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All the time people tell me "I don't photograph well", or "I'm not photogenic", or my least favorite: "I don't like how I look... I know it's impossible to look good in any photo". Almost nothing waves a red flag in my face faster than one of those three "excuses" for not sitting for a photo shoot. My opinion? A good photographer can make everyone look good. Making people look their best... it's a multi-step process (from communication, to attitude, to posing, to camera technique, to post-shoot developing, to retouching, to printing). I've spent over 20 years learning not only how to get the most out of a pose/sitting, but I've also fine-tuned my post-shoot developing techniques to compliment the person I've photographed. Another thing I often hear from people who have actually posed for me... "You are the only person who is able to make me look good". Comments like that, and seeing the excitement on someone's face when they see their finished images... absolutely nothing better in the world than that feeling.
The key to making people look good... the photographer must be able to capture the model's inner spirit. This is an intangible skill... one either has the ability, or they don't. Retouching is simply the final step in creating a breathtaking photograph of someone. My most common retouching techniques: smoothing worry lines and skin tones, healing peeling baby feet, adding make-up, full glamour, sharpening eyes, changing hair color/tones, removing backgrounds and adding backgrounds, merging multiple photos into a single image, etc.
Please take a moment to look through some of my retouching jobs, below, to see just how "glamorous" a model can be.
