprisingly precise. For example, the blush can be applied only to the cheeks, or to both the cheeks and nose if you prefer that look. Personally, I really enjoy working with contour as it helps define the model’s features and adds more depth to the face.

Top Tip for Natural-Looking Results

This is something I do with all of my photography editing, and even now I still stick to it. Whether I am working with portraits, street, or landscape photography, the process stays the same. Once you believe you are finished with an edit, close your software and go and do something else. Then come back to the photo a couple of hours later, or even the following day with a refreshed eye.

When you return to the image, ask yourself if you are immediately satisfied with what you are looking at. Or does something jump out at you and make you second guess whether you are happy with the edit? I do this because working too closely on a photo can make me miss things, and this is especially true when I am editing a series of images.

With portrait editing, you will instantly see whether you have kept that natural look or pushed things a little too far.

When asking others for opinions, remember that you will always receive mixed feedback. Editing is an artistic choice, and everyone has their own idea of what looks right. This does not mean you should avoid asking for advice, but it does mean that relying too heavily on others can stop you from forming your own style. Over time, your instincts will sharpen and you will begin to trust your own judgement.

The Bottom Line

So the next time you have a large batch of portrait photos to edit, why not give Aperty a try? You will instantly raise the quality of your work and produce professional skin retouching in a fraction of the time it would usually take. It is a great way to impress clients too, which could lead to more bookings.

It has helped me a great deal, and I especially like that I can smooth skin and correct tones while still keeping everything looking natural. Avoiding that overprocessed look makes a huge difference to the overall quality of your portraits.

Enjoy exploring everything the skin retouching tools have to offer, along with the rest of the portrait-dedicated features, and I am sure you will be pleased with the results.