Portrait Photography Hesitation: Why you don’t need retouching

Portrait Photography Hesitation is something many people experience.

Capturing moments in time. That’s what portrait photography is all about. However, when it comes to getting our pictures taken, many of us tend to be reluctant to get it done. We experience portrait photography hesitation. Perhaps we feel a bit old or aren’t too happy with our weight, blemishes, acne or other conditions we may be facing.

Portrait Photography Hesitation

Many people have not had good experiences in the past when getting their portraits done. This is mainly because of the wide angle cameras that are frequently used by our family when taking snap shots. These cameras make everything look wide. Another issue people face is that it usually takes such a long time for someone to take a picture of us that our smiles drop, we look awkward and the picture captured is not as flattering as we would like. This seems to convince us over time that we are not photogenic and that we need retouching. However, this is often not the case.

Let’s eliminate all the bad photography for a second. These are some of the methods I like to use to make sure the process is fun, quick, clients are happy with the end result and don’t feel the need to retouch.

Proper Lighting is Everything 

A skilled photographer will know in which light to place you so that any flaws you may have are instantly made invisible. I like to make sure the light wraps around your face so that it is not enhancing any wrinkles or blemishes. Placing clients out of direct sunlight is also a good way to hide any flaws. Open lighting is often the best way to go when it comes to portrait photography.

Using a Long Lens

Long lenses flatten and flatter everything so that you look beautiful.

The Right Clothes, Makeup and Poses

As a female photographer, I know how to dress clients in what is flattering for their body shape. The right pose also has the ability to hide flaws instantly.

Creating a Comfortable and Relaxed Environment

A good photographer knows how to make their clients feel relaxed and comfortable. I believe and have seen that a client who feels comfortable with their photographer takes better pictures because they are actually enjoying the process and feeling confident with themselves.

At our studio, my approach is to first eliminate 99 percent of the flaws by using the above methods. People are often surprised at what the right lighting, clothes, makeup and poses can do for their portraits.

If after all of this the client still feels like some things need to be fixed, that’s when we resort to retouching.

For example, I had a client who had Bell’s palsy, which means that one side of her face was dropped a little bit. Although it was a mild case, she knew it was there. We are all very critical of ourselves and tend to focus on flaws that we know are there but no one else can see. In this case, I had the images retouched, having her face lifted up slightly on the one side. She was thrilled with the final result of the images.

I had another client whose child had scars from chicken pox. The lady had been putting off getting her child’s portrait done, hoping the scars would disappear quickly. Well, they didn’t. So instead of missing out on capturing this moment in the child’s life, I took pictures of the child and had them sent for retouching to remove the scars. The final result was pleasing to everyone.

Portrait Photography Retouching

I believe that retouching should not be over-done. The client should still look like themselves when all is said and done. If someone is dealing with permanent issues that won’t go away, or if they feel like they have put on weight that they don’t want to show in the photo, touch-ups can always be done by using our retouching service. But simply retouching a photo that can be otherwise fixed with proper lighting, clothes and poses is not necessary.

Portrait photography is meant to capture moments in people’s lives, and I believe these moments should be as real as possible. With the right photographer, you may just discover that you are perfect the way you are. If you have been putting off a photography session for whatever reason, contact me and we can discuss the best way to work around any issues you may have.

Talk soon,
Margherita :)

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