What is the purpose of removing dust and scratches during product image retouching?

• A. To remove dust and scratches to improve the product surface appearance.
• B. To blur the entire image to hide surface issues.
• C. To adjust white balance automatically.
• D. To crop the image.

Answer: (A)

Removing dust and scratches is a targeted cleanup step in product image retouching that focuses on the surface finish. Dust specks and tiny scratches on shiny materials catch light and can distract from the product or suggest a lower quality image. By carefully healing these imperfections, you restore a clean, true-to-life surface while keeping the texture and detail intact. This makes the product look pristine and accurate to what a buyer would see in real life, which is essential for catalog and online presentation. It’s not about blurring the whole image, adjusting color automatically, or changing how the image is framed, but about preserving realism while removing surface distractions.