Commercial beauty retouching is as intricate as it is tedious. Retouchers can spend many, many hours on one single image, as we’ve seen in timelapse videos like these. Meticulous attention to detail and skill is needed to perfect an image while still making the image look realistic.

[REWIND: JULIA KUZMENKO MCKIM ON MASTERING BRUSHES FOR DODGE & BURN WORK]

Los Angeles-based beauty photographer and digital artist, Julia Kuzmenko McKim is a master when it comes to commercial retouching, having released an entire line of tutorials and training materials, as well as an entire academy devoted to “rais[ing] the bar on industry standards and help cultivate a new generation of top-skilled professionals.”

For Photoshop Week 2015 on CreativeLive a few weeks ago, Julia imparted some of her beauty retouching knowledge, and the video clip below is just a snippet of that appearance. In the 5 minute video, which you’ll find below, Julia walks you through her process of dodging and burning. It strikes me yet again how precise beauty retouching actually is so you can render a flawless image.

If you’re just starting out in the beauty retouching world, I highly recommend Julia Kuzmenko McKim’s eBooks, Creative Retouching Essentials in a Day and Introduction to Photo Retouching, both available in our store.

Watch Commercial Beauty Retouching: Dodge and Burn Tips