Why I Love--No, Loathe--Photoshop

"You can Photoshop that out, right?" 
"My shirt is wrinkly, can you Photoshop that out?" 
"Can you fix my eye in Photoshop? I just don't like how this one is smaller than the other one." 
"Can you whiten my teeth in Photoshop?" 
"He fell and skinned his knee yesterday, can you Photoshop that out?"
"I hate how fat I am right now, can you Photoshop me skinnier?"
"I like my [son's/daughter's/husband's] expression, but I don't like my smile. Can you Photoshop me smiling better?"

No, no, and no.

Once we stop expecting perfection, we can begin enjoying our memories again.

Photoshop can be a photographer’s best friend. While it’s every photographer’s goal to “get it right in camera,” we all know it doesn't happen ALL of the time. The lighting changed so quickly when that super cute glance between mother and son happened, we didn’t have time to change the settings. We’re photographing by a window and further inside the (very dark) room something adorable happened between dad and daughter that we didn’t want to miss—Photoshop allows us to save that memory in post-processing, even if we messed up the settings in the camera. 

We can enrich our photos by cropping and making the colors more vibrant and crisp. Photoshop is amazing for photo enhancement. It adds that bit of extra “oomph” that you just can’t get in camera, no matter if you have a $300 camera, or a $3500 camera. It’s that “final touch” that makes it just perfect. 

Photoshop is great for being creative. I LOVE taking an image and making it a piece of art by using textures, filters and actions. 

But I photograph weddings and families. I help people preserve their memories. A memory should remain untouched.

I loathe Photoshop. If it didn’t exist, as a photographer of memories, I’d be OK with that. 

Don't get me wrong. It takes every ounce of self-control for me to NOT Photoshop out my flaws. Extra baby weight in my chin and arms, too-small eyebrows, weird tooth in my smile… things that no amount of posing or other techniques can fix in camera. But I don’t Photoshop it. Why? Because as soon as I fix those “flaws,” it’s no longer a photo of ME. Abby and Liam will look back at that photo and think I was someone different when I was “younger.” As much as it annoys me to see some of these things in myself, I want them to be able to look back and see their real mommy, not the mommy that I WANT them to see. Not the person that I “wish” I was.

The sky wasn’t colorful during a wedding that I photographed? I’m not going to insert a fake sky just for kicks. That’s not how the day was, so I don’t want the bride and groom to look back in 30 years to “remember” it that way! I want the couple to remember it exactly as it was, grey skies and all. Camera tricks? Sure. Using cool lighting techniques to make a unique photo? Definitely. But what you'll see in the end is still an actual photograph.

I’m a photographer. To me, a photograph represents that exact moment in time. That’s what I set out to capture. Moments in time. Mommy’s with their babies, husbands with their new wives, families playing together. Photography isn’t about photographing perfect people—it’s about photographing perfect moments. 

So the next time you begin say to your photographer, “You can Photoshop that out, right?” just remember, it’s a photograph, and it’s the memory that you’re capturing. Memories aren’t perfect, and neither are we. So I'll say it again. Once we stop expecting perfection, we can begin enjoying our memories again.