AI Retouching Showdown: Dream Image vs. GPT-4o for Flawless Portraits

In 2025, AI photo editing is no longer just for professionals. Powerful inpainting tools can now erase blemishes, scars, or any imperfection in seconds. For photographers and everyday users, this technology is a game-changer. But which AI delivers the most natural, high-quality results?

We're putting two leading AI models to the test: Dream Image and GPT-4o. Using three common portrait retouching challenges, we'll see which tool is the ultimate champion of digital perfection.

Round 1: Natural Freckle Removal

Prompt: Edit the image to remove all freckles from the woman's face, ensuring her red hair, green eyes, expression, the lighting, and the background with the green field and wildflowers remain exactly the same as in the original image.

Dream Image delivers a stunningly natural result. It successfully removes the freckles while masterfully preserving the original skin texture, including pores and subtle light reflections. The edit is almost undetectable, maintaining the portrait's authentic character, which is the gold standard for professional retouching.

GPT-4o is incredibly effective at the primary task, removing every freckle cleanly. The edit is fast and absolute. However, the resulting skin texture can appear slightly over-smoothed, losing some of the fine detail that makes a portrait feel real and lifelike.

Round 2: Clearing Acne in a Complex Scene

Prompt: Edit the image to completely clear the acne from the girl's forehead and chin, while maintaining her black bob haircut, eyeliner, expression, the crowded street scene in Shinjuku, Tokyo at night with neon lights, and all other details of the original image.

Dream Image not only removes the acne but also intelligently interprets the complex neon lighting, ensuring the new skin texture matches the surrounding shadows and highlights perfectly. The result is a seamless and believable edit.

GPT-4o again shows its power with clinical precision and complete removal. It leaves no trace of the original blemishes. While highly effective, the result can feel slightly artificial if not carefully managed, as the perfection can contrast with the gritty, realistic background.

Round 3: Seamless Scar Inpainting

Prompt: Edit the image to completely remove the scar from the woman's jawline and any other visible skin imperfections, ensuring her high cheekbones, deep brown eyes, long dark wavy hair, expression, the colorful colonial architecture street scene in Cartagena, Colombia, and all other details remain identical to the original image.

Dream Image reconstructs the skin and jawline with incredible subtlety, making the edit feel completely organic. The new skin blends flawlessly with the original, preserving every nuance of the woman's features.

GPT-4o executes the removal flawlessly from a technical standpoint. The scar is gone without a trace. Upon very close inspection, however, the inpainted area can sometimes appear slightly flatter in texture compared to the rich detail in the rest of the image.

The Verdict

Dream Image: The winner for naturalism and subtlety. It excels at preserving skin texture, making it the top choice for professional photographers and users who demand undetectable, high-quality edits.

GPT-4o: The champion of speed and absolute power. It's perfect for quick, flawless results where complete blemish removal is the only goal.