I was looking through the NYTimes (online version) seeing if there was any interesting art/photography news to post about, when I noticed an article about music videos. So, I took it as a sign that I should post about something I’ve been struggling with in my work.
It isn’t that I have been producing demeaning images of women (which is what the times article is about), but I have been thinking about at what point my images could influence a young woman’s ideal of beauty. I’m not trying to be so egotistical as to suggest that changing my work could in any way influence the ideal of beauty which is created through the media, but I think it is hypocritical of me to be against the waifish anorexic ideal and at the same time manipulate images I make to make the subjects look thinner. I have already come to grips with manipulating images for a private order; if someone wants me to retouch their pictures and make them look a certain way that is their decision. However, when shooting fashion images for publication, I have decided not to alter the images in any way that will make them look like they weigh less. The problem with this decision, despite the fact that I am going to stick to it, is that it will probably not get me as much business as doing the opposite.
