Where is the line in product retouching?

Retouching is unavoidable in product photography: sensor dust, an unwanted reflection, a mark left on the studio sweep, a colour cast. Those are faults of the shoot rather than the product, and fixing them is expected.

The line sits where correcting turns into changing. Enlarging a portion in food, erasing a flaw in texture entirely, pulling colour to a saturation the product never had — all three promise a product the viewer will not find at purchase. The regulatory ground is not empty either: visual presentation that misleads the consumer falls under advertising rules.

A simple criterion works in practice: can the photographed product be placed next to the one sold? If yes, the retouching is correction. If not, the work is illustration and should be called that.

Technically, the thing that makes the most difference is not retouching but the shoot. The right light, background and lens remove most of the hours spent afterwards. In food photography the freshness of the plate belongs in the same category: the dish deteriorates while it waits, and retouching cannot bring it back.

Finally, file discipline: layered work keeps every correction reversible. Being able to go back when the client says 'the first version was better' is the most practical benefit of retouching.