Stop Hating Photoshop
As a photograpHER, I wish people would stop the crazy. Photoshop is not evil.
First of all, although I’m not a neurologist or scientist, I have observed that the human brain does not see you the way a camera does. The camera is cold and has no brain, no heart, and no soul. A human being has all of that. The human eyes that see you, including your own, see you in real time. They see you moving, laughing, crying, and living all the moments of your life. I believe the human brain puts that all together and identifies you. It smoothes flaws or just doesn't see them. Especially if the eyes that see you also love you.
Mirrors Lie
Understand that no matter how long you stare into a mirror, you aren’t seeing what my eyes see when they look at you. Remember holding up coded messages to the mirror to read when you were a kid? That’s right, you’ve being looking at your self backward all this time.
Cameras Lie
Then, someone takes a snapshot of you and you think, "OH MY GOD! Is that me? ICK! Do I really look like that? Look at my neck. My hair is dumb. My eyes squint up when I smile!" or whatever.
That’s not really you either. It’s an instant of light with you in it. That instant is why we use photoshop. There is more to you than an instant can tell.
It’s true, however, that some people have grossly misused retouching. So much that there is now a trend to label un-retouched photos or make up free snapshots as “more accurate.” They aren’t.
The professional models and actresses used in "un-retouched" commercial photos are shot in perfect lighting with a skilled hand tripping the camera's shutter. You are not ugly because you aren’t a model. Modeling is about light and shadow. That's why they’re models.
These models are selected because the light loves their face; the angles are outstanding. The camera only sees light and shadows. All professional models have faces that the camera “sees” very well. It's not about being "pretty."
As for “make-up free” shots in “real” life, your camera captures a speck of an instant of who you are and what you look like. That means… using cosmetics or not in the shot doesn’t give you a fair representation of your beauty or your life.
It never will. May I repeat:
Un-retouched photos are not, and will never be, a fair representation of Beauty or of LIFE.
Before there was Photoshop or FaceTune in digital photography, there was Airbrush and Dark Room Manipulation in film photography. Photographers have always known the limits of their equipment. And that’s what it is. The limits of the equipment. It’s not your limitations. It’s not you. Use the filter. Use photoshop. Do IT!
Please don't buy into this “retouch and make up free” nonsense. It's marketing. They're trying to sell something. It's not about good photography. It's not about glamour. It's not about real life. It's cultural pandering and it does no real good, and worse, it isn't actually honest. Because the camera lies.
