This post is prompted by a video I just watched. Check it out. Right now. It gave me a good chuckle!... But at the same time it's ALL TOO TRUE these days! Digital editing techniques have really changed our perception of beauty and reality.

Have you ever seen an old statue of Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love & beauty? You'd notice that, other than the fact that she's almost always naked, (it must've been hot in Greece or something because they didn't wear much for clothing!) she actually looks like a real person with real proportions. Back in the day she was the standard of beauty. When did that all change to give us all (especially women) such unrealistic standards to try and live up to?

I wish I knew why and how to fix it, but I do know that my personal beliefs on the subject reflect in my editing style. I once heard a quote about makeup that I thought was perfect, but by George I can't find who actually said it (maybe I should just claim it as my own, eh?) It's something like: "beautiful is the girl that wears just enough makeup that no one knows she's wearing any at all." I believe the same about "photoshopping" images.

My goal is to enhance, not to change. As someone who has struggled with acne all her teen and adult life, I don't think anyone would decline the removal of blemishes from their skin. I am certainly capable of removing or smoothing out freckles and wrinkles but I generally don't unless I'm asked.  We've all seen photos of people so air brushed that they look like mannequins. It's not really my style. Just like the video mentions, there are also tools in photoshop to warp a body to make it look thinner. I never use this tool. I do however believe in dressing for the right body style, and using flattering poses no matter your shape. I also like to brighten the eyes to help draw the focus into the face, but very very rarely (unless requested) change the eye color. Once again, I think there's a fine line to be drawn.

As far as overall color editing, my favorite images are often those that are bright and colorful, but not so saturated that your normally beautiful skin looks like an oompa-loompa. Depending on the picture, I also love a good faded or vintage edit, and black and white is always classic. (FYI I custom edit my black and white images to be a bit warmer and more contrasted than if you were to just click on "black & white" when you're ordering prints, so be sure to print the black & white images I provide you and not rely on the printers to do it for you!) Selective color (where most of the image is black & white except for one focal piece) can also be a fun editing technique when used in moderation, so if there is an image from your session that you would like to see in selective color, please let me know!

I love post production of images. It's my favorite part of the entire process. Just a few little tweaks, not a photoshop "overhaul" can take an image from good to great. You can be confident that the images I provide will be a representation of your best self! ...All of the beauty and light that each one of us uniquely possesses!