With Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent upon us, it only seems befitting we talk about sins… sins of the photo studio. I’m definitely no saint or holy man for that matter, however photographers do have healing powers. The power to hide the sins.
Sins of the Flesh. Well, maybe not the flesh, but sins of our flesh… the double chin, the crows foot, love handles (or tire in my case), stretch marks, receding hairlines, etc. ect. The list goes on. Naturally our first line of absolution to all of this is photoshop. You’re thinking about it right now on your last selfie. It’s inherent in our digital and social media DNA. But you’d be wrong. Consider the following proverb…
A friend will help you move a couch. A parter will help you move a dead body.
Sins are like dead bodies. Regardless of how hard you try to hide them, they always pop up. And your photographer, for better or worse, will see them. Now here’s the kicker, a good photographer will hide those imperfections by sculpting the subject with light, fashion styling, makeup of course, and intention. A bad photographer will:
- A. Not notice said sins
- B. Spray and Pray (Take a ton a photographs rapidly hoping that one photo looks good.)
- C. Blindly hide and mask with photoshop in post production.
- Or, my personal favorite
- D. A combination of all three.
Save yourself the trouble and partner with your photographer. Be upfront about what your concerns are before hair and makeup. My clients always come bare faced with hair washed the night before for the most part. We start with a clean and vulnerable state to build the art of their dreams, from the ground up. But that means, partnership. Don’t hide that body. Trust me, I’ll find it.
Whether your sin of choice lies in the form of Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy and my favorite, Pride, take comfort knowing that a Karjaka Portrait has the power to sanctify those sins in a way photoshop never could.
