How to hire a retoucher

How to hire a retoucher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step retoucher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a retoucher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new retoucher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a retoucher, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   Hiring the perfect retoucher also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents retoucher salaries for various positions.

   Type of Retoucher	Description	Hourly rate
   Retoucher		$11-51
   Digital Retoucher	A digital retoucher specializes in altering or enhancing images using special computer software. Their responsibilities usually include assessing photos to identify which areas need retouching, accepting requests from the clients, removing blemishes, adjusting the brightness or sharpness, cropping or re-sizing the images, and changing color temperatures... Show more	$11-51
   Photo Retoucher	A Photo Retoucher retouches the assigned digital photos to the client's standards. They communicate with the production team and digital imaging manager to ensure each task complies with the highlighted standards... Show more	$11-51

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Color Correction
   • Adobe Photoshop
   • Product Photography
   • Mac
   • Creative Direction
   • Adobe Creative Suite
   • Product Images
   • Lightroom
   • Digital Images
   • Cmyk
   • RGB
   • Art Direction
   • Retouch Images
   • Image Manipulation

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage and organize photography and video productions and key personnel.
   • Design working environment on CMYK and RGB color correction.
   • Retouch in CMYK for print.
   • Digitize film and print photography.
   • Color-Correct clothes, jewelry, and accessories.
   • Retouch images for editorials, and book publication.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your retoucher job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A retoucher salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, retouchers' average salary in washington is 58% less than in connecticut.
   • Seniority. Entry-level retouchers earn 78% less than senior-level retouchers.
   • Certifications. A retoucher with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a retoucher's salary.

   Average retoucher salary

   $51,538yearly

   $24.78 hourly rate

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   Entry-level retoucher salary

   $24,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 23, 2026

4. Writing a retoucher job description

   A job description for a retoucher role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a retoucher job description:

   Retoucher job description example

   About Us
   Food52 is an award-winning brand in the kitchen and home space, using an innovative commerce, content and community business model to reach over 24 million homecooks and homebodies, and was recently named No. 28 on Fast Company's list of the World's Most Innovative Companies of 2022. We're passionate about giving our deeply-engaged audience everything they need to enjoy life's most important pleasures - food, home & connection to others.
   
   As part of an ongoing initiative, we remain focused and committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion as the center of our hiring process and our company culture. We're committed to building a community that values and honors the contributions of underrepresented communities to our shared culinary experience-starting with the Food52 family. You can read more about our support, and link to our progress, in our DEI Vision Statement.
   
   About the Role
   The Senior Retoucher will be a critical member of our creative operations team. You will collaborate with cross-functional partners to ensure marketing assets are executed to Food52 brand standards and delivered on-time for campaign launches. You're the perfect fit for the role if you pair obsessive-level organizational habits with time management skills, and a sense of humor.
   
   Reporting Structure
   Reporting to the Director, Creative Ops, you'll work closely with our Creative Ops team, including the Studio Team and VP of Creative. As a key member of this team, you'll also partner with Marketing, Commerce and freelance talent.
   
   Characteristics
   - Approaches challenges from ‘a place of yes.'
   - Ability to manage priorities for themselves and others, and pivot easily when priorities change.
   - Inquisitive - not afraid to ask questions and challenge the status quo. Change is good.
   - Detail oriented (able to interpret and catch mistakes within a file).
   ResponsibilitiesEvaluate images for proper contrast, neutrality, and tone within brand guidelines and maintain the visual integrity of our assets across all marketing channels.Receive creative direction from Photographer, Studio Manager and Creative Directors and implement any changes necessary.Retouch digital assets as directed including masking, compositing, and color correcting.Maintain precise post-production consistency, in everything from file-naming to uploading.Collaborate with project managers on larger timelines for print campaigns, seasonal marketing assets, and acquired brand ad hoc work. You'll be in charge of ensuring that images deliver on clients' creative expectations.Hire, assign, organize, and act as liaison for all retouching projects (in-house & freelance).Partner with Creative Ops Manager to maintain and stay within the retouching budget.Oversee digital asset management tool, including uploading final assets, setting up new accounts, managing permissions, and more.Review current standards and practices against industry standards and recommend changes in order to stay up-to-date and optimize efficiency.
   Requirements5+ years of experience in commercial retouching Expert with Photoshop on MacOS, proficient with all other Adobe Creative Cloud products Competency in Capture One and Adobe Photoshop (experience with WebDam, a plus) Familiarity with all studio tools, lighting, technical software and systems Experience in color management for digital output (in both correction and matching) Excellent communication skills; willing and able to escalate issues when asset delivery becomes at risk Ability to juggle multiple projects with meticulous attention to detail, and prioritize and adhere to fast deadlines Experience with budget management Freelancer management experience Experience working in Smartsheet or other project management programs Self-motivated, enthusiastic team player; have the ability to successfully self-manage Experience with portrait retouching and retouching skin tones, a plus
   Compensation & Benefits
   Final compensation for this role will be determined by various factors such as a candidate's relevant work experience, skillset and geographic location, and includes an annual bonus plan. Additionally, we offer a comprehensive benefits package which includes:
   Medical, dental and vision options (some at no cost to you!)
   Flexible spending accounts (health & dependent care)
   Short and long term disability, life insurance
   401(k) retirement plan
   Paid holidays, unlimited vacation, company-wide weeks off (Summer Week and Winter Week)
   Flexible hours and working arrangements
   Exclusive access and employee discounts to our Food52 and Schoolhouse shop products!
   
   Visa Sponsorship
   Currently, Food52 does not provide Visa sponsorship. All applicants must be able to provide legal proof of their eligibility to work in the U.S.
   
   Food52 is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of one's sex, age, race, color, creed, national origin, alienage, religion, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation or affectional preference, gender identity and expression, disability, genetic trait or predisposition, carrier status, citizenship, veteran or military status and other personal characteristics protected by law. All applications will receive consideration for employment without regard to legally protected characteristics. Food52 will consider qualified applicants, including those with criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of applicable state and local "Fair Chance" laws.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right retoucher for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with retouchers they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit retouchers who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your retoucher job on Zippia to find and recruit retoucher candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit retouchers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new retoucher

   Once you've found the retoucher candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new retoucher. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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