Image retouching & composition
Photoshop.
Perhaps more than any other single piece of software, it has change the way the industry works. While I haven't yet found the numbers to support it, I am sure that it has done more to line the coffers of supermarket tabloid execs than anything else. Just think, now those photos of the alligator boy who was found fighting for the Taliban, after being abducted by alien terrorists, take only minutes to produce compared to hours of darkroom trickery.
OK, so you're not a tabloid publisher. What do you need retouching for? What circumstance calls for the pixel-pushing powers of Photoshop?
Well it could be a bad image. Or bad color. Or an impossible shot. Just think how hard it would be to get alligator boy to sit still—especially after all that he's been through. Sometimes, you may have a good image that you want to be a great image.
My retouching experience spans people, jewelry, fruits & veggies,
and product shots.