The Campaign for Real Beauty
Editions by Frederick and Dove strive for balance in women's lives.

Many people have commented to us that they would never consider having glamour photos taken of them because they are not "beautiful" like the girls in the magazines. I am frequently surprised by this because more often than not, these comments are coming from women who have a wonderful natural inner beauty that everyone, it seems, except them can see.

Those who do take the plunge almost always are shocked at how beautiful they look in the final images. These photographs show them that you don't have to be a supermodel to look fantastic. The truth is, most "supermodels" don't look much different than the average person. In fact, we can make almost anyone look like a supermodel using the same glamour techniques that is used for most commercial ad promotions.

Concerned that women are setting an unreasonably high standard for themselves, the people at DOVE beauty products started the "Campaign For Real Beauty" which is designed to show women that they are really very beautiful just the way they are. Many women have what I call "carnival mirrors". This means that when they look at themselves in the mirror, they do not see themselves the way they really are, but rather in a distorted, unflattering way, just like they were looking into one of those warped mirrors popular at carnivals. Their self esteem has been eroded by the thousands of images of "perfect" women they see on television and in print advertising. They compare themselves to these images and, when they look in the mirror, they see themselves as far inferior to these "ideal" models.

What many people do not realize is that these images are the result of the work of a production team who, through the skillful use of hair styling and makeup, professional lighting and computer manipulation, have produced an image that is more of a fantasy representation of the model than a real depiction of what that model looks like in real life. In short, many of these images portray women as a kind of caricature of what people have come to understand is beauty. This creates a standard that is unattainable in real life and to compare yourselves to this image will only result in your self esteem becoming damaged by trying to achieve a look that is not real.

In order to demonstrate this, DOVE has prepared a short film called "Evolution" that demonstrates how an ordinary person can be made to look like a supermodel. Click the link in the image below to view this film and you will see that, given the right production techniques, anyone can achieve this "fantasy" look.

The point is that people need to understand that frequently, glamour photography does not mirror real life. To try and achieve this look through cosmetic surgery, skin and hair products or other artificial means will, at the least, become an exercise in frustration and, at the worst, can create a disfunction that may lead to bulimia, surgery addiction and even anorexia which could lead to death.

Does this mean that we shouldn't care about our body image? Of course not. It important that we understand the importance of a healthy diet, exercise and the ways that we can take care of ourselves better. It is important to be able to achieve a balance in life and to not become too obsessed with trying to achieve an "ideal" that is unattainable.

As a photography studio, it is our job to make our clients look their very best. Like the film above, we use professional makeup, hair styling, lighting and computer retouching to make all of our clients look fantastic. However, we would not want to distort people into being something they are not. When you look at the final result, you will still look like you, but you will look like the very best you!

Retouching is not new. Before the computer, photographs were retouched using the airbrush or a traditional brush with retouching dyes. To retouch an image to make the skin smoother, to remove scars or other little flaws, or even to do a little nip and tuck, is all part of the valid photography process. Everyone expects that when they go to a professional photographer, they want the final images to look fantastic. Otherwise they might as well go to a department store "photo studio" or have a friend take a snapshot with a digital camera.

Hair styling, makeup and professional lighting, coupled with the skill of using professional camera equipment, is what makes the difference between a snapshot and a great photo. But this does not mean that you do not look great in "real life", it only means that anyone can look their best in the hands of a competent photo studio.

To illustrate this, have a look at our Before & After Gallery. These images have not been retouched but only show what can be achieved through the skillful application of makeup, hair styling and photography. But if you would also like to further enhance the image through computer retouching, we can do that too.

So the next time you look in the mirror and feel bad about yourself, or look at a magazine cover and wish you looked like the model featured, remember this article. You don't need cosmetic surgery or to starve yourself in order to achieve the same results. If you want an image of yourself looking like a supermodel, you can achieve this the same way as the real supermodels do, by having a professional glamour photo session.

A glamour photo session can raise your self esteem and show you your real inner beauty. It can show you that you are fantastically beautiful just the way you are!!!