Before Photoshop: how advertising images were retouched

May 18
4 min read

Today we take for granted that an advertising image goes through Photoshop or some digital tool before being published. However, photo retouching is as old as photography itself. Over the years, the way images are retouched has evolved alongside technology, but also with aesthetic tastes, trends, and the way society understands beauty and visual communication.

In this article, we take a broad journey through the history of advertising retouching: from the craft processes before Photoshop, through the digital revolution, to the emergence of artificial intelligence. At each stage, we include real examples so you can accompany the text with representative images.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1. Before Photoshop: retouching as a craft

2. The arrival of Photoshop: the major turning point

3. Excessive retouching and the unreal aesthetic

4. The shift toward the natural and authentic

5. Artificial intelligence: the new landscape

6. How visual tastes have changed over time

1.Before Photoshop: retouching as a craft

Before the digital era, photo retouching was a profession in itself. Advertising images were worked on by hand, directly on negatives, slides, or paper prints. The margin for error was minimal, and the experience of the retoucher made all the difference.

Black-and-white photograph of a woman with curly hair. The image on the left is unedited, and the one on the right is edited. — The same photo of the actress **Joan Crawford** before and after retouching. Hollywood photographers intervened directly on the images **on the negatives**, using **brushes or airbrush with black ink**, as well as the **stippling technique**.

Most commonly used techniques

Brush and airbrush retouching: inks, watercolors, or gouache were applied to soften skin, remove shine, or correct small imperfections.
Negative scraping and marking: blades, pencils, or needles were used to lighten or darken specific areas.
Physical masks and dodging: used during development to control the exposure of specific parts of the image.
Manual photomontages: cutouts, collages, and double exposures made it possible to create impossible scenes long before digital retouching.

Lighting and art direction were essential: the better the image was resolved on set, the less retouching was needed afterward.

Cosmetics advertising from the 1940s and 1950s: ads from brands such as Max Factor or Helena Rubinstein, where the skin appears smooth but still retains texture.

2.The arrival of Photoshop: the great turning point

With the appearance of Photoshop in the late 1980s and its popularization in the 1990s, advertising retouching experienced an unprecedented leap. The process became digital, and control over the image became virtually absolute.

The beginnings of Adobe Photoshop date back to the late 1980s, evolving from an academic project into becoming the industry standard. — The beginnings of **Adobe Photoshop** date back to the **late 1980s**, evolving from an academic project into becoming the **industry standard**.

What changed with digital retouching

Layers and masks: allowed work to be done without damaging the original image.
Cloning and correction tools: removing imperfections became fast and precise.
Complete scene manipulation: bodies, backgrounds, skies, and products could be modified or even built from scratch.

This opened the door to a new advertising aesthetic: images that were more striking, clean, and spectacular.

Magazine covers such as Vogue (1990–2000) are clear examples of the rise of intensive retouching.

This stage marked the beginning of a very strong aspirational aesthetic, but it also created a disconnect between advertising imagery and reality.

3.Excessive retouching and the unreal aesthetic

During the 2000s and early 2010s, digital retouching reached its most exaggerated point. Technical perfection became the standard.

Visual characteristics of this stage

Completely smooth skin, without pores.
Altered body proportions.
Faces and bodies far removed from everyday reality.

This trend sparked an important social debate about beauty standards and the responsibility of advertising.

Advertisements from Maybelline and Lancôme withdrawn due to excessive retouching on the models.

4.The shift toward the natural and authentic

As a reaction to the excess, many brands began to embrace a more realistic and human aesthetic. Retouching does not disappear, but it becomes invisible.

What brands seek in this stage

Real skin texture.
Body, ethnic, and age diversity.
Imperfections that add personality.

Retouching becomes a support tool rather than a transformation tool. These images connect better with audiences because they convey closeness and credibility.

Dove advertisement featuring seven different women. — **Dove campaign “Real Beauty”**

If you want to learn more about the Dove “Real Beauty” campaign, you can also read: How a campaign is conceived: A critical guide to the creative process, with the Dove case as a mirror.

5.Artificial intelligence: the new landscape

Today, artificial intelligence has introduced a new way of working with advertising imagery. AI-based tools make it possible to accelerate processes that previously took hours.

What AI brings to retouching

Automatic background removal and generation.
Quality and resolution enhancement.
Selective retouching guided by algorithms.

The challenge now is not only technical but also ethical and creative: knowing how far to go. The current trend seeks balance—leveraging technology without losing authenticity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFmpVy6eGXs

Heinz launched a brilliant AI image-generation campaign that played with the iconic image of the king of ketchup. The idea was simple: give the AI the ability to generate an image from a simple text prompt.

6.How visual tastes have changed over time

The history of advertising retouching shows that technology advances, but visual taste evolves in cycles. We moved from craft-based processes to hyperreal imagery, and once again toward a search for naturalness supported by advanced tools.

Today, audiences value images that are well produced but honest; creative but believable.

At FotoproStudio, we understand retouching as an extension of each brand’s visual language. It is not about erasing reality, but about enhancing it.

Would you like us to help you define the ideal level of retouching for your brand or project? Every image has a story to tell, and the technique should always serve the message.