Photoshop.

Just want to make a note about Photoshop. This is my personal opinion only - I'm not a fan. I think Photoshop is being taken advantage of. I think the program is fantastic for certain tasks, but severely over-kill for overall photo retouching.

What do I mean? Ok. Look at all the internet/magazine images of celebrities. Most of them are Photoshopped. Those are not natural photos (trust me, I know. My bil is one of the best 'Photoshoppers'/retouchers there is. That is my husband's business - advertising - they make a living doing this). People are not flawless. The more I'm learning about photography, the more I read & the more sites I visit - professional 'every day' photograhers are joining the trend.

What this tells me is that numerous photos out there (not necessarily celebrity photos, but just 'regular' society/people photos) aren't the real deal! And personally, I don't like that. I don't think Photoshop is pure negative, but I want to photo & I want to see a photo, of the real deal. I've seen tons of family photos which are beautiful, but they've been touched on. To me, that's fake! Are they (whomever they may be) going to look back in 10 years & say "wow, great photo, but we didn't really look that good" etc. I want to see natural. I want to see pure, God given beauty. I want to see sincerity. I want to see emotion. I want to see the pure joy. I want to see a person/family that has lived or is beginning to live. Untouched. Unscathed. Un-Photoshopped. Ü

Just an observation I've recently made. Another thing I have noticed is people copying other people's work. Get real. Get creative. Be yourself & find your own nitch. Leave other's people's creativity & hard efforts for beautiful poses/colors alone. Take your passion & make it come alive. That's where my passion lies. :)

Mercedes' photo below is all natural. Taken outside, beginning of dusk, no flash, on manual setting. Is it perfect? No. Could I have taken a better, possibly lighter, shot? Most definitely. But that's her. Beautiful skintone, receding hairline (LOLOL!!), chubby cheeks with adorable dimple - the whole nine yards. *That* is where I'm headed w/ my photography. :)

Have a great weekend! Ü