Nowadays we have at disposal numerous photo retouching software programs making possible visual achievements unthinkable several decades ago. However, photo editing and photo retouching software are not one and the same thing. As the focus of the latter is put on modification of digitized portraits, it does not include extra functions and tools which are out of scope for retouching.
In some cases, photo retouchers may work as photographers as well. Photo retouching as a career generally involves using advanced computer imaging software to change the appearance of a photo or other digital image. While image manipulation may be applied to all types of photographs and have most various objectives (from beautification to deception and propaganda), the photo retouching is a process directly aiming at enhancing the quality of a portrait.