Becoming a Professional Retoucher
I enjoy doing retouching especially when the job is really challenging. Making the impossible possible. But most of my day is spent doing routine work, the bread and butter stuff, so at the end of the day it is actually a job. If you were having fun all the time, it would be called a holiday! The following sections cover some of my basic observations about the profession.
Getting Training Isn't as Easy as It Used to Be
It used to be common for companies to train people on the job. These days, it seems that companies want to hire someone who can hit the ground running. I guess that leaves the training up to you. I believe that anyone with an interest can learn retouching with Photoshop, as long as the desire is there. Many schools have Photoshop night courses, and those may be an inexpensive option. If you work well on your own, reading a book like this is a good option. You know yourself well enough to know how you best learn.
What Kind of Background Do You Need?
I do feel that the best retouchers are people who have an artistic background. I say this because you have to be able to imagine the look of an image before you even retouch it, such as where a shadow falls and how it interacts with the rest of the image. Whether you model with clay or sketch cartoons, I don't think it really matters as long as you have the artistic sensibility. As long as you know what you want to achieve, the rest will fall into place. I think you should have good listening ...