I’ve been speaking with a lot of women on my podcast about body image and what they would say to someone who is struggling with it. I think that Photoshop plays a huge role in how women view themselves. As a former photographer and retoucher I know that A LOT goes into creating beauty images. A lot of hair makeup, and altering of skin, hair, nails, and refining in photoshop.

Almost any image that you see in a magazine or fashion advertisement has been highly edited. These people are real (well most of the time) but they’ve been so far removed from themselves, that even they don’t know what they really look like. Models and celebrities views of themselves are often distorted because they only see photoshopped images of themselves!

I can see how this use of Photoshop can be detrimental to body image, and self image in general (face, hair, nails).  Comparing your physical beauty to those you see in magazines and advertisements is unhealthy. None of those people look like that naturally. They have blemishes on their skin, frizzy hair, cellulite, wrinkled clothing, etc.

My Use of Photoshop

I’ve never been one to over-edit. I have a light hand when it comes to Photoshop. Whether that’s my personal photography portfolio or the images that I put of myself up on my blog. I generally do color correcting and a little retouching of the skin, like removing wrinkles or a few pimples. I’ll remove distractions from the background and floor, but I don’t normally do much more than that.

Unretouched Campaigns

I appreciate that the use of Photoshop is being addressed by a lot of companies (including Target) and that more body types and unretouched images are being shown. I recently saw a campaign that featured women in bikinis with stretch marks and cellulite! It’s natural. It should be celebrated. We’re all constantly growing and evolving. Our bodies show that sometimes. There is no reason to hide it. I work in fashion and believe how people perceive you is their first impression. Presenting yourself well is important, but what matters most is on the inside!

Hopefully this is how the fashion and beauty industry will continue to evolve. I’d love to see more unretouched images in campaigns that show beautiful women, naturally. I believe it will help to create a more realistic standard of beauty for society.

If you like this post be sure to check out other posts in the “Health” section of the blog!