OKKKAYY LOVELIES. Let’s talk photoshop!
Oh the dreadful, wonderful thing of photoshop. It’s such a helpful tool for photographers, but we all know it’s often taken way too far in society and caused some very ridiculous standards that just flat out are not real life.
But we aren’t talking about society or magazines or culture. We are talking about your personal photographer, and YOUR photo shoot.
Every photographer is going to have different boundaries when it comes to editing. And when you’re getting a boudoir shoot done, it’s good to know you have someone who is aligned with your preferences/desires. So I thought I’d create a little post about my personal boundaries with photoshop & editing and why.
First all, my goal in editing is two-faceted:
To represent what it looked like in real life. Believe it or not, the camera does wonky things to our bodies & skin. So when I’m editing, I’m always trying to pull it back to what I witnessed in real life, what we felt in the room, and how you’ve said you see yourself (because you know you best).
To create a vibe. My photos are packed with emotion. I style for that, I direct for that, I edit for that. If you’re not feeling things when you see my photos, I haven’t done my job. I use light and movement to accomplish this, and it affects my editing too.
So let’s talk about photoshop boundaries.
You will be surprised to learn: I don’t use photoshop. Some photographers use it religiously, and I respect the hell out of them. It doesn’t mean they are morphing everyone’s bodies into a cultural standard lol. Photoshop is an amazing tool that creates stunning images. But it’s not what I learned on, and it’s not what I need to create my images. I use a program called Lightroom, which is a smaller powerhouse of Photoshop (created by the same people). I know Lightroom like the back of my hand, and it’s where all my images you see are edited.
Lightroom has a lot of features. Body modification is not one of them.
So I don’t use the famous “liquify” tool on any of my images. And I am not changing your shape at all. While there are some niches of photography where this is a healthy practice, not modifying bodies in boudoir is an integrity move for me.
I want to show you that your body looks incredible as it is today. And if I photoshop it, I lose all credibility and you don’t get the confidence you deserve.
I am an expert at posing to highlight your favorite features, and using light & shadows to create all the vibes.
I do use skin retouching, because like I mentioned before, the camera is trash to our skin. I will take out acne because that is a temporary thing, not part of who we are. And I will soften skin back up so it looks more like it did in person. Both of those align with my editing goals.
So there ya go! That’s a little behind the scenes on my editing process and decisions.
You will find some boudoir photographers that use a lot of photoshop or body modifications, and you will find some that do not even edit as much as I do. It’s important that you pick someone who aligns with your own values & desires. You’re paying for this shoot, so you deserve to ask how they edit your images.
-Jessie