Big Bold and Beautiful Bride

[cgipson1]

Bennielou, my main issue with what you do.. is that this gives them yet another excuse not to lose weight. (Oh, see how "skinny" I was for my wedding)...yea right (self delusion??)! The current obesity problem is caused by overindulgence in bad food, and too much TV / lack of exercise. I have a medical background, and my girlfriend still works in the medical field, and know for a fact that very few obese people have glandular problems that cause the weight, although MANY claim it. Calling "FAT" by the term "BIG" is just BS... Fat is Fat is FAT.. even if they don't want to admit it. The whole tacit acceptance of this is terrible.. too many health problems, social issues and people unhappy with themselves!

If they hate themselves so much that they are willing to pay "extra" for you to photoshop the pounds off.. why don't they just adopt a healthier lifestyle? I really don't understand this...

How is this different than some dork putting Brad Pitt's face on his photo, and posting it on a dating site? Still a LIE!

 

[e.rose]

I understand what you are saying e.rose. the thing about we women, is that we come in all shapes and sizes, and it's all good.

I've felt conflicted about this for a while. Here is my personal experience....

When I was younger, I was super thin. I'm 6 foot tall and for most of my life I weighed 124 Lbs. Then I hit 40. My body had a mind of it's own. I hated photos of myself, because they didn't look like the me I still saw in the mirror. I could only see a one diminutional image in the mirror, When I saw something else I would freak. even though that 140 lb girl was me, it's not how I saw myself. So I could see how these gals felt.

Not too long ago I had a client that totally cried when she saw herself in wedding photos. She told me that she was skinny when she got engaged, then she found out she had a huge brain tumor. Two years later she is getting married and is 100 lbs heavier. Because of her cancer treatment her whole body changed. Her now hubby loved her just the same, but she didn't love how she looked. She knew that when she asked me to "change her back" (she sent me photos to work off of) that she didn't look like she did right now. I told her that she shouldn't do it. But that is what she wanted more than anything. So I did. I was super conflicted because part of me was happy that I could help her feel better, bit the other part of me felt like I was reinforcing negativity in regards to her current body type. This is an argument ghat I have with myself quite a bit.

Dude... again... I have *NO ISSUE* with you retouching the way you do. Seriously.

My point was LITERALLY and ONLY about your *word choice*.

It had *nothing*... I repeat... NOTHING to do with the photos themselves or what you do to them

You don't have to justify to me why you slim down your clients. I slim down everyone I shoot too... even if it's just a little. It's just part of retouching.

The only thing I mentioned that HAD to do with the photos was about how drastic you took in her waist on #6(?). NOT because you took in her waist, but because in my opinion the way you did it looks unnatural. My suggestion wasn't *NOT* to tuck her it... it was just to tuck her in at a more gradual rate... start up higher... end down lower... bring her in the same amount but make the slope not as steep... and then it might look more natural. But that's just my opinion.

And that opinion had *nothing*... I repeat again... NOTHING... to do with my posts about the definition of women... which again, was purely based on your choice of words.



I don't know how many times I have to try and explain it before you understand that I'm not coming down on your work.

 

[bennielou]

Hi E. No, not at all. I didn't take what you said as coming down on my work at all. And I agree with you on the 6th photo. I tend to overdo things sometimes. LOL. But your suggestion is dead on.

Actually, I thought about what you were saying a lot last night. About my choice of words.... You made some great points. And I promise I did not mean to offend anyone who wears under a size 12. :hug::

I guess what I was trying to say is that larger women are a good percentage of the population, yet we so seldom see them in portfolios. I'm as guilty of that as anyone, and something I want to change when I update my site in December.

 

[e.rose]

And I promise I did not mean to offend anyone who wears under a size 12. :hug::

I know it wasn't *intentional* :sillysmi:

I guess what I was trying to say is that larger women are a good percentage of the population, yet we so seldom see them in portfolios. I'm as guilty of that as anyone, and something I want to change when I update my site in December.

I agree with you there. :sillysmi:

 

[LightSpeed]

We all photograph the real woman. The average size of the American Woman is size 14, but not a lot of photographers showcase this real sized bride. I have no idea why! While most women WANT to be that size zero we see in the magazines, most of us are also keenly aware of the reality of our body type. Real life sized brides, or those that are in the plus sized category appreciate a photographer that can showcase them in a way that makes them feel as gorgeous as they are. There is a definate market out there for the photographers who court this real American woman.

I'd rather marry a woman who doesn't appear to be a professional football player when she's walking away from you.
I think what you're trying to say is, " Size 14 or better women appreciate a photographer who can make them look LESS FAT."
Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as one might say. Some men are rather attracted to plus sized, husky women.
I prefer mine somewhat smaller than the beautifully imaged bride above. Like half that size.
This, however, doesn't detract from your skills as a photographer, nor was it ever meant to.

 

[gsgary]

A real woman is someone like

Camryn Manheim:
File:Camryn Manheim.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

And she's beautiful, don't get me wrong... but a real woman is... well... generally speaking someone with a vagina, ovaries, cervix... etc. Period.

I'm so sick of everyone defining "real women" by their size, be it small, average, or plus sized.

Saying that "real" women are only women size 12 - 18, or what have you... or others shaped like the woman above... is a slap to the face to those of us who are naturally petite.

Just like "average" and/or "plus sized" woman can develop complexes about their weight and feel like they *need* to lose it when they look perfectly fine, healthy, and beautiful the way they are... thin women can develop complexes about *their* weight too and feel like they *need* to *gain* it when they look perfectly fine, healthy, and beautiful the way they are.

If we want to get it *right* society shouldn't be looking down on *any* woman for their weight.

Of course there are instances where too much or too little weight is getting into the realm of "unhealthy", but GENERALLY speaking, a "real" woman doesn't just encompass "average" sized woman any more than it should encompass just those of us still forced to shop in the children's section.

I swear it too me two hours to peal those stupid little blinking flowers off my child-sized sneakers......

/soapbox. (Obviously a sore subject for me as well )

A realy woman is one that knows how to look after her man in bed i like the slim fit women yet my best mate likes them bigger because they try harder in bed

 

[e.rose]

A real woman is someone like

Camryn Manheim:
File:Camryn Manheim.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

And she's beautiful, don't get me wrong... but a real woman is... well... generally speaking someone with a vagina, ovaries, cervix... etc. Period.

I'm so sick of everyone defining "real women" by their size, be it small, average, or plus sized.

Saying that "real" women are only women size 12 - 18, or what have you... or others shaped like the woman above... is a slap to the face to those of us who are naturally petite.

Just like "average" and/or "plus sized" woman can develop complexes about their weight and feel like they *need* to lose it when they look perfectly fine, healthy, and beautiful the way they are... thin women can develop complexes about *their* weight too and feel like they *need* to *gain* it when they look perfectly fine, healthy, and beautiful the way they are.

If we want to get it *right* society shouldn't be looking down on *any* woman for their weight.

Of course there are instances where too much or too little weight is getting into the realm of "unhealthy", but GENERALLY speaking, a "real" woman doesn't just encompass "average" sized woman any more than it should encompass just those of us still forced to shop in the children's section.

I swear it too me two hours to peal those stupid little blinking flowers off my child-sized sneakers......

/soapbox. (Obviously a sore subject for me as well )

A realy woman is one that knows how to look after her man in bed i like the slim fit women yet my best mate likes them bigger because they try harder in bed

Well apparently my slim ass was good enough for my husband to decide to marry soooooooo...

 

[jahcyber]

Yeah, the 'work' done was good, I could not see any trace of it anywhere. A thumbnail of the original photos would be great so we'll know where things have been altered.

 

[Cpi2011]

You've done really awesome job! thanks a lot for sharing this nice photos collection 2nd and 3rd images are my favorite.

 

[Mark_McCall]

they pay me to do that, so I do that. I'm a bit like a princess fantasy pimp. That's what I do.

I think a lot of photographers miss this point. We're paid to do a job so we do it.
If your known for a look, clients will come to you seeking that look.
Not every affluent client is a size 3.

Nice series, awesome location.

I probably wouldn't have pointed her directly into the camera as it adds weight we're trying to remove later. We're fighting ourselves.
Slight body angle, weight on the back foot, short lighting all make for a slimmer subject.

Shot #2 has the weight distributed correctly. She would have been even slimmer by leaning with the back hip as well instead of bending at the waist.
I probably wouldn't have allowed her to lie down either. People "grow" when reclining.