If you take portrait photos, and you want your images to have the kind of polished, refined look worthy of a professional portfolio, then retouching is an art that you must learn. This is true whether you’re an expert or beginner, a hobbyist or a seasoned pro.
Here’s the bad news: Retouching, when done with conventional editing software, comes with a significant learning curve. To make matters worse, it’s time-consuming and tedious. It often involves carefully masking your subject’s face and various features, brushing in subtle exposure adjustments, smoothing skin, healing blemishes, and more – and with all that complete, you’ll restart the process with the next image, and the next, and the next.
Fortunately, Anthropics’ PortraitPro software is far from conventional. As I explained in my review of PortraitPro 23, the editor is designed to help photographers do pro-level retouching at astonishingly high speeds while remaining accessible to portraitists of all levels. In other words, it’s the type of editor that every portrait shooter should try, simply to understand just how effectively it can shortcut a standard retouching workflow.
I was (and still remain!) a big fan of PortraitPro 23. However, in March of this year, Anthropics launched PortraitPro 24 – a dramatically upgraded program that promises to revolutionize portrait retouching workflows yet again thanks to a slew of powerful additions, some of which incorporate cutting-edge generative AI technology.
I recently got my hands on the new program, and I’ve spent the last couple of weeks putting it through its paces. In this article, I offer my thoughts on PortraitPro 24; I walk you through the new features, explain why the program is so useful for portrait shooters, and close with a discussion of whether the latest version is worth the price.
So if you’re ready to discover the transformative power of PortraitPro 24, then let’s dive right in!
What’s new in PortraitPro 24?
Anthropics PortraitPro 24 contains all the time-saving portrait-editing features of its predecessor, such as the intelligent face masking, Lighting & Coloring tools, the Skin Smoothing tools, the Makeup tools (the list goes on).
But PortraitPro 24 also boasts an impressive list of upgrades, including several new tools that draw on generative AI to take portrait retouching to the next level. Let’s take a closer look:
Mouth and teeth inpainting
As pretty much every portrait photographer knows, mouths and teeth rarely look ideal straight out of camera, yet they’re a real struggle to edit effectively.
Past versions of PortraitPro have offered tools for whitening teeth, adjusting lip shape, and the like, and those certainly helped address the problem. But PortraitPro 24’s new AI-powered Mouth & Teeth inpainting tool goes above and beyond by using targeted generative AI to enhance your subject’s lips and teeth.
Here’s how it works:
First, you make sure that your subject’s mouth is accurately masked by the program’s auto-masking software.
Next, you open the Mouth & Teeth tool in the Inpainting panel.
Finally, you can then click through the dropdown menu and watch as PortraitPro 24 generates realistic new teeth and lips to eliminate any problematic areas.
What really sells the tool, at least for me, is the control and finesse that it offers. In addition to generating five new AI mouth “versions” for each subject, you get a series of sliders that target each mouth feature separately, which you can adjust to create a realistic blend of the subject’s original mouth with the new mouth.
For photographers that do a lot of tighter portraits – headshots, half-body shots, etc – this is bound to be a game-changer. Instead of fiddling around with brushes, masks, and teeth whitening presets, you can use the Mouth & Teeth Inpainting tool to rapidly generate an improved mouth, then blend it with the original in a couple of seconds. And it’s so easy to work with; just activate the tool, scroll through your options, and then move the sliders until you like the result.
Obviously, as with any generative AI tool, the results won’t be perfect one-hundred percent of the time. But you have five AI options to choose from, plus you have the sliders to ensure the final image looks natural.
Glasses reflection reducer
For most of my life, I’ve worn glasses. Same with everyone in my family. So trust me when I say that dealing with glasses reflections has been a thorn in my side for a long time. Sure, you can ask your subject to take their glasses off, but that’s not always desirable or practical. And yes, you can adjust your lighting to minimize reflections, but when you’re shooting fast-paced events or candid photos, there’s not a whole lot you can do.
Therefore, when I heard that PortraitPro 24 included a new tool designed to automatically reduce glasses glare using generative AI, I was extremely excited to try it out – and I’m happy to share that it didn’t disappoint!
Like the Mouth & Teeth tool discussed above, you can find the reflection reducer in the Inpainting panel (it’s labeled as Reduce Reflections in Glasses).
Open the tool, then click the View/Edit Reflections Mask and use the brush to paint over any pesky glasses reflections while avoiding the frames and the subject’s face. (You can also use the Automatic Reflections Mask slider to tell PortraitPro to mask the reflections on its own; however, if you go this route, I recommend manually checking the mask to make sure it matches the reflections exactly.)
All that’s left to do is scroll through the different generative AI options and then – if needed – use the Strength sliders to refine the result.
I was impressed by the ease and speed with which I was able to dial back reflections in my tests, and it really is fantastic to finally have a tool that can dramatically reduce glasses reflections in a couple of clicks. I can imagine a wide variety of use cases here – after all, most portrait and event photographers point their camera at glasses-wearers on the regular – but I expect that headshot photographers, especially those that do fast-paced corporate portraits, will constantly take advantage of this tool.
Face recovery
Face Recovery is the third tool in the generative AI trio added in PortraitPro 24, but instead of targeting specific portrait features – such as mouths or glasses – the Face Recovery tool works more broadly. It’s designed for those scenarios where you snap a photo of your subject, only to find that it suffers from image-quality issues, such as motion blur or missed focus.
Normally, blurry portraits are (and should be) relegated to the recycling bin. After all, a bit of blur will ruin a portrait, and there’s no way to fix image blur…right?
With PortraitPro’s Face Recovery tool, there is! Simply open your portrait for editing, choose Inpainting>Face Recovery, then check the Enable box. PortraitPro’s generative AI model will get to work recovering the details on your subject’s face, and after a few seconds, you’ll have an improved result.
Truthfully, out of all the new generative AI tools, I found this one’s results to be the most mixed. While the “recovered” faces in my tests were sharper than before, they weren’t quite as realistic as I’d want for personal printing or delivery to clients – but different photographers have different needs and preferences, and after trying the tool, you may find yourself completely satisfied.
Regardless, what I like about the Face Recovery tool, as with the other PortraitPro generative AI tools, is the customizability. You’re not just stuck with one AI-generated face; instead, you can choose from a variety of recovery options across a variety of features. When using Face Recovery, the eyes, nose, and mouth can each be regenerated five different times, and you can also apply the Unsharp Mask slider for a more seamless blend.
Workflow enhancements and other improvements
Each new version of PortraitPro seems more streamlined and just all-around usable than the last, and PortraitPro 24 is no exception. Once again, the developers have included a list of handy workflow improvements, and the resulting program is a joy to use, both for beginners and professionals.
For instance, retouching individuals in group shots is far smoother thanks to a set of features that let you move back and forth between selected faces without missing a beat.
Previous versions of PortraitPro offer great collections of built-in retouching presets, but actually finding the presets you’re after can take a frustrating amount of digging. For PortraitPro 24, that won’t be an issue; you now have a preset search bar, which you can use to quickly locate the preset you need.
In fact, when it comes to preset upgrades, Anthropics pulled out all the stops; not only do you get a search bar, but you also have the option to export presets for easy sharing, and – if you purchase the most advanced version of the program, Studio Max – you can apply several presets in conjunction for an even more sophisticated edit (and an even faster workflow!)
PortraitPro 24 also boasts other noteworthy enhancements, including upgraded gender and age detection (which ensures more effective, realistic edits from the get-go), expanded options for saving image files, as well as the option to save skin and hair masks as separate TIFF channels (which you can then use for additional editing in Photoshop).
And Studio Max subscribers gain access to an upgraded Batch Mode, which offers even faster editing of multiple photos at once.
Ease of use and performance
As I’ve emphasized throughout this article, PortraitPro 24 is a highly accessible program. That holds true even for absolute beginners, so even if you’re intimidated by the phrase “portrait-retouching software,” you shouldn’t have much trouble diving into – and developing a full-fledged workflow in – PortraitPro 24.
To get started with PortraitPro 24, head over to the Anthropics website, follow the prompts to download and install the program. Launch the software, then choose Open Single Image on the home screen. (If you purchased the Studio Max version, you can also select the Open Image Batch option, which will give you a batch processing dialog instead.)
Once you select an image, you’ll be taken to the main PortraitPro interface, which looks like this:
As you can see, the interface layout is easy to understand. You have your image at the center and a couple of tools and view options along the top menu, but the bulk of your retouching work will take place in the set of panels on the right-hand side:
That’s where you’ll find your various editing controls:
An array of customizable presets:
And tools for “snapshotting” specific edits and reverting your photos back to their original state:
When you load an image in PortraitPro 24, the software automatically detects faces and identifies specific features:
In my experience, PortraitPro 24’s facial-feature detection is pretty accurate, but you do have the option to manually tweak the overlay lines.
This overlay will then be used for targeted edits. For instance, if you wish to adjust the saturation of your subject’s lips, all you have to do is open the Mouth & Nose panel, then boost the Lip Darken slider.
Most PortraitPro 24 adjustments proceed this way; you simply find the relevant tools panel, then boost the corresponding sliders, which is both quick and intuitive. At first, you might find yourself searching through the panels to find the exact slider that you’re after, but the tools are well-categorized, and you’ll get the hang of it after a few minutes.
Occasionally, you’ll have the option to use a different type of tool, such as the lighting positioner in the Lighting & Coloring panel:
But even these more unusual tools are easy to grasp, even for beginners.
In terms of software performance, I have no complaints. The sliders are responsive and the corresponding edits were visible in real time. In fact, the only time I noticed any lag was when running the processor-intensive generative AI tools, and the delay was still insignificant.
Editing capabilities
When it comes to portrait retouching, PortraitPro 24 excels.
I wish I could give you a rundown of the various editing features available, but that would require a whole book; the program boasts literally hundreds of different portrait-editing tools, each offering its own handy adjustment capabilities.
For instance, there’s the Shape panel, which is filled with sliders dedicated solely to adjusting the shape of different facial features: eyes, nose, mouth, expression, hair volume, neck & shoulders, and more. And the Skin Smoothing panel (located just below it), lets you retouch skin with extreme precision by separately targeting eye bags, wrinkles, pores, grease, mouth-adjacent skin, and more.
Then there are effect-specific panels, such as Lighting & Coloring (where you can relight your subject with astonishing precision) and Inpainting (where you can find the new generative AI tools I discussed above). There are even feature-specific panels, such as Eye and Hair, which offer fine-grained control over colors, texture, catchlights, and more.
All these panels contain the tools for subtle adjustments to ensure your subject looks their best, but in contrast to a program such as Photoshop, you don’t have to spend annoying amounts of time carefully masking specific features. Just identify the adjustment that the image needs, find the right tool, tweak the sliders, and – voila! – you’re done.
One of PortraitPro 24’s main strengths is the speed with which you can retouch an image. If you were to only use the editing controls, you would undoubtedly save a lot of time. But the software also offers two features for speeding up your workflow even more.
First, PortraitPro 24 is packed with presets that allow for high-quality editing with a single click. Unlike conventional presets, however, PortraitPro’s presets take into account the initial analysis of your subject’s face. That way, a skin smoothing preset isn’t applied uniformly from image to image but is instead customized to fit each new subject for a seamless result.
For portrait and wedding photographers who handle a large volume of images with different poses and/or subjects, this is a huge deal. If you find a preset you like – or if you make a preset of your own – you can apply it across poses and subjects, and you won’t need to make frequent (or even occasional) tweaks.
The second feature for turbocharging your retouching workflow is arguably even more useful: batch mode. With batch mode, you can select multiple images, and then quickly apply presets to the entire set. Not only are these presets applied to your files intelligently so that the result is tailored to each individual image, but you can designate in advance whether you want different presets to be applied to males, females, and children, even within the same photo. And if you don’t love the results, the batch mode interface lets you tweak individual photos in the set with incredible ease.
I’m a huge fan of editing in batch mode, myself; it just makes the retouching process so fast, especially once you get a sense of the different presets and how they affect your images. As with the preset options discussed above, batch mode is a must-have feature for any portrait or wedding shooters who need to edit a lot of photos in a short amount of time. Just bear in mind that you can only access the full-fledged batch mode if you purchase the Studio Max version of PortraitPro 24.
Price
PortraitPro 24 is available in three editions, each with its own lifetime license.
PortraitPro 24 Standard is the most basic of the three editions and is usually available for $120, though you can currently buy it for just $59.95. Note the Standard edition offers all the PortraitPro 24 core features, though it lacks RAW support, and it cannot be used as a Photoshop plugin. Additionally, PortraitPro 24 Standard doesn’t offer batch processing in any form.
Next is PortraitPro 24 Studio, which includes all the Standard edition features as well as RAW support, Photoshop/Lightroom integration, and some batch editing capabilities. You can normally purchase PortraitPro 24 Studio for around $160, though the current sale price is just $89.95.
Finally, we have the PortraitPro 24 Studio Max, which boasts everything I’ve discussed throughout this article: full batch mode, RAW support, integration with Photoshop as a plugin, and more. The price reflects these extra capabilities; you can grab PortraitPro 24 Studio Max for $179.95 (though the program usually goes for around $360).
The PortraitPro 24 list prices are pretty reasonable, especially when you consider what you get. And when you add the 50% discount, even the Studio Max version starts to seem like a bargain!
(I’ll also note here that dPS readers can enter the code DPS10424 at checkout for an extra 15% off their purchase!)
Is Anthropics PortraitPro 24 right for you?
To my mind, it’s tough to overstate the value of PortraitPro 24 for portrait-focused photographers. Whether you shoot weddings, engagement sessions, senior portraits, family portraits, or something else, you’ll benefit from the software’s time-saving features, and you’ll love how easy it is to produce a good final edit.
Even if you’re delving into portraiture for the first time, a bit of tweaking with PortraitPro will dramatically elevate your results and give your photos a polished, professional look.
The program offers a nice balance of basic and advanced retouching tools, which means that beginners have plenty of room to grow, while experts can complete an entire retouching workflow without ever leaving the PortraitPro 24 interface. (Though, for those who need it, PortraitPro 24 works great as a Photoshop plugin!)
So assuming that you are indeed a portrait photographer, the real question is which edition of PortraitPro 24 you should buy.
The lack of RAW support in the Standard version is a major drawback, so unless you already use a RAW editor and simply want to incorporate PortraitPro 24 into your broader workflow, I’d recommend at least purchasing the Studio version. Plus, the Studio version includes easy integration with Lightroom and Photoshop, which can come in handy for those of you who already enjoy working with these programs.
And what about the Studio Max version? Here’s what I’d say: If you do a lot of portrait editing, then the full batch mode in PortraitPro 24 Studio Max will save you significant time and is likely worth the cost. Otherwise, the Studio version is probably the better choice!
So go ahead and purchase your copy of PortraitPro 24 right here. (Remember to use your code DPS10424 at checkout for an exclusive 15% dPS discount!) And if you’re unsure about which version to buy or you’re still on the fence about the software, you can download a free trial (with printing and saving disabled).
PortraitPro 24 is a one-of-a-kind program – and given the current 50%-off sale, you should take advantage while you still can!
Anthropics is a paid partner of dPS.
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