bZm Graphics

Operating from Dhaka in Bangladesh, with branches in Dubai and the United States, bZm Graphics is a post-production firm that retouches photographs and video at volume for e-commerce sellers, product and model photographers, agencies and brands. The business was set up in 2015 with four editors, and now employs more than 250 retouchers and video editors, and its site describes the service as dedicated post-production capacity that fits into each client's workflow.

Invisible mannequin photography

The invisible mannequin technique makes a garment look as though it was worn by an invisible model. It is built from two separate images, one of the garment on a model and one of the inside of the garment, combined into one shot. The company says the method is used for upper garments such as jackets, sweaters, vests and shirts, and also for trousers, dresses and skirts. It is often combined with de-creasing, reshaping, cleaning and recolouring.

Background removal by method

Background removal uses clipping paths, masking, or a mix of the two. The firm says clipping paths usually give better results and more room for later changes, although they take a great deal of hand labour. Pixel-based methods cost less but are not suitable where high quality is required, so the method is chosen to match the quality a client needs.

Skin, colour and detail retouching

Model retouching evens out skin and adjusts colour shades. The editors make a separate selection of the skin on the face, hands and legs, measure the colour values and correct them, and then remove blemishes with the clone and spot healing tools. Bags under the eyes, spots, tattoos and birthmarks can be removed or reduced where the client wants. Other common changes include whitening teeth, removing body hair, accentuating body contours and adding effects.

Capacity and turnaround

The company says it can handle volumes in the thousands of images a day, with most work sent back inside 24 hours, and that its team adapts to a client's standards, processes and deadlines during peak production periods. Its site describes the specialists as the capacity behind fashion and activewear content, food and beverage, beauty and skincare, and editorial publishing, with video editing for fashion, lifestyle and product content. It also offers clipping path, background removal, photo masking, image cut-outs, model and jewellery retouching, e-commerce editing and image optimisation in one place, and says it answers client questions around the clock.