Why I Don’t Offer Airbrushing or Extreme Photoshop Retouching to my Brand Photography Clients
“Can’t you make me look 25 pounds lighter?”
“You can just photoshop me to make me look taller and skinnier, right?”
Well, yes, I *can* do those things, but I don’t. And here are the reasons why.
Authenticity
Let me calm everyone’s initial fears by saying that I will smooth out skin or remove temporary blemishes or brighten under your eyes a little bit because I want everyone to look their best. What I won’t do is remove wrinkles to the point where your skin looks plastic or dramatically alter the shape of your body
Authenticity is a really important trend in marketing right now. People are starting to lash out against the “curated” nature of social media accounts like Instagram. I don’t want my images of you to be so far from the face they’ll see in person that it makes people doubt the authenticity of other parts of your advertising or messaging.
Outdated Style
Another reason I don’t like offering extreme airbrushing is that, to me at least, it’s a very outdated style. It used to be really common for people to have “Glamour Shots” done and the ultra smooth skin was a part of that style. Which happens to have gone OUT of style a few decades ago. I want the images we create for you to look modern and fresh and not remind folks of yesteryear (UNLESS of course that’s something that’s consistent with your branding – then we’ll talk).
Lighting/Posing Techniques
Another reason I don’t offer airbrushing or extreme retouching for my brand clients is because I utilize other tactics during our session to make my clients look their best. By using strategic posing and off-camera lighting, we can visually slim the body or draw attention away from less desirable parts of your body (and draw attention TO the best parts!) which reduces or eliminates the need for retouching the images later. These are things we would discuss during your planning session so that we’re on the same page and well-equipped to make you feel confident about your photos.
It’s Not Necessary!
I believe that any time someone genuinely smiles or laughs, they look amazing! Your followers want to see the real you demonstrating your real emotions. And that’s something you can’t fake in photoshop. So we’ll do our best to work together during the session to make sure those real smiles and giggles come out.
I hope these points help you understand my creative decision to not offer extreme airbrush or retouching work for my brand photography clients. Of course every person is different so these “rules” aren’t 100% set in stone. If you have a concern, let’s talk about it and work together to makes BEAUTIFUL images that you and your followers will enjoy.