OK, I can’t believe I would contemplate posting images of me like this, but here we go.
EVERY single time I take photos of women, I get asked about ‘photoshopping’. EVERY single time! It doesn’t matter if it’s a family photoshoot in the park or a corporate headshot, it comes up. I get it. I TOTALLY get it, although I’m thinking a degree in psychology would help me to address this with my clients!
Ladies, please understand that everyone benefits from a little bit of magic. BUT, that magic doesn’t necessarily come AFTER the photo is taken. Take this ridiculous selection of images above. (Oh God, why am I doing this?).
Image one - taken on a Wednesday morning as I arrived to see the magnificent Petrina Milas, make-up artist extraordinaire. See the red bits and the no eyebrows and the wrinkles? Yep, that’s me, looking my absolute best! Petrina was helping me prepare for a videoshoot, where I needed to look waaay better than this.
Image two - taken AFTER Petrina has used her magic skills. I am absolutely bloody useless at make-up. And hair. Like, I can’t even explain how bad I am at it. Ask any of my daughters? They’ll tell you. So if you are as rubbish as me, having professional make-up done will make you feel a solid 87% better!
Image three - taken on my DSLR, with nice lighting, in a good coloured top for my skin tones. OK, I didn’t take the photo - my clever daughter Lucy was there to assist - but the idea is this: flattering angles, lighting, clothing, comfort-levels with your photographer? That all goes a long way to improving things before …. we get to:
Image four - I do a lot of my own retouching but I also have a specialist on-hand for big projects or particular challenges (ie, my own face!). I firmly believe that retouching needs to be natural, balanced, complementary and more than anything, plausible! It needs to be an accurate reflection of you. On your best day, after a good night’s sleep, a great haircut and a nourishing breakfast, but you get my point! The retouching should be the final piece in the puzzle, the gentle pat as the end product heads off to the world. It’s subtle and kind and should make everyone go, “wow, you look awesome”, not “wow, photoshop much"?”.
I’m posting this to try and connect with you. I KNOW it’s intimidating getting your photo done. I KNOW that in your head are at least a dozen things spinning around like “I wish my teeth were whiter. I should have got my grey hairs done. I need to lose 10kg. I don’t have anything to wear. Why do I still have pimples at 49.” etc etc.
Put all that crap aside and focus on how bloody awesome you are at what you do. Mum, wife, daughter, swimmer, CEO, volunteer, accountant, dancer, lawyer, boss bitch, whatever.
Professional hair and make-up can work wonders and I can’t recommend Petrina highly enough. Her studio in Northbridge is warm, calm and inviting. She exudes the most wonderful aura and is generous with her advice and guidance and a whiz with spac-filler!
And if you’re contemplating photos for family or work, find someone who makes you laugh, keeps things real, understands how bloody awful it can feel and helps you actually walk away enjoying the process! I promise it doesn’t hurt, nobody sees the bad photos and at the end, the good ones always get a little bit of magic!