Do You Photoshop?
Monday, October 8, 2007 at 12:40PM 
This is the first and most frequently asked question when discussing boudoir photography with potential clients. When I hear it, I know we’re about to discuss my image retouching abilities and sensibilities — you know, what and how well I fix things.
Note to purists: Creating truthful and painfully accurate representations of the subject matter may work for photojournalists, but it would mean a career change for boudoir photographers.
Boudoir photographers seek a different kind of truth, the kind of truth Pablo Picasso speaks of: “We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize the truth, at least the truth that is given to us to understand.” That’s what boudoir photography is all about: the truth she gives to her lover to understand. It’s what he sees through a lustful haze, it’s what she expects me to deliver, and it requires tools.
She’s knows the problem: That’s why she asked the question. The camera sees everything. So, I have a lot of tools. As might be expected, there’s makeup, clothing, location, and lighting; and there’s also the relationship and partnering skills I wrote about earlier. But what blends them all together is post processing—the “can you Photoshop?” thing. Without it, the sexual nuances and the power to arouse are diminished. The same is true, however, if it’s overdone. And the space between these extremes is narrow, very narrow.
I’ll write more about this narrow space in the future, but for now, remember that it is the partnership that guides post processing by revealing how she views herself, and just as important, how she’s viewed by her lover.
PS: Today’s image: Cristie No. 0208.
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (4)
Good post!
Because I'm over 40, had three kids and my body generally looks like it's been through two world wars when I'm naked, I am therefore immensely grateful for a photographer's excellent Photoshop skills :-)
Ahead even of Photoshop wizardry, I rate the "delete" key as the number one tool and the reason I no longer mind having my picture taken!
Patty
So true. We don't just see with our eyes, and neither do our clients and their loved ones.
The camera records what's in front of it. Photoshop is a tool that almost always must be used to translate the image to be closer to the "perceived" reality we all experience. Emotions, love, and of course, a little lust will trim a few lines and inches off who is special to us.
Photoshop is there not to lie, but to tell a more important truth where boudoir is concerned.
I tell my clients, EVERYONE gets a little Photoshopping done in my pictures.
I absolutely love this post and because if it I have bookmarked this blog! Everything that you said is so true! As an photographer young to the business, I at first was a purist believing that the talent should be in taking the photo and not altering it..just a little tweaking of exposure, white balance and some saturation. Over the time working on my photos I have strayed from that way of thinking for the exact reason that you spoke of...the lie in the truth. Sunsets captured in a picture are never the same as what you remember because it was the atmosphere and the person that you were with that enhanced the sunset. Just like when you look at your wife/girlfriend/lover you see them but it's the emotions that you feel towards them that makes them so much more beautiful and it's this that we try to translate into the image!
Great post! I look forward to reading more from you!
Mike