Where do you draw the line on Photoshop?
A friend called me a few months ago, clearly upset.
"I got my photos back," she said. I assumed the session had gone badly — but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that the session had gone too well.
"I'm so airbrushed I look ridiculous. Did they really think I needed that much work done?"
Ouch.
I have a love/hate relationship with Photoshop.
Obviously, it's an incredible tool, but it's also at least partly responsible for an entire generation of people (ahem - women) who compare their bodies and faces to unreal standards created on a computer screen and feel somehow… less than.
I think about this a lot when I'm editing.
Getting everyone in good light, keeping an eye on posing, making sure nobody looks stiff or uncomfortable — all of that is just part of the job. But completely reshaping the body someone lives in? Removing the crow's feet they've laughed so hard to earn? That's a different choice entirely. And I wish my friend's photographer had talked to her before making it.
Pet photography is a little simpler in this department. None of my canine clients have ever worried that their collar makes them look fat.
But Photoshop is still a fine line — even in dog photography.
Where I Actually Land
Temporary things: I'll Photoshop them. Eye boogers, grass stains on a white chest, the morning crusties, a fresh scrape. These are things that weren't there the week before and won't be there the week after. They're not part of who the dog is. They go.
Same thought process for people. The hair tie you forgot on your wrist, the bulge of treats in your pocket, the smear of horse drool across your shoulder can all disappear.
Permanent things: I ask.
Did your dog just have surgery and now has a shaved ring on their leg? Should I fill that in? Do you want to see your dog exactly as they are right now — or the way they looked before?
Cataracts are a good example. Some people want them softened so the dog looks the way they remember them from a few years ago. Others want the real thing, exactly as they are today. Neither answer is wrong. But it's not my call to make without asking.
My rule is: if it's temporary, it goes without discussion. If it's permanent, I defer to you.
What do you think? Where would you draw the line?
I'd genuinely love to know — leave a comment below or send me a message.
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