Image Studio retouching gives you one place to request post-production changes. Open an image, mark exactly what should change, describe the outcome in plain language, and choose whether MorningAI handles it with AI or routes it to a professional human retoucher.
When you choose human retouching, your work goes to designers who are ex-McKinsey — the same caliber of talent that has helped some of the top brands in the world. This is not a freelance marketplace. It is a curated finishing team built for brand-critical assets.
Requests stay tied to the source image and are scoped to the brand you are currently working in, so your team can collaborate without losing context across tabs, chats, or external tools.
Why this workflow matters
Before this flow, image revisions often depended on disconnected feedback loops and one-off file handoffs. The unified Edit action keeps markup, instructions, request status, and delivery in one workflow so you can move from draft to production-ready asset faster.
Step-by-step walkthrough
- Open the image you want to edit. In Image Studio or Files, click the image and choose Edit to launch the Edit Image modal.
- Mark the exact areas that need work. Add visual markup and a clear instruction that describes what to change and what should stay the same.
- Choose your editing path. Pick AI Edit for fast iterations, or Human Retouch when you need higher-touch finishing for important brand assets.
- Submit and monitor progress. Retouch requests appear in your request list (including an All open grouping) with status visibility.
- Retrieve final outputs in the Retouched folder. Completed images are delivered to your brand-level Retouched folder, and you can open previews directly from there.
Availability and eligibility
The human retoucher path is publicly available, but participation is currently capacity-managed. Your brand must be approved by your Customer Success representative before submitting human retouch requests.
Use cases
- Campaign polish: finalize high-visibility product imagery before launch.
- Team handoff: keep revision context attached to each image so another teammate can pick up work quickly.
- Brand consistency: choose the right editing path based on turnaround needs and quality requirements.
Pro tips
- Write instructions as outcomes, not tasks (for example, "soften shadows and preserve logo detail").
- Use confirmation prompts carefully when discarding markup or canceling requests to avoid losing work.
- Reserve human retouch for hero assets where ex-McKinsey-level finishing will show up on the page or in paid media.
The Complete Request Workflow (July 2026)
As of July 2026, retouch requests run through a complete request, review, revision, and approval workflow. Here is what each stage looks like.
- Submitting a request: open the Post Production modal, annotate the image directly, attach product media, and add freeform instructions for the retoucher. Cancel and discard-marks confirmations protect you from losing work by accident.
- Tracking progress: your requests appear in the request list with status chips (Submitted, In Progress, and more) under the All open default view.
- Reviewing deliveries: each delivery round can include multiple options. Compare before and after, drop revision marks exactly where another pass is needed, and go as many rounds as it takes — delivery rounds are uncapped.
- Rating: when a request is complete, you can rate the finished work so the team knows how the retouch landed.
- Email notifications: you get an email when your request is submitted and whenever a revision is delivered.
- Delivery: finished images land in your brand's shared Retouched folder (renamed from "Brand Shared"). Clicking an image there opens the same QuickLook preview as My Files.
- Brand scoping: requests are scoped to the brand you are working in, so you only ever see your own brand's retouch activity.
Frequently asked questions
Can every brand use human retouching immediately? Human retouching is public, but brands still need Customer Success approval while capacity is limited.
Who does the human retouching? MorningAI's retouch designers are ex-McKinsey and have helped some of the top brands in the world — not a random freelance pool.
Where do finished files go? Completed outputs are delivered to your brand's Retouched folder.
Next steps
Open Image Studio, run an edit request on a live asset, and coordinate eligibility for human retouching with your Customer Success rep when needed. Log in to MorningAI →
