As much as we all want to feel beautiful in photographs, for most photographers, the goal is to make a subject look as she would on her very best day — not unrecognizable.

It’s tempting to go heavy in Photoshop, with its powerful tools for creating flawless skin and a little nip/tuck here and there.

Plus, let’s be honest, it’s fun! I adore glamour/fashion retouching, and if you’re shooting models or clients who expect full-on photographic transformations, by all means – go to town!

For those who want to produce something a little more natural, though, you may not need Photoshop at all.

Let’s take a look at the way Lightroom can be utilized to produce a perfectly polished portrait.

We’re working with a real person here – yep, that’s me – and this is the image as it appears directly upon import into Lightroom (let’s overlook the careless composition; it’s a quick selfie!):