What Files to Send a Retoucher

Send RAW files if you can

RAW files hold the most color and highlight detail, which gives the most room to work. Send them along with a reference for the intended look, such as a JPEG of your edit or your Capture One or Lightroom settings. Without that, a retoucher has no way of knowing what you saw on set.

If the files are already processed

Send the highest quality you have, ideally a 16-bit TIFF in a wide color space such as Adobe RGB. Avoid sharpening, noise reduction or heavy looks that can't be undone. A compressed JPEG can be retouched, but it limits what's possible, especially on skin and smooth backgrounds.

Send the frames around your select

A better hand, a straighter sleeve or a cleaner background may be sitting in the frame next to the one you chose. Include close alternatives, and say which parts you'd accept from them. If you shot a clean frame of the empty set, or plates for a composite, send those too.

Keep things easy to find

• Keep the camera's original file names, so notes always point at the right frame.
• Put a list of selects in the email or a text file, not only in folder names.
• Use one folder per look or story.
• Use a link that stays live until the job is done, and check that it opens without a login.

Send color references

If color matters, send a frame with a color target and say what the reference is: a physical sample, a Pantone number or an approved image. How to keep product color consistent explains why this helps so much, and color correction vs color grading helps you say which one you want.

Agree on what comes back

Ask for what you need before work starts: a layered master, flat TIFFs, web JPEGs, print files. If you'll want to adjust anything yourself later, ask for layered files. For a full brief, use the template in how to brief a retoucher.