Why Meghan Trainor was Wrong about People Who Use a Photo Retouching Service
Out of all the stuff we do here, being a photo retouching service is one of our all-time-favorites. Here’s the thing. Trends are always changing. Sometimes it’s cool to wholly “be yourself,” people want you to know you’re “beautiful just the way you are,” and that “natural” or “curvy” is the way to go. Other times it’s the extreme health fad that’s “in,” or wearing as much makeup as possible so the beauty industry can continue to make the big bucks—uh, we mean, so you can get on your contouring game, making sure those cheekbones look like they’re sticking out in a slimming, sexy way. With these two viewpoints often butting heads—unless you are tough enough not to care at all, whatsoever, about what others think—it can be difficult to keep up with what the world wants from us (although sometimes the sides do manage to find a nice middle ground where women are supposed to be able to go out without worrying too much about what they look like, while still maintaining a generally healthy mindset and lifestyle).
Compromises are good. Being too overweight is unhealthy just as being too underweight is unhealthy. And who are we to judge? This is, after all, a woman-owned business and our founder is very much into sweets (by “into” we mean she will gladly eat anything anyone else is unable to finish). Then again, who is anyone to judge, either side, really? It brings a certain song to mind. If you’re into pop music, you have probably heard of the song All About that Bass, which states things like, “’Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase, all the right junk in all the right places... I see the magazines workin’ that Photoshop, we know that s*** aint real, come on now, make it stop…” as well as the following line, “I’m bringing booty back, go ahead and tell them skinny b*****s that.” First of all, this is a graphic design company, so don’t go dissing Adobe, it’s our fave.
The reality is, despite her seemingly trying to portray our beloved Photoshop in a negative light, professional photo editing is actually an art. It is a skill. It is a fundamental desire. People have been doing it and getting it done for decades (perhaps with different software in the early days, and more with physical cosmetics before computers) and no one should be made to feel “fake” for utilizing a photo retouching service. All kinds of people have used photo editing, from your average college student to a grandmother trying to have an older, damaged picture restored, to models in those famous fashion magazines. And while it may be true that most people do not actually look 100% like they do on the cover, we’d like to think everyone already knows that. No one should be completely fooled or surprised anymore these days. No one is expecting those models to be totally flawless on any given day without getting professional touch ups, either in real life when they first wake up nor on a computer. They are human, and no one is naturally perfect, since there is of course no such thing, right?
On the other hand, if someone looks way too fake to the point where it simply cannot be the same person the caption is claiming it is, that is when things have gone a bit overboard. Just like when you can tell someone is wearing makeup to the point where it is caked on and does not look so nice, the same holds true for professional photo retouchers. To know you have found a good photo retouching service, you will want to check out their website beforehand and make sure the people in their “after” shots still look like, well, people. The key is, as with makeup artists, a professional photo editor will know just the right amount of editing to do. They will go in with a light touch rather than a heavy hand. Want to know why? Here’s the key: We use these digital artist’s tools in order to enhance an image, not completely undo it—to bring out the best qualities that already naturally exist and gently blend away some of the less desirable assets (such as acne, shiny sweat type spots, dark circles under the eyes that make us look tired, etc).
For a special occasion, a wedding, a Bar Mitzvah, for a LinkedIn headshot, or even on the daily, if he or she feels like it, shouldn’t every person deserve to look their best (often leading to actually feeling great, too, in real life, just like when someone looks in the mirror and sees themselves appearing a little extra dapper that day, it instills a nice feeling, and makes people happy… oh, the magic and wonder of the human brain). So we ask, what’s wrong with that, Ms. Trainor? What is wrong with helping people have something extra nice to look at, to feel special on any given day… shouldn’t every day be treated kind of like an occasion? Why take issue with a person going to a photo retouching service and hiring an artist that would be glad to do their “thing,” that is, treat every face like a canvas, carefully tracing the natural lines, curves, shadows and shapes that already exist using state-of-the-art tools that can fairly discretely bring out—via just a dash of dramatization—qualities that may not have otherwise shown through quite as easily? Or conversely, help bring blemishes out of the light and put the focus on your preferred features?
At artbyadina.com, we treat each customer just like that, as a canvas of sorts, not something ugly that “needs” help. The truth is, probably no one really needs it… but everyone seems to want it. Simply put, it’s fun! The photo artist is having fun playing with their digital toolkit, the customer is having fun seeing the end result, and both get to uncover something/someone that was not fully there before. Bring out your best self with a photo retouching service. With us, it’s quick, it’s affordable, and you’ll be glad you did! Everyone who has tried it has been, and there has never been a complaint of “Gross, why do I look fake, this is just not me,” but rather, all smiles, thus far (perhaps slightly whiter smiles than the original picture submitted, if you or a loved one is into that sort of thing;))
Move over Meghan, but Photoshop is here to stay, because people like to create, people like to imagine greatness, people don’t like to settle, and people for sure should not be hating on anyone for being too much of one way or the other (us “skinny b****** are doing just fine over here… and if there’s a role out of place in a bikini now that summer is coming up, because we are standing a certain way, it happens to every one, even if someone is so-called thin. We are all the same. "Skinny" folks are not any more flawless than anyone else. Regardless, why not nip it in the bud with a couple clicks since we can, it doesn’t absolutely have to be there anymore with the technology that we now have. Personally, we prefer to keep memories, where every picture becomes our favorite, which we are excited to hang onto, to post online, to share with friends and family, or to do with it whatever we want. We’d rather not have self-conscious “ew” moments and feel uncomfortable from showing anyone or even looking back on it years later, ourselves. Each piece of photography should be cherished. Remember what we always say here: Everything is an art).
*Disclaimer: We have nothing against Ms. Trainor nor her music. We actually enjoy a lot of her songs. We find them pretty catchy and think she is very talented… that lyric in the one song just happened to bring up quite the controversial topic in our minds and we wanted to share our thoughts!
