iRetouch review

Rob Potter

We review iRetouch, an Apple iPhone photo editing application

Published on Sep 21, 2009

We review iRetouch, an Apple iPhone photo editing application

The iPhone App Store is awash with photo-tweaking apps, but while most focus on fun or quirky editing very few offer professional-grade tools. That’s exactly what iRetouch is designed to achieve.

You’re looking at all the standard brushes you’d expect, alongside some much more advanced tools. Smudging and cloning make unusual appearances, with each tool accompanied by a myriad of granular settings.

It’s possible to achieve fantastic results, from blurring the backgrounds to make your subjects pop from their surroundings, to removing red eye or airbrushing blemishes.

The controls employed are at times a bit wonky, however. It’s easy to make marks on an image while simply trying to show or hide menus. And then there’s the problem of re-touching on a touchscreen in the first place.

By definition, most of the re-touching work you’ll undertake will be fine, delicate work. But it’s hard to pull off that kind of tweakery when your own fingers are obscuring the view.

All too often you’ll find yourself using iRetouch blind, hoping for the best before withdrawing your hand to see the end result. It’s a sloppy disappointment, and one which unfortunately negates the usefulness of iRetouch for any serious photo editing.

Sure, large brush work can be handled with ease, but forget making any intricate changes. This is a clever app, and one with very few serious competitors. But at the moment, it remains too clunky and irksome for serious editors.