Camera manufacturers do their darned best to create cameras that capture detail and sharpness, recording every fine line and detail that can be extracted from a scene or portrait. In many cases, this is pleasing. In the case of portraits, it can be terrifying. I swear the image of that woman’s face is downright scary in its unaltered state! Moles, wrinkles, sags, pimples, stray ingrown hairs, unexplained red spots, scabs, cakey white… well you get the picture. I have to admit that I am excited to get started on an image like this, to ”aestheticize” (verb-to depict as being pleasing or artistically beautiful; represent in an idealized or refined manner) it as soon as possible. Hurry up and FIX it! I don’t want anyone to see it, not even the person whose face it is! Does she know she has all of this on her face? I have used the ultimate tool to capture the “ultimate truth” and now the moral dilemma is, do I reveal this truth?  

How young do you want to look? I charge by the year: 5 years younger - $50, 10 years younger - $100; how much do you want to weigh? I charge by the pound: 10 pounds -$50, 30 pounds – $100. One could actually do it this way.

The age old question…to fix or not to fix.

It comes down to this:

1. I have the permission of the subject to capture a likeness using a camera.

2. As the owner and creator of the image, I have the artistic license to render the final product as I see fit.

3. The subject can accept or reject the outcome.

Simple. I don’t need anyone’s permission to create art from images. On the other hand, I am going to be smart to create an image for the subject that is exchangeable for appreciation and profit!

In the end its like riding a surf board. I have to use my skill, strength and intuition to stay on top of the board during the ride. Likewise is the relationship with the client or subject; all must be balanced so you conquer that wave and a true exchangeable product can be produced. The examples are of an image that I copied from someone else and then made art out of it.

All the railing and fits that have been thrown regarding using manipulation in photography come down to two issues in my mind: The right to freedom of expression and not committing fraud.

Fight me back on this point of view if you will. I would love to hear the counter arguements!

1. Wash and style your hair as if you are going to meet your future husband or wife that day! Its best not to get a haircut the day before the shoot unless you want to look like a shaved lizard in the photo.

2. Put on/bring your makeup – even if you never wear makeup, bring it anyway! Even the guys can go minimal on the makeup (or not) because makeup DOESN”T show up much on camera! If you don’t bring your makeup, I will bring mine and you will have to bear the humility of me applying it FOR you.

3. Get some sleep the night before. Don’t lie awake wondering how the photos are going to come out and so creating a worse situation with puffs under your eyes and red lines that I have to take out with Photoshop. I can only do so much with Photoshop.

4. DON”T wear Hawaiian shirts or Macaw prints to show your flair for color. This kind of clothing fights with your face and usually wins.

5. DO wear subtle solid colors like tan or off-white, brown and sometimes black. Bring a jacket or sweater to change the hues and shadows near your face.

6. Don’t look away from the camera and frown. This makes for a kind of boring or pitiful shot of you and usually isn’t representative of the kind of image you want to project unliess you are a dog looking for a home.

7. Do smile and look at the camera. Laugh at my jokes and you will get a better picture from me. Laughing at my jokes has the secondary advantage of creating a really genuine happiness toward the camera which more likely than not will be a pleasing image of you.

8. Never face the camera flat on. It makes even a skinny person look fat. The camera does add 10 pounds but in all the wrong places, like under your chin, your belly and upper thighs.

9. Always angle yourself at the camera giving it the “cold shoulder” effect. Tilt your chin down a bit to camoflage your double chin and it has the added effect of making you look sexily up into the camera lens.

10. Last but not least, remember a good camera is SUPPOSED to take detail, so every mole, hair, wrinkle, pimple and liver spot is going to show. But thankfully, because you have me as your hot shot photographer, I can fix all of that in Photoshop!

Happy Picturing!

Diana L Guerrero

Diana L Guerrero and I have known each other since 2006 when she featured my photographs of the Pirate Faire in her local online news publication, the Fawnskin Flyer which is small town scuttlebutt for the township of Fawnskin, near Big Bear Lake, California.

Not only does she have many years of experience as a professional speaker and writer, but she is also an internet marketing whiz!

So there begins our association and her helping me with my internet presence as a digital photographer and digital photo artist.

We help each other with our respective expertise and it is a mutually beneficial relationship.

Her massive online presence and media appearances require that her photographs be updated regularly and I am privileged to be the photographer of choice!

Photographing Diana is a breeze because she is a very happy person and is always laughing.

I think she is laughing at me, but really, she just gets a kick out of life.

Now there is a more authoritative side to her which she attributes that to being an animal trainer (both wild and domestic animals).

This take charge approach and experience has given her the license to admonish accordingly.

LOL

I got her to play around and caught this “stern” look in this shot:

Authoritative!

My experiences as a digital photographer have given me the chance to get to know many good people and she is definitely an asset to all she knows and for all the good she does in the world of animals.

Check out more digital photo art of Diana in my portfolio link!

You can find out more about Diana L Guerrero or her services at Guerrero Ink.

Be sure to tell her that I sent you!

I have taken some head shots of Diana that you can view from the “Diana” folder.