meet the founder

Retoucher of the Year wasn’t created overnight. It was the result of every stage of my career coming together.

Originally, I studied Programming Mathematics, but I quickly realised that although I loved solving problems, I wanted to create rather than write code. That led me into graphic design, where I worked as a DTP operator before designing websites, brochures, catalogues and marketing materials for the beauty industry.

When I bought my first camera, a Canon EOS 350D, photography quickly became my world. Over the next nine years, I built a successful photography business in Hungary, specialising in weddings, maternity, newborn, portrait, and family photography. Photography taught me how to create an image, but it also sparked a growing interest what happened after the shutter clicked.

When I moved to London, I decided to focus entirely on retouching.

Beauty retouching fascinated me, and I became obsessed with learning. I invested in every Retouching Academy course I could find, collaborated with photographers to build my portfolio, asked for RAW files to practise on, and joined communities like Model Mayhem, where photographers generously shared images specifically for learning. Every opportunity became another chance to improve.

After countless portfolio pieces, test retouches and interviews, someone finally saw potential in me, and I was offered a position in a high-volume e-commerce studio.

I thought I understood Photoshop.

Very quickly, I realised I had only scratched the surface.

That experience completely changed how I saw the profession.

Retouching was no longer simply about creating beautiful images. It became about building efficient workflows, maintaining consistency across hundreds of files, colour management, organisation, communication, quality control, problem-solving and delivering technical excellence at scale.

Later, I had the opportunity to teach professional retouching for LABA and present at an online photography event in Hungary. I genuinely enjoyed seeing how a simple workflow, keyboard shortcut, or different way of organising a PSD could help someone work faster and with more confidence.

Throughout that journey, one question kept returning.

Why doesn’t our industry have a place dedicated entirely to recognising retouching?

Photographers have awards.

Designers have awards.

Directors have awards.

But the people who often spend hours—or even days—bringing an image to life remain largely invisible.

Retouchers deserved a platform of their own.

That question became the beginning of Retoucher of the Year.

Why was it important for the competition to judge both the final image and the PSD?

Because the PSD tells a story the final image never can.

The finished image shows the outcome. The layered file shows how someone thinks.

You see their workflow. Their organisation. How they solve problems.

Whether they work non-destructively. Whether another retoucher could confidently continue where they left off.

These are real professional skills that matter every day inside agencies and production studios.

They deserve recognition too.