Sound familiar?
- Amazon rejected your images because the background is grey
- A hundred product photos all have slightly different colour and brightness
- Your best team photo has an exit sign growing out of someone's head
- Dust, fingerprints and scratches show on every close-up
- The printer says your images are RGB and need converting
- A treasured old photo for your company history is faded and torn
Key facts
- £45 an hour + VAT, with an estimate before work starts
- Done remotely: send RAW, TIFF, PSD or JPEG files by download link
- Background removal to pure white RGB 255, 255, 255 or transparent PNG
- Colour matched across a set, delivered in sRGB for web or CMYK for print
- Layered PSD files available, so your designer can adjust the edit
- Honest retouching: no changes that would mislead buyers or break advertising rules
- Works on photos we shot and on photos you already have
What editing and retouching covers
Editing is the general correction every photo needs: exposure, white balance, contrast, straightening and cropping. Retouching is detailed, pixel-level work on specific areas: removing dust and scratches, cleaning reflections, smoothing creases, removing distractions or combining several frames into one. Editing is quick per image; retouching can take minutes or hours depending on what is involved.
Typical jobs we handle:
- cutting products out onto pure white or transparent backgrounds
- matching colour and brightness across a whole catalogue
- removing dust, fingerprints, scuffs and price stickers from products
- natural skin retouching on headshots
- removing distractions such as cables, signs and bins from commercial shots
- combining bracketed exposures for interiors with bright windows
- restoring faded, torn or scratched old photographs
- resizing and renaming batches for marketplace upload
Background removal and marketplace rules
The most common request is a clean white background. Amazon requires main images on pure white, RGB 255, 255, 255, with the product filling about 85% of the frame, according to its Seller Central image requirements. A background that looks white on your screen is often 240 or 245, which can get a listing flagged. We cut out the product with a clipping path or mask, set the background to true white, keep a soft natural shadow if you want one, and check values before export.
Hair, fur, fine mesh and glass need more careful masking than a box or a bottle, which is why we estimate per job. For transparent cutouts we supply PNG files; for marketplaces, JPEG on white. See product photography if you would rather we shot the products from scratch.
Colour, file formats and print
Most edits are delivered as JPEGs in sRGB, the colour space phones, browsers and marketplaces expect. For print, images usually need converting to CMYK using your printer's profile, and they need enough pixels: at 300 dpi, an A4 page (210 × 297 mm) needs roughly 2480 × 3508 pixels. If an image is too small for its print size, no amount of editing will add genuine detail, so we tell you before you pay for retouching it.
If your designer wants to adjust the edit later, we can supply layered PSD or TIFF files with the retouching on separate layers. For print design work we can also place the images into the final artwork.
Where retouching must stop
Retouching should make a photo accurate and clean, not deceptive. Advertising rules apply to images as much as words. The ASA has banned cosmetics adverts where retouching exaggerated what the product could do, and it treats food, property and product images the same way: if the picture creates a false impression of what someone will get, it can mislead. Property listings also fall under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, so removing fixed features such as power lines is off limits.
We will remove a price sticker, but not a scratch that is on the actual item you are selling. We will smooth a temporary blemish, but not reshape a face or body. If a request crosses that line, we say so and suggest an honest alternative.
How to send work and what it costs
Retouching is charged at £45 an hour + VAT. Send a sample or the full set by download link, tell us where the images will be used, and we give an estimate before starting so there are no surprises. Large batches of similar images, such as two hundred product cutouts, are usually far quicker per image than a single complex composite. Send the highest quality originals you have: RAW or TIFF beats a JPEG downloaded from social media. If you need images in several sizes, list them up front, for example a 2048 px square for Shopify and a 1000 px web version, so every export is done in one pass. Get in touch with your files.
What you get
- Edited JPEGs in sRGB for web and marketplaces
- Transparent-background PNG cutouts
- Layered PSD or TIFF files on request
- CMYK conversions prepared for your printer's profile
- Batch-consistent colour and exposure across a set
- Before-and-after comparisons for approval
How it works and what it costs
Logos from £150, brochures from £295, photography from £295 a half day and CAD at £45 an hour, all + VAT. You get a fixed price before we start.
Tell us the brief
What it is for, who will see it, where it will be used and any examples you like. Rough is fine.
Fixed price
We confirm the price and what you get, in writing, before any work starts.
First designs
We design, shoot or model it and share the first version for your comments.
Refine
We make the changes, check every detail, and prepare the files properly for print, web or manufacture.
Final files
You get the finished files in the formats you need, ready for your printer, website, social channels or manufacturer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does photo retouching cost?
dijitul charges £45 an hour + VAT for photo editing and retouching. Simple cutouts and colour corrections take minutes each, while compositing or restoration can take longer. We look at your files and give an estimate before starting, so you know the cost upfront.
Can you edit photos that someone else took?
Yes, as long as you have the right to use and alter them. dijitul edits product shots, team photos and older images supplied by clients. If the photos came from another photographer or a stock library, check your licence allows editing before sending them.
Can you make my product backgrounds pure white for Amazon?
Yes. dijitul cuts out products and sets the background to pure white, RGB 255, 255, 255, as Amazon requires for main images, with the product filling about 85% of the frame. We check the white values before export, because off-white backgrounds are a common reason for listing problems.
What file formats do I need to send?
Send the best originals you have: RAW, TIFF or full-size JPEG straight from the camera. Images saved from social media or messaging apps are heavily compressed and limit what editing can achieve. dijitul returns JPEG, PNG, TIFF or layered PSD files depending on what you need.
Can you remove things from property photos?
dijitul removes temporary items such as cars, bins and personal belongings. We do not remove fixed features like power lines, pylons or neighbouring buildings, or hide defects, because that could mislead buyers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
Can you restore old or damaged photographs?
Yes. dijitul works from a high-resolution scan of the original, then repairs tears, scratches, stains and fading and rebalances colour. It suits company history pages, anniversary displays and memorial material. Restoration is charged at £45 an hour + VAT, estimated after we see the scan.
Related
Get a fixed price
Send a rough brief. You'll know exactly what it costs before we start.