Would you take the liberty to Photoshop an image so drastically that it offends your clients? That’s exactly what one wedding photographer did when they gave their client a “chin tuck.”
After reaching out on Facebook for a wedding photographer and receiving roughly 20 responses, one couple is now regretting their decision to hire an Ohio-based wedding photographer that seems to be a bit Photoshop-happy.
Apparently, the couple and photographer agreed upon two hours of wedding photography coverage and an additional engagement session for the amount of $600. Once the couple received the edited engagement photos, they noticed that the photographer had Photoshopped their bodies to appear thinner, commenting: “She actually Photoshopped one picture of us skinnier. She probably took like 30 pounds off each of us.”
Image via Independent.
While some may appreciate the photographer’s decision to edit the images so drastically, the bride-to-be and her fiancé did not.
The couple then ran across a post made by the photographer on Facebook that only further upset them.
While the couple may by definition be morbidly obese and they may have had some requests that were out of the norm for this photographer, perhaps better judgment in voicing her opinion online about her clients and their engagement session could have been exercised. She later went on to delete her Facebook rant and followed it up with this:
The photographer disclosed to a local news station that she has apologized to the couple and refunded them, minus a $150 deposit.
Do you feel that the photographer was inappropriate in dealing with this situation or that she "fat-shamed" her clients? Assuming you were hired for the same job, how would you have dealt with the challenges this photographer was faced with?
[via Independent]
I don't know -that post by the photographer was super unprofessional, but if this couple was actually asking for photoshopping stuff off of proofs they shouldn't be complaining about a $150 deposit.
Seems like both parties got what they deserved.
As a photographer sometimes you're damned if you do, damned if you don't. I try my best to sense a person's self esteem especially if they are obese. I've struggled with weight issues all my life. I get it. Everybody wants to be beautiful. Sometimes all it takes is using the distortion tool to bring people upright in a photo. Nothing extreme. I think some people are angry and looking for someone to blame for something, anything, to give them power over someone else and pull a shame card to do it. This issue is more about the client than the photographer. The photographer should have never vented on social media but if the woman didn't like what she saw in her photos she should have said something without throwing a hissy fit. The issue was privately fixable. This type of retouching is REQUESTED more than not. Don't do it and they hate their photos. I've been told "YOU made me look fat!" NO, that is not MY fault. Make them look thinner and you're fat shaming. Which method is fat shaming? How does a photographer respectfully treat morbidly obese people?