LA: Why is the Lazi Academy such a good fit for Retouch4me, and what do you hope to achieve from the partnership?
Vitaly:
We chose the Lazi Academy because it teaches real, practical skills that prepare creatives for professional work. You’ve been doing this since 1950 and work with industry-relevant tools. We develop AI retouching software for professional photographers, retouchers, and designers, so collaborating with you felt like a natural step. Our goal is simple: we want students to actually use the tools and experience how AI helps them solve retouching tasks in their projects and beyond the classroom. If they can complete their work faster and at a professional level of quality, that’s a success for us.
LA: How did the cooperation come about, and what connects you on a conceptual level?
Vitaly:
It developed very organically. We noticed the work of Philip Vogt at Lazi and saw how seriously he approaches retouching. When we learned that he teaches a creative course in image editing, it all clicked: here is an active professional teaching students who want to learn efficient, industry-oriented workflows. Conceptually, it’s a perfect match. Our founder, Oleg Sharonov, is a photographer himself. He developed AI tools because he wanted to spend more time shooting instead of hours retouching. That’s exactly what Lazi teaches: real, efficient, professional workflows. We wanted to contribute something meaningful — not just giveaways, but long-term access, direct support, and real integration into the curriculum.
LA: What concrete benefits does your AI bring to students in learning, workflows, and time savings?
Vitaly:
First, they immediately see what professional retouching can look like. Our tools generate results that students can refine further or try to recreate manually — always with a clear target in mind. Our plugins also feature before/after buttons, making all changes visible and transparent. Second, their visual judgment develops much faster. When AI handles technical tasks in seconds, there’s room for more important questions: “Is this the right creative decision?” instead of “How do I do this technically?” That’s a huge learning effect. And the time savings are truly significant. A typical skin retouch normally takes 15 to 30 minutes. With our AI, it takes about 30 seconds. Dodge & Burn, which can easily take 45 minutes, is done in under a minute. Eye enhancement, which usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, is completed in around 20 seconds. Even tasks like fabric smoothing, which previously required over 10 minutes, are reduced to fractions of a second. This saved time can be invested in what really matters: creativity, concept, and collaboration with clients. Overall, depending on the image and workflow, our AI software can reduce retouching time by up to 80%.
LA: For which jobs is Retouch4me ideal, and where do you deliberately set limits?
Vitaly:
Our plugins are optimized for professional, commercial work: studio, event, wedding, portrait, family, school, and boudoir photography — anywhere human retouching is central. The limits lie in extreme creative effects, highly stylized looks, or complex compositing. Retouch4me refines and enhances what is already present in the image. Our focus — and our unique selling point — is natural retouching, and that also defines our boundaries.
LA: If someone is completely new, where should they start? What’s the ideal entry point into your AI tools?
Vitaly:
I’d start with just one plugin:Retouch4me Apex. It’s designed specifically for beginners and addresses the most time-consuming task of all — skin retouching. With one click, you can see what our AI can do and get a professional-looking result. There are also20 free cloud retouches— perfect for testing your skepticism on real images. In addition, we offer completely free plugins likeFrequency SeparationandColor Match Free, which are great for gaining first experience. Ultimately, the best way to understand AI is to apply it to your own files and critically evaluate the results.
LA: How do you ensure that your results remain natural and fair, especially regarding “invisible” retouching and diversity?
Vitaly:
The key is our training process. We work directly with professional retouchers who create commercial-quality results for us — for example, smoothing skin or removing red veins from eyes. These results serve as our gold standard, from which the AI learns. It is “rewarded” when it imitates professional work and “penalized” when it does something undesirable. This way, the neural network internalizes professional techniques and produces results that look like real, natural retouching. Each plugin is trained for a clearly defined task — for example, Retouch4me Heal for skin imperfections or Retouch4me White Teeth for teeth whitening. We also provide intensity controls and non-destructive layer-based workflows, so users can fine-tune results at any time. Regarding diversity, Our training images (created by professional photographers for us, as our tools NEVER learn on user images) include diverse skin tones, ethnicities, ages, and genders. We test across this diversity to ensure plugins work equally well on all skin tones — from very light to very dark. We also monitor user feedback specifically for this. If someone reports different performance across skin tones, that's a high-priority issue for us.
LA: Where do you personally draw the line between optimization and manipulation?
Vitaly:
Simple: retouch what's there, don't create what isn't. Retouch4me software is developed to show the subject at their best — removing things like blemishes or unflattering shadows — but we don't reshape reality or change someone's features. If the person looked in a mirror right after the photo and saw the retouched version, would they think, "Yes, that's me looking great"? If yes, we're on the right side of the line. This question about preserving that invisible border between natural retouching, under-retouching, and over-retouching is actually very complex. Last year, I had a greatconversationwith Dean Birinyi, a Silicon Valley photographer, about exactly this topic. If you're interested in diving deeper, check it out.
LA: What skills should young photographers and retouchers have today, and what mistakes do you often see?
Vitaly:
If I had to reduce it to three points, they would be: First, efficiency thinking. The market rewards those who deliver high-quality results quickly. You need to know when automation makes sense and when manual intervention is essential. That distinction is invaluable. Second, creative judgment. When AI takes over part of the technical work, your eye becomes your most important asset. Can you direct a shoot? Do you understand why an image works — or doesn’t? That’s what makes the difference. Third, adaptability and client skills. Tools and workflows are constantly changing. At the same time, deadlines must be met, expectations managed, and communication kept clear. In the end, it’s not enough to create great images — you also need to work reliably and professionally with people. The most common mistakes among junior retouchers can also be summarized in three points. The biggest issue is over-retouching: too much smoothing, too much effect, and suddenly the person looks more like a video game character than a real human being. My advice: study professional commercial work, not social media, and stop retouching earlier than your instinct tells you to. The second issue is inconsistency in series. Many treat each image as a standalone project and forget that clients see the work as a coherent set. A job is not one good image — it’s a consistent image series. Third, inefficient workflows. Doing everything manually when automation could handle 80% of the work is no longer up to date. Use the tools available to you. That's what professionals do.
LA: Do you offer workshops, office hours, or mentoring for our students?
Vitaly:
The answer is yes — anyone can contact our support via the chat on our website to ask technical questions or get help with workflow challenges. We also do online workshops and training regularly, and have a designatedwebsite’s pagewith upcoming webinars.
LA: What does your roadmap look like — from photography to video and near real-time workflows?
Vitaly:
We're continuously improving existing plugins based on feedback. We're also expanding into video post-production AI tools. On the photography side, we're working on more sophisticated skin texture handling and tools for both human and product photography. On top of that, we're envisioning and building the future where a photographer can do a wedding shoot, and right after, the images get sent to a server, culled, retouched, and come back immediately — either on the camera or on a cloud, instantly accessible for clients.
LA: Are there plans for certificates or educational programs that students can showcase in their portfolios?
Vitaly:
We're exploring this. For now, training on industry-standard AI tools at a 75-year-old institution like Lazi Academy already carries real weight when students apply for jobs. Experience working with AI tools for photo editing is already in the job descriptions of creatives who work in design, retouching, and video editing industries.
About Vitaly Glebochkin
Vitaly Glebochkin is Board Member and co-founder of Retouch4me & 3D LUT Creator (RELU OÜ). His background in studio, wedding, and event photography revealed the need to eliminate repetitive manual editing. He now takes part in developing AI-powered retouching software that saves photographers time in post-production.About Retouch4meRetouch4me is a software company that creates innovative solutions for photo and video editing. With neural networks, its software automates manual tasks and delivers natural results, allowing creatives to focus on their artistry. Retouch4me improves the workflows of creatives in over 115 countries. Discover how to elevate yours at:https://retouch4.me/
