Why Photoshop?

"But that's fake!"... This is the argument my daughter gives me whenever I mention that I used the program Photoshop to enhance a portrait. As I have explained to her, my intention is not to make anyone look "fake", but to make people look their best. Photo retouching has been around long before the digital age, it just wasn't as easy as it is today (you can check out what they did circa 1946 here ). Some would say that since it is so much easier to manipulate an image today, that things can get out of hand quickly. Yes, I do admit that that is a danger, but with some restraint, one should end up with an image that looks better than where it began. 

       For me, it's all about the eyes, the windows to the soul.  My goal is to always make them the focal point of any picture. They should draw you in to the point where you instantly make a connection with the person in the image. How do I use Photoshop to help me accomplish this? I reduce or remove all the other distractions. Here, let's look at the two pictures below (they just happen to be of me) ...


 

Example 1 is the picture straight out of camera. Nothing has been done to it. Yes, it's a good picture, but by doing very minor adjustments, I can get you to look at my eyes first, make that connection! For example, the hair sticking up is really no big deal, but it looks out of place, so I just got rid of it. 

       I have wrinkles under my eyes, perfectly natural, but not the first thing I want people to notice about me. I didn't get rid of them, after all, they are there (alas, I am no longer 20). I just used Photoshop to lighten the shadows making them less noticeable. Also, I lightened my eyes slightly to make them pop. 

       The last thing I did was to crop a few inches off of my waist (yes, I am going to lose those 10 pounds in the near future, just not today). I gave myself some more curves. I don't think I overdid it, but it makes me feel better about an image that will live on forever.

      Some other things I might edit would be to fix a distracting background, or smooth out someone's skin. Most people don't even notice that these small changes were made, they just love their images. And in the end, isn't that all that matters?