Lead Photo Retoucher

Trove Brands is looking for an experienced Lead Photo Retoucher to lead our in-house retouching team and help define the visual quality of imagery across our portfolio of brands.

This is both a hands-on and leadership role, working across lifestyle, campaign, product, and e-commerce/PDP photography. We are looking for someone with a refined eye and a natural approach to retouching—creating imagery that feels polished, premium, and intentional without looking overly processed. The Lead Photo Retoucher will also oversee our retouching quality standards, PDP color-approval process, color-management workflows, and day-to-day development of a small team of retouchers.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and support a small team of in-house retouchers, providing direction, feedback, and quality review.
• Perform high-end retouching across lifestyle, campaign, product, and PDP imagery.
• Create polished, natural-looking imagery while maintaining realistic skin, texture, materials, lighting, shadows, and product details.
• Establish and maintain consistent retouching standards across Trove Brands.
• Lead the PDP color-approval process, ensuring imagery accurately represents physical product color, material, texture, and finish.
• Review and approve retouched imagery to ensure a consistently high quality bar.
• Partner closely with photographers, art directors, designers, and production teams to understand creative intent and deliver against the final vision.
• Provide clear, actionable feedback and help develop the creative and technical skills of other retouchers.
• Maintain strong color-managed workflows using calibrated monitors, approved profiles, physical product samples, and established output standards.
• Perform advanced color correction, skin work, compositing, masking, cleanup, reconstruction, and other complex Photoshop work as needed.
• Help improve retouching workflows, documentation, quality-control processes, and production efficiencies.
• Manage multiple projects and deadlines while maintaining consistency, accuracy, and attention to detail.

Required Qualifications

• Approximately 5+ years of professional photo retouching or commercial post-production experience.
• A strong portfolio demonstrating high-end lifestyle, campaign, product, and/or commercial retouching.
• Advanced to expert proficiency in Adobe Photoshop.
• Strong aesthetic judgment and the ability to produce refined, premium imagery while maintaining a natural and believable result.
• Deep understanding of color correction, skin tones, product color, compositing, masking, cleanup, and non-destructive editing.
• Strong knowledge of color spaces, ICC profiles, monitor calibration, and color-managed workflows.
• Ability to identify subtle differences in color, texture, material appearance, and finish.
• Strong understanding of photography, lighting, and how capture decisions affect post-production.
• Experience maintaining visual consistency across large sets of imagery and multiple projects.
• Experience reviewing work and providing clear creative and technical feedback.
• Strong communication, organization, and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work on-site and evaluate imagery alongside physical product samples when needed.

Desired Qualifications

• Previous experience as a Lead Retoucher, Senior Retoucher, Retouching Supervisor, or similar role.
• Experience mentoring or leading a small retouching or post-production team.
• Experience working with established consumer, lifestyle, or e-commerce brands.
• Experience working within an in-house creative studio, agency, or commercial production environment.
• Experience with Capture One and professional photography workflows.
• Experience developing Photoshop actions, scripts, templates, or other workflow efficiencies.